Research Seminar MicroeconomicsDamages for Infringements of Competition LawUrs Schweizer (Universität Bonn)

30 January 2020

The Microeconomics Research Seminar welcomes Urs Schweizer (Universität Bonn), who will present his project

"Damages for Infringements of Competition Law".

Place: VMP 9, Room 28
Hour: 17:15 - 18:45
We are looking forward to seeing you there!

Abstract

This paper examines the EU-Directive on certain rules governing actions for damages for infringements of competition law from an economic perspective. Actions free of infringements serve as benchmark. Since competition law tolerates less than perfect competition, this benchmark is not first-best and, as a consequence, damages rules in line with the Directive should cannot be expected to provide first-best incentives. Instead, the paper examines damages rules that are at least welfare-preserving relative to this inefficient benchmark. Under full information, welfare-preserving damages rules are shown to exist that would be in line with the Directive. Welfare-preserving rules may even exist at less than full information. In this case, however, some of the Directive’s rules would have to be loosened for enabling courts to implement such rules.