Revisiting 50 years of market-making: The neoliberal transformation of European competition policy

Buch‐Hansen, Hubert; Wigger, A.

doi:10.1080/09692290903014927

Cited by 74 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…The analysis of the period starting from the mid‐1980s is rather different from the critical political economy perspective. Buch‐Hansen and Wigger () suggest that it up until the mid‐1980s competition policy formed part of the institutional nexus of the postwar order of ‘embedded liberalism’, but since the mid‐1980s a neoliberal ‘competition only’ vision has come to dominate. They conclude that ‘a public–private alliance of transnational actors, consisting of the DG Competition and transnational business elite networks, were the driving forces behind the “neoliberalisation” of competition’.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

The European Commission's Fight against Cartels (1962–2014): A Retrospective and Forensic Analysis

Ordóñez-de-Haro

Borrell

Jiménez

2018

J of Common Market Studies

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On the basis of information collected from all the published European Commission's decisions in cartel cases between 1962 and 2014, this paper identifies different stages in the supra‐nationalization of cartel policy at the European Union (EU) level. It analyzes major competition policy reforms, strategies and initiatives taken by the European Commission (EC), and its relationship and interaction with Member States’ resistance and other policy players’ positions, which offers a new in‐depth study on the history and political economy of a key pillar of EU integration. It also provides a forensic analysis of the sanctioned cartels at each stage. This study shows that the introduction of the leniency programme was a critical juncture that allowed cartel authorities to identify cartels more effectively and to provide evidence for sanctioning collusion much more easily than before. This success was a key determinant for deepening the EU integration in competition policy. The intended drivers and the paradoxically unexpected shifters of such growing integration in cartel policy enforcement at the EU are discussed.

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

The European Commission's Fight against Cartels (1962–2014): A Retrospective and Forensic Analysis

Ordóñez-de-Haro

Borrell

Jiménez

2018

J of Common Market Studies

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“…However, there is a growing body of literature disproving that ordoliberalism has ever influenced EC/EU competition policy (Akman and Kassim, ; Karagiannis, ). Furthermore, in recent years, ordoliberal principles appear to have been replaced by neoliberalism (Buch‐Hansen and Wigger, , ) and efficiency‐enhancing rationale in EU competition policy (Riziotis, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Taking into consideration the most resounding victory of the Chicago School in US antitrust (Crane, ; Pera, ) and its continuing influence on US antitrust (Stucke, ), it is pertinent that the gap in literature is addressed. Second, if the Chicago School is understood as a specific component of neoliberalism (Van Horn and Mirowski, ), and considering the claims that EU competition policy is moving towards efficiency‐enhancing rationale and neoliberalism (Buch‐Hansen and Wigger, , ), analysis of the Commission's input in EU competition law from the perspective of the Chicago School appears to be relevant.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Influence of the Chicago School on the Commission's Guidelines, Notices and Block Exemption Regulations in EU Competition Policy

Bartalevich

2015

J of Common Market Studies

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Antitrust rules are fundamentally informed and shaped by economic theories. Given the significance of EU competition policy for the European integration process, it is essential to disentangle the economic theories underlying EU competition law. There is abundant theoretical and empirical literature examining the influence of ordoliberalism on EC/EU competition policy. However, in recent years, ordoliberal principles appear to have been replaced by neoliberalism and efficiency-enhancing rationale in EU competition policy. This article puts forward the idea of clarifying whether the European Commission incorporates Chicago School theory into EU competition law provisions. The analysis is carried out on the basis of the European Commission's guidelines, notices and block exemption regulations. The analysis reveals that the Commission does, to a considerable extent, follow the Chicago School theory. The elements of the Chicago School theory hold strongest in vertical practices; they are somewhat weaker in horizontal practices and in unilateral exclusionary conduct.

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“…As the liberal attitude of the European Union turned into the neoliberal credo at the end of the 1980s, competition policy too underwent a process of ''neoliberalization'' under the sign, as in the United States, of the Chicago revolution. The driving forces behind this process were a public-private alliance of transnational actors, consisting of the European Commission's Directorate General for Competition and transnational business elite networks, which put the competition policy at the service of the specific forms of capital accumulation of the new globalized neoliberal regime (Hansen & Wigger, 2010). Although the Treaty of Maastricht and Lisbon did not introduce substantive changes in antitrust law, the broader neoliberal discoursive shift has had important repercussions on the commission's enforcement strategies (Neven, 2006).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Competition Policy and Food Sector in the European Union

Sodano

Verneau

2014

Journal of International Food & Agribusiness Marketing

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The article reviews the enforcement of the EU competition policy in the food sector in order to evaluate its actual ability to promote a fair and efficient food supply. Competition policy is scrutinized stemming from the different perspectives offered by 3 antitrust schools, namely, the Harvard, the Chicago, and the post-Chicago Schools. The main finding of the article is that with reforms carried out in the 1990s, EU competition policy has followed the shift that occurred in the United States since the late 1970s from the traditionalist Harvard School to the Chicago and post-Chicago Schools of antitrust. The general effect of this shift has been a significant drop in antitrust enforcement and merger control activity. As a consequence, currently competition policy is not able to tackle the wide range of social and economic problems associated with the overwhelming power of large agrofood corporations

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Revisiting 50 years of market-making: The neoliberal transformation of European competition policy

Cited by 74 publications

References 28 publications

The European Commission's Fight against Cartels (1962–2014): A Retrospective and Forensic Analysis

The European Commission's Fight against Cartels (1962–2014): A Retrospective and Forensic Analysis

The Influence of the Chicago School on the Commission's Guidelines, Notices and Block Exemption Regulations in EU Competition Policy

Competition Policy and Food Sector in the European Union

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