Book Review: The Role of Economic Analysis in the EC Competition Rules, EC Competition Law
| Author | N.J. Philipsen |
| DOI | 10.1177/1023263X9900600406 |
| Published date | 01 December 1999 |
| Date | 01 December 1999 |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
Book Reviews
Do ris H ildeb rand , The Role o f Economic Analysis in the E C Competition
Rules, Kl uwer Law Inte rnat iona l, 19 98, x iv + 4 70 pag es, pa perb ack,
NL G 25 0, GB P 85 , U S$ 13 5.
D .G . G oyde r, EC C ompetition Law, T hird Ed itio n, C laren don Pre ss,
19 98, lx x + 6 28 p age s, p aperb ack.
Few attempts have been made to wri te a book on th e role of economic analysis in
competition policy which is accessible to lawyers not trained in economic theory. The
Ro le o f Econ omi c A nal ysis in th e E C Co mpet ition Ru les , wr itten by Hildebrand, is an
interesting exception to this. Having studied economics as well as international and
comparative law, Hildebrand integrates these disciplines in her study. In this b ook she
examines whether EC competition policy, as enforced by the European Commission and
the European Court o f Justice, can be related to mainstream economic theories. She
concludes that the use of economic analysis in EC competition policy is still in its
infancy, but is rapidly growing in importance. The same conclusion is reached by
Goyder, in th e third edition of his standard work EC Com petit ion La w, although his
research subject is br oader than that of Hildebrand. Goyder gives a comprehen sive
overview of the substantive law, as well as a thorough assessment o f th e history ,
development and effectiveness o f the EC competition policy. In both books th e subject
is limite d to th e competition rules applying to businesses, i .e. m ainly Articles 81 (ex
Article 85) and 82 (ex Article 86) of the Treat y of Rome and the Merger Regulation
4064/89.
In this review I will first give a short survey of th e contents o f the two b ooks. After
that, I wil l concentrate on two important topics in EC competition policy, which are
recognized by both authors. Th e first topic concerns the enormous workload of the
Commission, resulting from the notification system operated by DG IV .1 Here the
important question is whether the Commission should relax the curren t system of very
tight block exemptions, so allowing the creation of a system based on more case-specific
economic analysis. However, there has to be at least a clear set of guidelines on the
application of such economic analysis. The second topic concerns a discussion of the
growing role of economic analysis in EC competition p olicy. There have always been
large differences between lawyers and economists in their approach towards competition
issues. W hile economists in this field a re primarily concerned with the development of
ever more mathematical and more extensive models relating efficiency to competition,
lawyers examine the competiti on law as it is, mostly withou t questioning its content.
This has caused a gap between the competition theo ry of the economists and the pra ctice
of c ompetition law b y lawyers. Recent developments, stimulated by th e Merger Task
Force, will hopeful ly reduce this gap in the future.
1. DG IV is the Competition Directorate-General o f the European Commission. As of 1 January 2000 the
Directorate General will be known as th e Competition Directo rate General.
408 6 MJ 4 (1999)
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