Barcelona GSE Intensive Course on Competition Economics: Abuse of Dominance (2012 Edition)
Message from the directors
The treatment of abusive (or monopolization) practices by dominant firms is certainly one of the most controversial areas in competition policy. This is apparent in the very different approaches that have been adopted in the main competition jurisdictions. In the US it is extremely rare that courts find in favor of plaintiffs in cases such as predation, exclusive dealing, rebates and margin squeeze – even in circumstances where anticompetitive effects would have arguably deserved more attention. At the other extreme, in the EU dominant firms have been repeatedly sanctioned by competition agencies and courts for such practices, at times disregarding potential efficiency considerations. More recently however, EU policy in this area is moving towards a more economic effects-based approach. read more Course overview The Barcelona GSE Intensive Course on Competition Economics: Abuse of Dominance will provide participants (whether lawyers or economists, working for firms or in agencies) with a thorough understanding of the most recent economic theories of monopolization, will help them apply these concepts in practice, and will review actual cases in the light of an effects-based approach. The program’s faculty includes some of the leading academic economists in the area of abuse of dominance, and practitioners with extensive experience of the application of economic techniques to competition cases in this area. Key benefits - Review established and recent economic theories of abuse through a largely non-formal exposition also accessible to non-economists
- Understand the distinguishing economic features of possible types of abuse, including price and non-price conduct
- Identify the core elements of an effects-based approach for the assessment of unilateral conduct
- Acquire the tools to apply a sound economic approach to monopolisation cases
- Review and understand the key economic considerations behind landmark competition cases on abuse of dominance
- Learn to structure potential abuse of dominance claims and/or defences in an economically coherent way
- Acquire the ability to critically evaluate economic analysis and submissions in abuse of dominance matters
- Learn to assess the regulatory risk of a large firm's conduct
CPD Accreditation The course has been accredited with 16 CPD hours from the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Accreditation from the Bar Standards Board is pending. Course Schedule | Session | Time | Professor | | Wednesday, 21 March 2012 | | Registration | 14:00-14:30
| | | Participant introductions and presentation of the Barcelona GSE | 14:30-15:00 | | | Introduction to the Economics of Abuse; Predation | 15:00-16:30
| Massimo Motta | Coffee break
| Predation
| 17:00-19:00 | Massimo Motta | | Welcome dinner | | Thursday, 22 March 2012 | | Exclusive Dealing | 9:30-11:00 | Chiara Fumagalli | Coffee break
| Exclusive Dealing
| 11:30-13:00 | Chiara Fumagalli | Lunch
| Excessive Pricing
| 14:30-16:00 | Massimo Motta | Coffee break
| | Tying and Bundling | 16:30-18:30 | Chiara Fumagalli | | Friday, 23 March 2012 | | Case Study: Telecommunications | 9:00-11:00 | Jorge Padilla | Coffee break
| | Case Study: Intellectual Property Rights | 11:30-13:30 | Jorge Padilla | Lunch
| Rebates
| 15:00-17:00 | Giulio Federico | Saturday, 24 March 2012
| Rebates
| 9:30-11:00 | Giulio Federico | Coffee break
| Case Study: Energy
| 11:30-13:30 | Giulio Federico |
Faculty | Giulio Federico (Chief Economist Team, DG-Competition, European Commission; and Barcelona GSE guest professor) PhD, Oxford University Giulio Federico is a member of the Chief Economist Team at the Directorate General for Competition (European Commission). He is also a Guest Professor of the Barcelona GSE, where he has taught on the master program in Competition and Market Regulation since 2007. Prior to joining the European Commission in December 2011, he worked for over 10 years as an economic consultant on competition and regulatory issues, and was a Vice-President at Charles River Associates. As part of his consultancy work, he has provided economic advice in various abuse of dominance matters including Tomra (European Commission), Comair v. SAA (South African Competition Tribunal), ENI (European Commission), as well as several cases in other jurisdictions. He has particular expertise of competition issues in the gas and electricity sector. |  | Chiara Fumagalli (Bocconi University) PhD, Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Chiara Fumagalli is currently Associate Professor at Bocconi University. She is an applied microeconomist, working mainly on competition policy issues. She has published in top international journals, such as The American Economic Review, The Rand Journal of Economics, The Economic Journal, and The Journal of Industrial Economics. She also acts as special consultant for Compass Lexecon on anti-trust cases. Recently, she has been working on abuse of dominance cases involving Telecom Italia and Barilla. She has a long experience of teaching competition policy to different types of audiences, from MBA students and PhD students to master students and undergraduates. | 
| Massimo Motta (ICREA-UPF and Barcelona GSE) PhD, LSE and Université Catholique de Louvain Massimo Motta is ICREA Research Professor at Universitat Pompeu Fabra and the Dean of the Barcelona GSE. He founded the School's master program in Competition and Market Regulation and still teaches in the program. He is Fellow of the European Economic Association, a member of the Economic Advisory Group on Competition Policy at the European Commission, and advises the South Africa’s Competition Commission.
His research papers have been published in the top international economic journals, and his book, Competition Policy: Theory and Practice (Cambridge University Press, 2004), is the standard international reference on the economics of antitrust, and is used by teachers, scholars, and practitioners.
| 
| Jorge Padilla (Compass Lexecon and Barcelona GSE guest professor) PhD, Oxford University Jorge Padilla is a Senior Managing Director and Head of Compass Lexecon Europe. Previously CEO of LECG's European practice, he advises clients on a variety of competition policy and intellectual property issues, covering a wide range of industries, including retail electricity, media, telecommunications, entertainment and technology. He has advised on various cases and given expert testimony before the Dutch, French, German, Spanish, Italian and UK competition authorities, as well as in cases before the European Commission. He is Research Fellow of the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR, London), and a member of the Association for Competition Economists (ACE). He is also a guest professor of the Barcelona GSE. |
Participation feesCovers the tuition of all sessions, education materials, welcome dinner on March 21, all coffee breaks, and lunch breaks on March 22 and 23. Category
| Fee (until 07 Mar 2012) | Early-bird Registration (until 13 Feb 2012) | Regular Fee Professionals from law firms, consultancy firms and private companies | 2,000 € | 1,600 € | Multiple Applicants More than one applicant from the same company | 1st Applicant: 2,000 € 2nd Applicant: 1,800 € 3rd Applicant: 1,600 € (and following applicants) | 1st Applicant: 1,600 € 2nd Applicant: 1,500 € 3rd Applicant: 1,400 € (and following applicants) | Public Sector and Academia Applicants from the public sector (agencies, tribunals), academic institutions (full-time professors and PhD students) | 1st Applicant: 1,000 € 2nd Applicant: 900 € 3rd Applicant: 800 € (and following applicants) | 1st Applicant: 800 € 2nd Applicant: 750 € 3rd Applicant: 700 € (and following applicants) | Barcelona GSE Alumni Graduates of Barcelona GSE master programs | 1,000 € | 800 € |
Special discounts are not cumulative. Cancellation Policy - Cancellations until 07 March: Complete Refund, except for 200 € to cover administration expenses
- Cancellations between 07 and 14 March: 50% of the registration fee charged
- Cancellations after 14 March: Full fee charged (no refund)
Accommodation Please note that above participation fees do not include accommodation expenses. Participants are to make their own accommodation arrangements. Some information about the accommodation Barcelona is available on our accommodations page. | |
jump to: 
RSS