Again a fantastic conference Antitrust, Regulation and the Political Economy, many thanks for putting together this stellar line-up Cristina Caffarra! Special thanks also to my co-panelists Andrea Coscelli, Tommaso Valletti, Barry Lynn Open Markets Institute, John Mark Newman and Rod Sims for our stimulating exchange.

Bruno Pellegrino (Bruno Pellegrino): Hybrid IO-macroeconomic view: need to look across many different sectors. Network theory of market power- an economy is a network made up of nodes (products). Distribution of centrality in the network indicates concentration Cristina Caffarra

Aviv Nevo (FTC): “We don’t need less economics, but more”. Right kind of economics to organise thinking. We need a “modern” view that looks at a wider set of theories of harm, not just short term price effects. Cristina Caffarra #BruxConf2023

Aviv Nevo: complex models deliver insight - cases rarely lost on theory but lack of evidence & data. Need facts to convince courts. Call to arms - need folks to come & fight in the trenches “take off your fancy suits”!@Caffar3Cristina #BruxConf2023

Susan Athey (Susan Athey): Modern economic thinking is crucial. Helps frame and investigate complicated conduct smartly. This thinking is infused in the new guidelines. Echoes Aviv Nevo who was earlier on the panel. Cristina Caffarra #BruxConf2023

Susan Athey (Susan Athey): need to 1) Recognise common fact patterns;2) monopsony power a live concern;3) explain why market definition is less meaningful in some areas, but helpful to focus attention on harmful conduct. Cristina Caffarra #BruxConf2023

Pierre Régibeau: Existing modern economics offer a rich set of tools. Nothing new about killer acquisitions. 1) New concern in tech is really “early acquisitions”. 2) conglomerate theories of harm- needs numerical evidence. Cristina Caffarra #BruxConf2023

Sarah Cardell (Competition & Markets Authority): Need to assess both dynamic competition & potential competition. Analysis needs to be grounded in commercial reality. Labels (eg flywheel etc) don’t matter. Inherently a judgement that needs to be made. Cristina Caffarra #BruxConf2023

Coming up: A conversation with Ken Buck (Rep. Ken Buck) and Marco Iansiti (Marco Iansiti) discussing Online Harms, AI & Democracy Cristina Caffarra #BruxConf2023

“Making Big Tech Better vs Making it Smaller:Will Antitrust or Regulation Get There First?”-Ken Paxton (Attorney General Ken Paxton), Stéphanie Yon-Courtin (Stéphanie Yon-Courtin), Cory Doctorow (Cory Doctorow NONCONSENSUAL BLUE TICK), Alberto Bacchiega, Ariel Ezrachi (Ariel Ezrachi), Filomena Chirico (Filomena Chirico) Cristina Caffarra

Stéphanie Yon-Courtin (Stéphanie Yon-Courtin): DMA/DSA telling big tech what they can do or not. “It’s over” for them. #elon_musk must respect the rules. But don’t count your chickens before they hatch- could #bigtech’s new practises be harmful? Cristina Caffarra #BruxConf2023

Alberto Bacchiega: Either antitrust and regulation will make #bigtech better together or no-one will get there. Will be judged by businesses and consumers - if no impact then will have failed Cristina Caffarra #BruxConf2023

Cory Doctorow (Cory Doctorow NONCONSENSUAL BLUE TICK) things have got worse - digital platform economics: consumers locked in > surplus transferred to business users > but then to shareholders. Surplus reallocation = Facebook “inshitification” Cristina Caffarra #BruxConf2023

Ariel Ezrachi (Ariel Ezrachi): ex ante regulation = “aiming ahead of the duck”. Focus should NOT be on symptoms.Innovation mentioned all the time but very difficult to predict - retain qualitative approach as millions also spent on toxic innovation Cristina Caffarra #BruxConf2023

Final concluding fireside chat now with Olivier Guersent Cristina Caffarra #BruxConf2023

Olivier Guersent will cover : 1) competition policy and other policies 2) #dmadsa 3) changes in merger control. Cristina Caffarra #BruxConf2023

Olivier Guersent : competition policy can help but not substitute for industrial policy. Continuing the ducks metaphor, Antitrust is like shooting ducks of yesterday. Cristina Caffarra #bruxconf2023

Olivier Guersent: what defines the transactions of tomorrow are transactions below notification thresholds. Article 22 most economical way to achieve flexibility on these thresholds without additional burden on firms Cristina Caffarra #bruxconf2023

Olivier Guersent explained second challenge in mergers: remedies must be more demanding and rigorous. There’s a continuum. Quasi-structural remedies may be preferred to prohibition - not ashamed by Google/Fitbit remedies Cristina Caffarra #BruxConf2023

That’s all for this year’s #BruxConf2023. Thank you to everyone who attended and watched on the live stream. Cristina Caffarra