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The municipality of Correntina (Bahia State, Brazil) was long populated by family farmers raising crops in the valleys and transhumant cattle on the plateaus. Since the 1970s, entrepreneurial agriculture has gradually taken over these plateaus. This article aims to study, from a coexistence-based perspective, the links between these two agrarian worlds (opportunity for wage labor, competition for land and irrigation water) which strongly influence agriculture in the valleys. Despite equivalent economic productivity per hectare, due to capital intensification for some and labor intensification for others, a gap in terms of agricultural income now separates the farms on the plateau from those in the valleys. La commune de Correntina (État de Bahia, Brésil) a longtemps été peuplée de petits agriculteurs familiaux pratiquant la culture dans les vallées et la transhumance sur les plateaux. Depuis les années 1970, l’agriculture entrepreneuriale s’est progressivement emparée de ces plateaux. Cet article cherche à étudier, dans une perspective de coexistence, les liens entre ces deux mondes agraires (opportunités de travail salarié, concurrence pour la terre et l’eau d’irrigation) qui influencent fortement l’agriculture des vallées. Malgré une productivité économique équivalente à l’hectare, en raison de l’intensification capitalistique pour les uns et de l’intensification du travail pour les autres, un écart en matière de revenus agricoles sépare désormais les exploitations des plateaux de celles des vallées. El municipio de Correntina (Estado de Bahía, Brasil), estuvo poblado durante mucho tiempo por pequeños agricultores familiares que practican el cultivo en los valles y la trashumancia en las mesetas. Desde los años 70 la agricultura empresarial se apropia, progresivamente, de estas últimas. Este artículo busca estudiar, bajo una perspectiva de coexistencia, los vínculos entre estos dos mundos agrarios (oportunidades de trabajo por cuenta ajena, competencia por la tierra y el agua de riego) que influencian considerablemente la agricultura en las mesetas. A pesar de una productividad económica equivalente a la hectárea, debido a la intensificación de capital, para unos, y de intensificación del trabajo, para otros, un desfase en materia de ingresos agrícolas separa actualmente las explotaciones de las mesetas y de los valles.

Przedstawiona w artykule socjologiczna perspektywa spojrzenia na własność nie jest jedyną możliwą ani dominującą w socjologii. Odwołuje się ona do teorii własności zaproponowanej przez Stanisława Kozyra-Kowalskiego, która przez własność rozumie stosunek gratisowego korzystania z obiektu, niezależnie od prawnego statusu własnościowego korzystającego. Własność komunalna jest jedną z form własności wspólnej, której dwie socjologicznie doniosłe teorie przedstawiono w artykule. Pierwsza z nich, znana jako teoria praw własności, dokonuje wartościowego socjologicznie rozróżnienia własności wspólnotowej i własności publicznej (państwowej), jako własności zasobów, z których każdy członek grupy może korzystać w dowolnym zakresie, oraz własności zasobów ograniczonych, z których korzystanie regulowane jest przez specjalnie do tego powołane ciała. Drugą prezentowaną teorią jest teoria własności komunalnej Floriana Znanieckiego. Jej zasługą jest uwypuklenie faktu, że własność wspólna charakteryzuje się gratisowym udostępnianiem wartości grupy jej członkom. Na przykładzie własności miejskiej pokazuje on, że opłaty pobierane na rzecz miasta przez jego urzędników lub zarządzane przez miasto instytucje nie mają na celu powiększania zysku miasta, lecz jedynie pokrycie kosztów świadczonych mieszkańcom usług. Za główną słabość obu teorii autor artykułu uznaje zakończenie analizy na poziomie własności publicznej (ogólnej lub grupowej) i nieuwzględnienie 1) procesów faktycznej prywatyzacji elementów tej własności przez prywatne podmioty ekonomiczne, 2) monopolizacji elementów tej własności przez mniejsze grupy obywateli miasta. Oba te procesy są przedmiotem analizy w ostatniej części artykułu. ***The sociological perspective in ownership analysis adopted by the author is neither the only one nor a dominant one in sociology. It refers to Stanisław Kozyr-Kowalski’s ownership theory according to which ownership means a free (i.e. unpaid) benefit from an object, no matter what the legal property status of the beneficiary. Communal ownership is a form of common ownership of which two sociologically valuable theories are presented in the paper. One, known as the property rights theory, makes a sociologically significant distinction between communal property and public (state) property. While the former is a property of resources that any member of the group can use without limits, the latter is a property of scarce resources, the use of which is regulated by specially nominated bodies. The other theory presented in the paper is Florian Znaniecki’s theory of municipal ownership. Its merit lies in emphasising the fact that common ownership means making group values freely accessible to its members. Using municipal ownership as an example he shows that fees charged by the city officers or municipally run institutions do not serve to multiply the profit of the city but only to cover the costs of services performed for the town dwellers. The principal weakness of both theories, according to the author of the paper, is closing the analysis on the level of public ownership (general or group), neglecting (i) the process of actual privatising its elements by private economic subjects, (ii) the process of monopolising its elements by smaller groups of city dwellers. Both are analysed in the last part of the paper.

The research “Multifactorial Assessment of Monopolisation Trends through the Analytical Prism of Price-Based Market Power and Business Cycle Fluctuation Quantitative Evaluation” provides a multi-perspective in-depth analysis of the nature, the occurrence sources, the development features and the conjuncture specifics of the modern process of monopolisation, assessed through the prism of coherent and multifactorial econometrical modelling. The main scope of the aforementioned research is devoted to further developing and significantly enhancing the previously introduced monopolisation trend quantitative analysis methodologies, developed by the Authors, (Skoruks et al, 2015a,b,c) through simultaneous consideration of the broader context of price volatility and the relevant external factors, existing at various stages of business cycle spiral development, which affect the conduct of internal economic processes within a defined relevant market. The conducted research provides an example of modern econometrical method application within a unified framework of market competition environment analysis for the purpose of conducting a quantitative monopolisation trend evaluation on a relevant market level, while simultaneously considering the business cycles-induced effects on pricing strategies, implemented by the supply-side market actors. The research results may be defined as a system of complex outcomes, which enable the taking of the next constituent step in monopolisation trend detecting, quantification and evaluation, while simultaneously developing an innovative indicator, which had proven to be highly complementary with, while remaining functionally independent of, the analytical systems, used in Authors’ previously developed methodologies, thus creating a positive synergetic effect in terms of the enhancing the functionality, implementation efficiency and outcome transparency of the conducted empirical research. The achieved level of methodological complementarity enables the possibility of establishing a unified approach to monopolisation phenomenon’s analysis and a holistic interpretation of its generated outcomes, thus creating common ground in terms of market inquiry conduction and positively contributing to generating an analytical consensus between both private market entities and public bodies in terms of business/investment activity strategic planning of the former becoming universally compliant with the regulatory action/intervention policy proportionality analysis of the latter. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ee.27.5.14921

This article reviews recent decisions and controversies surrounding the counterfactual test under section 36 of the New Zealand Commerce Act 1986. In 2010, the New Zealand Supreme Court in 0867 affirmed the counterfactual as the test to determine whether there has been a “use” of market power (the equivalent of monopolization under the Sherman Act, or abuse of dominance under Article 102 of the TFEU) for a proscribed purpose. The discussion traces the development of the section 36 counterfactual, and concludes that it is flawed and potentially under inclusive. It also compares it to the use of the counterfactual under the identical section 46 of the Australian Competition and Consumer Act 2010, which is used more flexibly. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Pharmaceutical companies use various strategies to protect their market monopoly. One of such practices is an acquisition of a patent developed by a third party. Such acquisitions allow pharmaceutical companies to strengthen their market power by extending the life of the product; for instance, by acquiring patents that cover alternative non-infringing versions of the monopolist’s own product, or acquiring the patent that covers an improvement of its current product. Both the US and EU case law condemn such practices as an abuse of monopoly power. This Article discusses patent acquisitions in the pharmaceutical industry focusing on two recent EU and US cases investigated by the competition authorities.

The prohibition against misuse of market power in section 46(1) of the CCA (and its identical predecessor in the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth)) has been the subject of ongoing debate, and numerous legislative reviews, throughout its 40-year history. A recurring issue considered by these reviews is whether the provision should be amended to incorporate an 'effects-based test', which would allow liability to be established on the basis of the effect of the impugned conduct on the competitive process in the relevant market. In 2015, the Harper Review became the first of these reviews to recommend the adoption of an 'effects-based test' and, in 2016, the government announced its intention to adopt this recommendation. The announcement remains controversial, praised by some as a long overdue 'strengthening' of the law, and criticised by others as protectionism for small businesses which would ultimately harm consumers. This dissertation addresses the question whether Australia should adopt an 'effects-based test' for misuse of market power. It does so in the context of the wider international debate about the appropriate standard for unilateral anticompetitive conduct, taking into account tests proposed for the characterisation of unilateral anticompetitive conduct in other jurisdictions, especially the United States and the European Union. It makes a comparative analysis of several 'profit-focused tests', including the existing Australian 'take advantage' test, and several 'effects-based tests', including the 'substantial lessening of competition' test proposed by the Harper Review. The respective proposals are evaluated in terms of their likely error costs, administrability and certainty. This dissertation argues that, despite the apparently intractable debate between advocates of profit-focused tests and advocates of effects-based tests, a common thread can be identified. Upon closer analysis, each of the proposals reveals a central concern, not with the actual effect of the conduct, nor with its profitability for the dominant firm, but with the objective purpose of the conduct. The dissertation concludes that a standard which expressly focuses on whether the impugned conduct had an 'objective anticompetitive purpose' is superior to both the profit-focused and effects-based approaches advocated to date.

In contrast to most of the European countries in the late 1990 and early 2000s, Norway monopolised the slot machine market in terms of making the 100% state-owned company, Norsk Tipping, to the only supplier of slot machines. Even though a lot of attention has been paid to the monopolisation at a European level, little is known about this process. To address this knowledge gap, this report will present the monopoly story as it has been told by different actors involved in the process: authorities, organisations, businesses, therapists, self-help groups, interest groups, researchers, and the press. The aim is to identify the factors influencing this process, both positively and negatively, and, as such, to reveal some of the structure of interests, knowledge and power that made the monopolisation possible. The research shows that the monopolisation of the Norwegian slot machine market is a story about a state and a company that know what they want—and take what they want, first of all by making use of the power that has been given to them through formal political channels, but also by making alliances with competent businesses and organisations working to combat a ‘shared enemy’: the private operators and the online businesses offering their games from abroad. Although many actors are worried about the development of the monopoly, they are positive about it insofar as it manages to keep the number of problem gamblers at a low level.

La thèse vise à examiner l’applicabilité des règles du droit de la concurrence, comme une solution alternative aux solutions existantes de la propriété intellectuelle dans le cas spécifique d'un de refus du titulaire d’un tel brevet. Sont étudiés: les solutions existantes, l'étendue de la protection conférée par un tel brevet, et si un tel refus du titulaire d’un brevet sur une séquence d’ADN est donc examiné en tant que pratique potentiellement répréhensible en vertu du droit de la concurrence., Doctorat en droit, info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

The history of public transport in Durban is characterised by a diverse set of socio-political forces that have shaped and styled its present form. Characterised by horse and cart driven coach modes of transport in the early colonial period, Durban’s transport systems’ transition to motorised forms has been founded on racial exclusionary measures that sought to sustain white monopoly over the economic sector at the expense of under-development of the vast majority of disenfranchised Blacks in the city. In its transport history different modes of conveyance were used and it rapidly adapted to motorised transport which placed Durban in the forefront of economic prosperity. To Durban’s credit its transport sector boasts to have made a transition from exotically human drawn rickshas, to an animal drawn tram which was later superseded by electric driven trams. Durban was the first province to have introduced the railway mode of transport which served as a foundation for its economic growth. Notwithstanding these achievements, both during colonialism and apartheid the transport sector excluded the majority of the Black populace in the city and even when it did include them strict racial separation was maintained. Under apartheid transport engineering was heightened to keep racial groups apart and Durban was the first city to respond to the notorious Group Areas Act which created racial enclaves in the form of townships for the different race groups. As consequence of such separationist human settlement patterns, the transport sector became costly, disconnected people from their homes and livelihoods, was fragmented and inefficient resulting in the emergence of transport monopolies both legal and illegal that capitalised on these deficiencies. It is against this context that this paper traces the historical evolution of Durban’s public transport system and the challenges it poses for the post-apartheid metropolitan government.

International audience; The waves occurring in different coastal locations can be seen as “natural materiality”. These are likely to attract interest when they are considered as of high quality for surfers. This study of the different ways such waves are appropriated offers a good way of understanding these processes. Three types of appropriation procedures are identified all linked to different ways of benefiting from them. These are political, economic, or having to do with identity politics. Thus, by taking into account varying geographical characteristics, the wishes of those who practice surfing, and the attempts at regularisation, we find that the waves used for surfing can be made a part of “heritage” (this is the main concern here), or they can be monopolised in order to restrict access for particular people or they can simply be privatised for commercial purposes. These three types of uses show how an identical phenomenon, in this case waves, can, because of different types of appropriation, serve different ends. Three episodes of field work furnish the data for these cases.; Les vagues des rivages côtiers, entendues comme «matérialités naturelles», dont la visibilité tient principalement à leur qualité supposée pour la pratique du surf, constituent un bon moyen d’identifier les procédures d’appropriation différenciées. Trois processus d’appropriation des vagues sont identifiés, renvoyant chacun à des profits escomptés différents, d’ordre tantôt politique, tantôt économique, tantôt «identitaire». En effet, selon les territoires et les configurations spatiales d’une part puis les volontés des pratiquants et /ou les modes de régulation d’autre part, les vagues de surf peuvent à la fois être «patrimonialisées» aux fins d’identification territoriale (cas principalement étudié), monopolisées plus ou moins exclusivement aux fins de maintien d’une forme d’entre soi ou encore purement et simplement privatisées aux fins de profits économiques. Ces trois entrées, constituées autour de «cas» issus de terrains variés permettent d’insister sur le fait que les processus d’appropriation d’un support identique (la vague) peuvent engager des finalités totalement divergentes.

Celem artykułu jest przegląd światowego dorobku naukowego z ostatnich kilkunastu lat w zakresie przejrzystości oraz polityki komunikacyjnej banków centralnych zarówno w zakresie zagadnień teoretycznych, jak i prowadzonych badań empirycznych. Praca składa się ze wstępu, trzech części oraz podsumowania. Na wstępie przedstawiono wybrane definicje przejrzystości polityki pieniężnej zawarte w najważniejszych pracach naukowych poświęconych tej tematyce. Następnie wskazany został zestaw instrumentów poprawiających politykę komunikacyjną. W ostatniej części przedstawiono najważniejsze badania prowadzone w ciągu ostatnich kilkunastu lat w kraju i na świecie, których głównym celem było określenie związku pomiędzy przejrzystością polityki pieniężnej a kształtowaniem się cen i oczekiwań na rynku finansowym. Szczególną uwagę zwrócono także na badania, których zadaniem było porównywanie gospodarek światowych w obszarze transparentności polityki monetarnej za pomocą specjalnie do tego stworzonych indeksów. ***This paper aims to review the existing body of research, both theoretical and empirical, conducted in the last fifteen years on the transparency and communication policies of central banks. In the first section, selected definitions of the transparency of the a monetary policy proposed in leading academic papers on the topic are presented. Further sections present a set of instruments which can improve the communication policy. The last section presents the most important research conducted in the last decade or so in Poland and abroad with the main objective of determining the relationship between a transparent monetary policy and the development of prices and expectations of the financial market. Particular emphasis was placed on research aimed at comparing different economies in terms of transparency of their monetary policies using transparency indices specifically developed for this purpose.

The paper characterises the building blocks of a framework to enforce antipredation rules and subsequently evaluates selected enforcement options in a Cournot-type duopoly predation model. Differentiating between a no rule approach, an ex ante approach and two ex post approaches, it is shown that an ex post approach typically maximises overall welfare. However, an ex ante approach can be the preferred option in cases where the entrant has a large cost advantage over the incumbent.

While the European Commission have imposed a huge fine on Intel (almost €1.07 billion) for having abused of its dominance on the microprocessor's industry, US antitrust authorities seem much more reluctant to settle suits brought by AMD - the Intel's sole serious competitor on this market - in the same way. Our present purpose is to analyze the reasons likely to explain those transatlantic divergences in competition policies relative to fidelity rebates granted by dominant undertakings., La condamnation d'Intel, leader mondial des microprocesseurs, pour abus de position dominante par la Commission européenne le 13 mai 2009 met en exergue la question des possibilités d'éviction de firmes concurrentes par des politiques de remises de fidélité menées par un opérateur dominant. S'il apparaît comme tout à fait possible au point de vue théorique d'exclure du marché, au travers d'une telle politique commerciale, des concurrents au moins aussi efficaces que l'entreprise dominante, il n'en demeure pas moins que le cas Intel témoigne de fortes divergences entre les différentes autorités nationales de la concurrence quant au traitement de telles affaires. En effet, si Intel a d'ores-et-déjà fait l'objet de condamnations au Japon, en Corée du Sud et maintenant par l'Union européenne, la situation est bien moins claire dans le cas américain. L'absence de réaction de la division Antitrust du Département de la Justice s'explique en fait par la prédominance d'une conception des plus précautionneuses quant au traitement des pratiques unilatérales des entreprises dominantes. Il s'agit donc dans cet article d'analyser les faits reprochés à Intel et de s'attacher à expliquer les fondements théoriques des différences de réactions des autorités de la concurrence de part et d'autre de l'Atlantique.

The paper develops a framework to enforce anti-predation rules that explicitly takes the intervention stage into account. In particular, it is proposed to improve predation enforcement by focusing on two channels: refining the current regime, and amending it. With respect to the refinement of the current predation enforcement regime, criteria for the imposition of optimal gain- or harm-based fines are derived in order to sharpen the deterrent effect of predation enforcement. However, given the very low probability of conviction for predators a policy proposal solely based on an increase in the fines for detected and convicted predators might be too weak to significantly amplify the deterrence effect in particular and to improve predation enforcement in general. As a consequence, the introduction of a pre-screening approach is proposed, which aims at identifying industries in which entry is difficult but desirable and a predation strategy might be a suitable instrument for an incumbent to fight such occasional entry attempts. In those industries, it is advisable to reduce the high standard of proof in predation enforcement, as its basic justification - the danger to create a negative deterrence effect - is significantly reduced.

In order to cater for the predicted growth in global population and aspirations for increased living standards, the world needs to increase substantially its level of agricultural production and sustain agriculture’s increased productivity. New technologies may enable this to occur but they also bring with them increased sustainability problems. There are many complex dimensions to achieving agricultural sustainability such as deciding on what agricultural attributes are worth sustaining and considering what trade-offs in objectives are required. These issues are discussed from a conceptual point of view. It is also shown using economic theory that market-based agriculture limits the opportunity for individual farmers to adopt sustainable agricultural techniques because of competitive economic pressures. It is argued that while modern agricultural methods and increased inter-regional trade have substantially increased agricultural supplies, they have also exacerbated the problem of sustaining agricultural production and yields and have had a disequilibrating effect on rural communities. Although genetic engineering is seen by some as a way forward for increasing agricultural production, it is shown that GMOs do not ensure sustainability of agricultural production and that they can be a source of rural disharmony and can threaten the sustainability of farming communities. Extension of intellectual property rights in new genetic material in recent times, particularly the granting of patents not only on techniques for producing GMOs but on the organisms themselves, have added to sustainability problems faced by modern agriculture.

Accès en ligne : http://www.ceri-sciences-po.org/cerifr/publica/etude/etude.php (barrière mobile d'1 an après parution); L'étude propose d'analyser les liens complexes entre standardisation et régulation des marchés de téléphonie mobile selon une perspective d'économie politique tenant compte, dans une perspective schumpetérienne, des déséquilibres de marché et des phénomènes monopolistiques associés à l'innovation. Elle vise d'abord à souligner, pour les différentes générations de réseaux (de 0 G à 4G), la particularité de cette industrie en matière de retour sur investissement, et le rôle clé que tient la standardisation des réseaux dans la structuration du marché. Cette variable-clé du standard explique en grande partie la rente qu'a représenté le GSM dans les dynamiques industrielles et financières du secteur. L'étude explore ainsi les relations entre les politiques de normalisation, qui ne sont évidemment ni le seul fait d'acteurs publics ni de simples règles de propriété industrielle, et les politiques de régulation du secteur (attribution de licences, règles de concurrence, etc.). Elle souligne que les vingt-cinq dernières années rendent de plus en plus complexes les configurations d'expertise, et accroissent les interdépendances entre entrepreneurs de réseaux, normalisateurs et régulateurs. Dans une perspective proche de celle de Fligstein, qui met en avant différentes dimensions institutionnelles de la structuration du marché (politiques concurrentielles, règles de propriété industrielle, rapports salariaux, institutions financières), il s'agit donc ici de souligner les relations d'interdépendance entre diverses sphères d'activité fortement institutionnalisées.

This study discusses the effects of the Automated Teller Machine (ATM) network market structure on the availability of cash withdrawal ATM services and cash usage. The aim and novelty of the study is to construct the ATM equation. The study also contributes to the earlier discussion on the effects of ATMs on cash usage. The monopolisation of ATM network market structure and its effects on the number of ATMs and on cash in circulation are analysed both theoretically and empirically. The unique annual data set on 20 countries used in the estimations has been combined from various data sources. The observation period is 1988–2003, but the data on some countries are available only for a shorter period. Based on our theoretical discussion, as well as the estimation results, monopolisation of the ATM network market structure is associated with a smaller number of ATMs. Furthermore, the influence of the number of ATMs on cash in circulation is ambiguous.

Rasmusen et al. (1991) and Segal and Whinston (2000) show that an incumbent monopolist might prevent entry of a more efficient competitor by exploiting externalities among buyers. We show that their results hold only when downstream competition among buyers is weak. Under fierce downstream competition, if entry took place, a free buyer would become more competitive and increase its output and profits at the expense of buyers that sign an exclusive deal with the incumbent. Anticipating that orders from a single buyer would trigger entry, no buyer will sign the exclusive deal and entry will occur. This result is robust across different specifications of the game. (JEL: K21, L12, L42)

This is the first book to provide a systematic treatment of the economics of antitrust (or competition policy) in a global context. It draws on the literature of industrial organisation and on original analyses to deal with such important issues as cartels, joint-ventures, mergers, vertical contracts, predatory pricing, exclusionary practices, and price discrimination, and to formulate policy implications on these issues. The interaction between theory and practice is one of the main features of the book, which contains frequent references to competition policy cases and a few fully developed case studies. The treatment is written to appeal to practitioners and students, to lawyers and economists. It is not only a textbook in economics for first year graduate or advanced undergraduate courses, but also a book for all those who wish to understand competition issues in a clear and rigorous way. Exercises and some solved problems are provided.

L’étude porte sur la doctrine des « facilités » essentielles en droit de la concurrence. Selon la doctrine des « facilités » essentielles, une entreprise possédant une installation, un service ou une infrastructure importante et unique, peut être astreinte à donner accès à cette « facilité » à d’autres entreprises qui, sans pareil accès, ne sauraient exercer leurs activités sur le marché concerné. Le but du présent article est de brosser un tableau général de la doctrine en comparant son application en droit américain et en droit européen de la concurrence. L’article examine les raisons qui ont conduit à l’élaboration de la doctrine et son application par la Cour suprême et les juridictions inférieures américaines, les conditions de son application aux États-Unis, ainsi que la place importante occupée par les cas impliquant des droits de propriété intellectuelle. L’auteur examine ensuite la doctrine à l’aune du droit européen, en attirant l’attention sur les différences principales entre les ordres juridiques, ainsi que sur les controverses soulevées par son application en Europe. L’auteur termine par la question de la nécessité et de la légitimité de la doctrine dans les deux ordres juridiques concernés., This study deals with the essential facilities doctrine in competition law. The purpose of the doctrine is to impose upon an undertaking in possession of an important and unique facility a duty to give access to the facility to other undertakings which cannot pursue their own activity without such access. The article aims at comparing the highlights of the doctrine under US and EU competition law. It analyses how the doctrine emerged and has been applied by the Supreme Court and the lower courts in the United States, which conditions trigger the duty to give access under US law and the importance of the cases involving intellectual property rights. The author turns then to examine in the same way the doctrine under EU competition law, stressing the main differences with the US and the principal controversies raised by its application in Europe. The author concludes by addressing the question of the necessity and legitimacy of the doctrine under both legal systems.