Market power – the root of all evil? A comparative analysis of the concepts of market power, dominance and monopolisation

Abstract

The chapter looks at the concept of market power, through the statutes and case law interpretation in three jurisdictions, the US, the EU and Australia in relation to unilateral conduct. It establishes that despite same economic base the three jurisdictions have different understanding of the concept and what is sufficient market power for a conduct to be illegal. The result is thus that a company can perform a certain conduct in one jurisdiction, but not in another. In short, the chapter looks upon market power anew and argues that given the close relationship market power holds with the concept of abuse and anticompetitive effects, the assessment of market power should be linked to the type of abuse, although in comparison to previous research should remain separate from the anticompetitive effects assessment. This suggestion is a new and original, if not world-leading approach to the subject of market power within competition law. The findings of the chapter are of great significance to the understanding of market power and its interpretation also from a global perspective