Econometric Evidence in EU Competition Law: An Empirical and Theoretical Analysis

CLES Research Paper series 06/12

120 Pages Posted: 3 Dec 2012 Last revised: 3 Apr 2013

See all articles by Ioannis Lianos

Ioannis Lianos

University College London - Faculty of Laws

Christos Genakos

University of Cambridge, Cambridge Judge Business School; Center for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); Center for Economic Performance (CEP)

Date Written: October 1, 2012

Abstract

Competition authorities and litigants worldwide have increased the use of economic quantitative methods and economic expert witnesses as a means to produce and support evidence in merger and antitrust cases. The application of quantitative techniques to antitrust has arisen naturally from the need to answer the central questions of antitrust analysis, such as, market definition and market structure issues, analysis of pricing and non-pricing behaviour by firms, quantification of damages and efficiencies and dynamic issues of entry and product reallocation. The paper aims, on the one hand, to briefly describe the main aspects of the most commonly used quantitative techniques in antitrust analysis, and on the other hand, to quantify their use in EU merger and antitrust decisions from 2004 until 2011. Moreover, we also codify the Commission‘s opinion on the techniques utilized. The paper then explores the substantive law framework for the assessment and evaluation of this quantitative evidence in EU competition law by the European Commission and the Courts, in particular topics relating to the standard of proof and evidential cogency and the interaction between the different concepts of causation in law and econometrics, whereas Section 5 provides a unique empirical analysis of the probative value of different kinds of econometric evidence, by performing for the first time a quantitative analysis of the opinion of the European Commission for the particular techniques used and their average evidential weight.

Keywords: econometrics, evidence, quantitative methods, antitrust, competition law, economics, standard of proof, standards of validity, courts, European Commission

JEL Classification: A11, A12, C10, K10, K21, K41

Suggested Citation

Lianos, Ioannis and Genakos, Christos, Econometric Evidence in EU Competition Law: An Empirical and Theoretical Analysis (October 1, 2012). CLES Research Paper series 06/12, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2184563 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2184563

Ioannis Lianos (Contact Author)

University College London - Faculty of Laws ( email )

London
United Kingdom

Christos Genakos

University of Cambridge, Cambridge Judge Business School ( email )

Trumpington Street
Cambridge, CB2 1AG
United Kingdom

HOME PAGE: http://https://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/faculty-research/faculty-a-z/christos-genakos/

Center for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) ( email )

London
United Kingdom

Center for Economic Performance (CEP) ( email )

Houghton Street
London WC2A 2AE
United Kingdom

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