Digital content and services providers like Alphabet (formerly Google) or Facebook have become an indispensable part of our everyday lives and are among the highest valued firms in the economy as a whole. Most digital markets are characterized by direct and indirect network effects and therefore also by so-called two-sided platforms. To date it is not clear to how much market power these firms actually possess, which is a prerequisite for a possible policy intervention. The authors discuss measuring market power within the existing European legal framework and propose new legal rules in the field of digital markets. As the limitations of current instruments such as the SSNIP test point out, new approaches for the analysis of markets in the context of Internet-based platforms are necessary.
In the current issue of the Journal for Economic Policy (Wirtschaftsdienst), Professor Krämer has commented, among other experts, on the challenges of competition policy in the context of digital markets. In particular, he addresses the challenges that arise in assessing market power in digital markets.
The full article (in German) can be read here: https://ftdwirtschaftswunder.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/zeitgesprc3a4ch-4-2016.pdf
The full issue is available (for free within the university network) via SpringerLink here: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10273-016-1964-6
Reference:
Jan Krämer, Ralf Dewenter, Daniel Zimmer, Iris Henseler-Unger, René Arnold, Christian Hildebrandt, Günter Knieps, Wettbewerbspolitik in der digitalen Wirtschaft, Wirtschaftsdienst, 96(4), 231-248, DOI 10.1007/s10273-016-1964-6