Neither the law nor economics are value-neutral sciences. If we are to understand why and how competition laws operate in a certain way in an individual jurisdiction, we need to understand the underlying values and belief systems that inform and shape its design and enforcement.

In this episode, we are joined by Slaughter & May Professor of Competition Law and Director of the Centre for Competition Law and Policy at the University of Oxford, Ariel Ezrachi.

Ariel shares his insights on the values that underpin European competition policy and law, the ways in which they inform the pluralistic objectives of the law and affect its enforcement.  In the course of the discussion, not surprisingly, the Bundeskartellamt’s decision in relation to Facebook’s data practices comes up.

Here are two of Ariel’s recent papers in which you can read more of his thinking on these issues:

EU Competition Law Goals and the Digital Economy, 2018

Sponge, 2016

Other papers by Ariel, many relevant to issues raised by competition in digital markets, can be found here. And I highly recommend his recent book, co-authored with one of our other guests on the podcast, Professor Maurice Stucke (episodes 1 and 5), Virtual Competition: The Promise and Perils of the Algorithm Driven Economy (HUP, 2016).

Featuring regular cut-through interviews with leading thinkers, movers and shakers, Competition Lore is a podcast series that engages us all in a debate about the transformative potential and risks of digitalised competition.

Join Caron Beaton-Wells, Professor in Competition Law at the University of Melbourne, to tackle what it means to participate as a competitor, consumer or citizen in a digital economy and society.

Competition Lore is produced by Written & Recorded.