In an article in the April 20024 edition of Competition Policy International, RBB's Yan Yu discusses the 'new' ecosystem theories of harm arising from digital mergers, and the implications of the perceived gaps in the current antitrust enforcement framework.
As explained in the article, digital ecosystems tend to be complex and comprise features that are different from traditional conglomerate businesses. However, from an economics perspective, ecosystem theories of harm are not fundamentally different from conventional conglomerate effects concerns. While empirical challenges faced to date in assessing relevant concerns may have motivated the debate on the sufficiency of the current analytical framework, it is necessary to be mindful that an overly aggressive enforcement approach, in particular, toward entrenchment of market power, may lead to significant chilling effects on dynamic competition and suppress pro-competitive innovations, and ultimately an undesirably lower bar in concluding anti-competitive harms.
Read the full article here.
Shared with permission from Competition Policy International.
