Rising to the challenge of competition enforcement in digital markets

Regulation and competition enforcement in digital markets are hot topics as regulators become increasingly concerned about the market power and growing influence of large digital platforms. Philip Marsden shares his thoughts on how best to deal with anticompetitive conduct and transactions in digital markets and the role the OECD can play in designing effective rules and enforcement initiatives.

From “DeFi summer” to “crypto winter”: leverage, liquidations and policy implications

Decentralised Finance or ‘DeFi’ is the latest development in the crypto-asset space, and claims the potential to replicate the traditional financial system in an open, decentralised, permissionless and autonomous way, through applications built on the blockchain. Given the rapid growth of DeFi and commensurate risks, OECD’s Iota Nassr highlights why policy makers need to monitor this market closely and eventually take action to mitigate emerging risks.

The important role of competition authorities in promoting competitive neutrality

The competition policy community often focuses on the actions of companies, but the state may also adopt measures that significantly distort the competitive landscape. In the run-up to the 2021 Global Forum on Competition, the OECD’s Jordi Calvet Bademunt and Sophie Flaherty analyse how state intervention can affect competitive neutrality and the main tools available to competition authorities to help ensure a level playing field.

What can economics contribute to abuse of dominance investigations?

Any investigation by competition authorities of an alleged case of abuse of dominance by firms with substantial market power will be informed, at least in some part, by economics. OECD’s Richard May explores the role economics plays in competition enforcement and highlights some of the complexities and options relating to its effective use in the run-up to the 2021 Global Forum on Competition.

How can AI enhance market supervision and integrity?

Digital technologies and data – including Artificial Intelligence (AI) – hold the potential to automate and thus improve the efficiency and effectiveness of regulatory, supervisory and enforcement activities, which have become increasingly complex in recent years. Looking at the most common uses of supervisory technology (SupTech) by competition authorities, securities regulators and anti-corruption agencies to date, the OECD’s Emeline Denis identifies associated benefits, risks and challenges, and outlines considerations for devising adequate SupTech strategies across policy areas