US Competitiveness Research Articles

Predatory pricing in platform markets: a modified test for firms within the scope of Article 3 of the DMA and super-dominant platform firms under Article 102 TFEU

ABSTRACT The paper examines predatory pricing in the context of two-sided digital platforms, arguing that traditional tests based on Average Variable Cost (AVC) may be inadequate for these markets. While predatory pricing by dominant firms is prohibited in both EU and US competition law, the current standards may not effectively capture predatory behavior in platform markets characterized by strong network effects and low marginal costs. The paper analyses cases where cross-subsidization between platform sides had predatory elements and resulted in findings of abuse of dominant position. Given platforms' unique characteristics, it proposes a modified test under Article 102 TFEU for super-dominant platforms and those within the scope of Article 3 of Digital Markets Act's scope. The proposal extends the Akzo test by presuming prices below Average Total Cost (ATC) to be abusive, rather than using AVC, with LRAIC as a proxy for ATC. This addresses the current test's limitations for low marginal cost businesses while allowing for objective justification.

For growth or equity: a taxonomy of ‘Bidenomics’ place-based policies and implications for US regional inequality

ABSTRACT Emerging US place-based policies aim to maintain US competitiveness and address widening regional inequalities simultaneously. However, scholarly debates question whether such logics can be reconciled within place-based policy agendas. This article identifies 33 place-based policies in recent US legislation and categorises each across a novel four-part policy taxonomy. Using multimethod qualitative analysis the study classifies programmes by primary strategic intent (growth or equity) and by primary scale of focus (regional or national). It contributes to regional policy debates by describing emerging US place-based policy designs in detail, and by estimating implications of the US’s place-based policy resurgence for long-run regional inequalities.

Competition policy and agent discretion: transatlantic regulatory cooperation in the digital economy

ABSTRACT Despite a framework of bilateral agreements governing cooperation in competition policy since 1991, the European Union (EU) and United States of America (US) established a new Joint Technology Competition Policy Dialogue in 2021, which was different from previous cooperation and separate from the transatlantic Trade and Technology Council. Drawing from the principal-agent literature, this article argues that the choice to establish the new Joint Dialogue can be understood as an exercise of discretionary authority by agents in different jurisdictions with similar preferences who responded similarly to the common external factor of digitalisation. Facing new and shared challenges arising from the digital economy, the EU and US competition authorities undertook a new effort at cooperation – the Joint Dialogue – through which regulatory agents at various levels can interact, exchange information and improve enforcement in a rapidly changing business environment.

Geopolitical Kingmakers: South Korea and the Philippines as Linchpins amid the China–US Competition

Abstract South Korea and the Philippines hold pivotal geopolitical positions amidst escalating tensions between the USA and China. Both Seoul and Manila find themselves ensnared in the expanding rivalry between these great powers, subjecting them to numerous strategic challenges amid the prevailing regional status quo of instability. Despite their efforts to maintain a delicate balance, often characterized as hedging behavior, the space available for such maneuvering is diminishing, compelling them toward perilous geopolitical alignments. Therefore, this paper seeks to address the following questions: How does the shrinking space to hedge influence the alignment strategies of South Korea and the Philippines? How do their alignment choices impact the geopolitical dynamics of the China–US strategic competition? It argues that as this space contracts, they possess the capability to significantly influence the regional balance of power through their alignment, which we frame as the kingmaker’s role and the power of the weak paradox. Seoul, navigating the complex dynamics of the Korean Peninsula, must carefully weigh its commitments to both Washington and Beijing, particularly in light of ongoing developments with North Korea. Meanwhile, Manila, in the aftermath of the Duterte administration’s alignment oscillations, has sought to establish a clearer strategic direction largely influenced by tensions in the South China Sea. Both are now increasingly tacking hard toward Washington for security assurances and have acknowledged economic security anxieties concerning their links with Beijing. Furthermore, they are placing greater emphasis on upholding the rules-based international order amid growing global uncertainties.

US trade policy and the US dollar

We show that the US dollar response to trade policy uncertainty (TPU) is key to assessing the impact of US trade policy. Employing structural vector autoregressive models, we find that TPU shocks supported a multilateral USD appreciation during the 2018–19 trade tensions between the US and some of its major trading partners. We rationalize this in a two-country New Keynesian model with financial frictions that links the increase in TPU to rising demand for safe USD assets. Our findings suggest that the TPU-induced appreciation of the USD in 2018–19 significantly counteracted US trade policy attempts to raise US competitiveness.

US Protectionism and Competition with China

US Protectionism and Competition with China

The ‘China Threat’: Stereotypical representations in the US competition with China

AbstractWhen Donald Trump was elected, the idea of the ‘China Threat’ gained popularity. Nonetheless, this was not a novelty. From the early nineties, when the country consolidated its economic growth, concern had begun to spread that China would convert its economic resources into a military force to turn against the US. This article explores whether the concept of the China Threat may have been influenced by stereotypical representations rooted in US academic thinking and shared at the government level. The analysis proceeds by adopting a three-stage approach. First, it draws a theoretical framework that intertwines a constructivist perspective from IR theory with social psychology, referring to Social Representations Theory and theories of stereotypes. Second, while focusing on the expressions ‘Thucydides’ Trap’ and ‘New Cold War’, it describes how the China Threat has been elaborated in the US scholarly agenda. Finally, it discusses how the China Threat has found an outlet especially in the Trump administration’s narrative.

Pro-liberalism vs. Nationalism: how critical opinion leaders challenge the persuasive effect of propaganda in China

In Chinese cyberspace, mass media and opinion leaders struggle over socio-political discourses. While the former propagates positive views on national policies, the latter often expresses dissenting opinions that challenge authoritarian rule. In the context of China–US competition, do citizens still perceive non-state sources as more credible? Taking the Belt and Road Initiative as the issue, this experimental study investigates how Chinese netizens process conflicting information from a government-owned news agency and two opinion leaders with varying levels of source credibility. Our findings reveal that high-credibility propagandistic news is effective, whereas low-credibility propaganda is not. Furthermore, an opinion leader perceived as independent surpasses government propaganda in influence, regardless of information credibility. However, when an opinion leader is perceived as backed by a rival nation, the former’s influence is counterproductive unless their message credibility exceeds that of propaganda. This study sheds light on the prevalence of nationalistic sentiment in China, which has raised concerns about the manipulation of Chinese netizens by hostile forces.

The Political Influence of US and China Vaccine Competition in Southeast Asia on Potential New Security Issues for ASEAN Countries

Vaccine competition between the United States and China in Southeast Asia has been potential to create new security problems for ASEAN member states. Based on the constructivism perspective and Regional Security Complex Theory (RSC), this article analyses the relationships between the identity and interest of both states, US and China, who took certain policies and engaged in the vaccine competition in the Southeast Asian region. China with the political manoeuvre and US with the humanitarian endeavour in their narration, both had interests in terms of economic, politics, also geopolitics through their assistance to ASEAN countries. The authors argue that new security problems, such as the rising unemployment rates, the declining GDP, and the new pandemic wave, caused by this competition are the result of the absence of collective identity of ASEAN countries. Instead of prioritizing their collective identity as a regional community and forming regional security complex, ASEAN countries tend to respond by prioritizing their respective national interests. Therefore, this article offers the recipes where ASEAN member state should establish their collective identity, such as supporting the development of ASEAN vaccines in Vietnam and Thailand or establishing the ASEAN pharmaceutical company designates as the regional vaccine research and development site.

Still (at least) one decade behind: US competition policy in the healthcare industry

Journal Article Still (at least) one decade behind: US competition policy in the healthcare industry Get access Barak D Richman Barak D Richman School of Law, Duke University, Durham, NC, USAClinical Excellence Research Center, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, USA Corresponding author: E-mail: richman@law.duke.edu Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Journal of Antitrust Enforcement, jnad035, https://doi.org/10.1093/jaenfo/jnad035 Published: 20 June 2023

Asymmetrical discursive competition: China–United States digital diplomacy in Africa

This article examines China–US competition for narratives by analyzing whether and how Chinese and American diplomats engage each other in routine diplomatic outreach to African audiences on Twitter. Drawing on case studies of Kenya and South Africa, our study uncovers “asymmetrical discursive competition”—Chinese diplomatic accounts selectively launch discursive attacks (both defensive and offensive) on the United States, while the US diplomatic accounts tend to ignore China. We further find that in invoking the United States, Chinese diplomats largely bypass Africa and African issues, and instead, focus on contesting larger claims about China's legitimacy.

Jabatan Rangkap Dalam Hukum Persaingan Usaha Di Indonesia Dan Amerika Serikat

Under the Indonesian Competition Law, interlocking directorate in companies is not absolutely prohibited. This is in contrast to the US Competition Law which prohibits it per se. Nevertheless, the enforcement of competition law for cases relating to interlocking directorate held in the two countries have similarities, namely that it is necessary to prove should there be any impacts on competition. For this reason, this research was conducted by proposing two questions, namely, first, how is the regulation of interlocking directorate in Indonesian and the US Competition Law? Second, how is the enforcement of competition law in regards to interlocking directorate in Indonesia and the US? This normative legal research uses statutory, conceptual, case, and comparative law approaches to answer the question. This study concludes that the US applies the per se illegal approach, whereas Indonesian Competition Law applies the rule of reason approach. However, in the application of the rule of reason approach in Indonesia, it was identified that there was a non-uniformity in the considerations of the Commission Council and KPPU's Decisions for cases of interlocking directorate. The non-uniformity referred to is related to whether or not there has been a violation of the prohibition of interlocking directorate and its impact on unfair competition. Even though the US uses the per se illegal approach, its application still causes controversy because there is a court opinion stating that proof of impact or contrary to all provisions of competition law is required for a violation of interlocking directorate.

Still (At Least) One Decade Behind: US Competition Policy in the Healthcare Industry

Still (At Least) One Decade Behind: US Competition Policy in the Healthcare Industry

Comparative Analysis of US, EU, and India's Competition Law: Study of Per Se Rule and Rule of Reason

Comparative Analysis of US, EU, and India's Competition Law: Study of Per Se Rule and Rule of Reason

The competition-democracy nexus unpacked—competition law, republican liberty, and democracy

Abstract The proposition that competitive markets and competition law promote democracy constitutes a fundamental normative prior, if not a foundational myth, of US and EU competition law. This article purports to unpack this notion of a competition-democracy nexus. It argues that the idea of a competition-democracy nexus can only be explained by the normative commitment to a specific understanding of liberty: namely, the republican concept of liberty as non-domination. On this basis, the article makes three contributions. First, on a conceptual level, it is the first to pin down a clear and theoretically consistent answer to the question of how competition and competition law further democracy. Second, on a historical level it traces how iterations of the ideal of republican liberty and the associated notion of a competition-democracy nexus shaped competition law in the US and Europe and why both disappeared from our modern competition law landscape. The third contribution is practical. The article sheds light on how the ideal of republican liberty and the competition-democracy nexus can be operationalised through concrete competition law tools and how they could inform ongoing debates on the future of competition law in light of the current challenges posed by the rise of industry concentration notably in digital markets. A revival of the idea of a competition-democracy nexus, the article concludes, must not inevitably conflict with a consumer-oriented competition policy, but requires a radical rethink of the role of competition law.

Fight Outcomes In Mixed Martial Arts (mma) From 1991-2021: An Analysis Of 107,227 Competitions

Although MMA rules and regulations are similar around the world, they can vary by state, country, and organization. State athletic commissions sanction US-based events, while a governing body of the host nation typically sanctions international events. Accordingly, MMA athletes may have a differential injury risk based on where they fight or the organization for whom they fight. PURPOSE: To determine the distribution of fight outcomes, if outcome distribution varies among US and international organizations, and if major rule changes in US-based organizations have changed the distribution of fight outcomes. METHODS: We extracted data from the ESPN MMA database for fights that occurred between September 1991 and October 2021, capturing 115,512 fights. Fights that did not have a time (7045), round number (147), had rounds greater than five min (1091), or had more than five rounds (2) were removed, leaving 107,227 fights for analysis. When comparing organizations, we used four US (UFC, Bellator, Strikeforce, Invicta) and six international (ONE, Pride, Rizin, Pancrase, M-1 Global, Fight Night) organizations (30,510) and three US-based organizations when comparing pre- and post-adoption of the Unified Rules of MMA (UFC, Bellator, Strikeforce; 18,238). RESULTS: Fights were stopped due to submission (32.5%) or ended in decision (30.5%) most frequently, with knockout (6.3%), technical KO (19.0%), and KO/TKO (9.9%) comprising 35.2% of fight stoppages. When comparing US and international organizations, US fights were more likely to go to Decision (43.6% vs. 38.8%) or end in KO/TKO (23.8% vs. 17.6%), while international organizations had higher rates of Submission (24.6% vs. 21.9%), TKO (12% vs. 6.3%), and KO (3.2% vs. 2.0%). When comparing outcomes pre- and post-Unified Rules, we identified a 51.3% increase in the proportion of fights going to decision and a reduction in the proportion of fights ending in KO/TKO (33.3%) or Submission (28.4%), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Despite varying rules and regulations across organizations and locations, historical MMA fight outcomes have been similar for US and international competition. Furthermore, implementation of the Unified Rules by US-based organizations is associated with a lower proportion of fights ending by KO/TKO, implying a positive impact on MMA athlete safety.

US Trade Policy With China: Proposing A New Framework for US Economic Competitiveness

Due to the Biden Administration’s decision to uphold a large majority of the Trump administration’s protectionist trade policies, US manufacturing industries are failing to control the market share. This paper explores the proper solutions that need to be taken to restore US competitiveness with China, prioritizing US cooperation with allies and China instead of unwarranted tensions. This paper analyzes the effects of US tariffs on Chinese imported goods on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the US, US Gross Domestic Product (GDP), US manufacturing wages, and overall US manufacturing costs to argue that key US tariffs on Chinese imports should be eliminated. This paper explores the benefits of trade specialization and its effects on the US’s Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) to argue that the US should champion free trade policies such as revitalizing the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Finally, this report recommends that the US kickstart wholesale WTO reforms that change the process by which member states identify as “developing” or “developed” nations, and institute stricter litigation statutes against Chinese WTO violations.

Contract manufacturing, market competition, and labor productivity in US manufacturing industries

How does contract manufacturing /outsourcing affect productivity? Existing studies have conflicting empirical findings regarding this issue. This paper aims to reconcile these conflicting findings in the literature by viewing the research question through the lens of the property rights theory. The authors develop a moderated moderation model to empirically examine how productivity is influenced by the interactions among contract manufacturing, competition, and suppliers’ productivity spillover. Our model shows that though conflicting findings have been reported in the literature, each finding holds true under certain conditions which are identified in our paper. In brief, contract manufacturing /outsourcing improves productivity when suppliers’ productivity growth is above average and focal industry’s competition is at medium level. On the other hand, if suppliers’ productivity growth is low, or focal industry’s competition is too high or too low, the impact of contract manufacturing /outsourcing could be negative or not significant.

The Klobuchar Bill: Is Something Rotten in the US Antitrust Legislative Reform?

An intense public debate is currently taking place in the US. The main subject of this debate is tech giants and the antitrust law reform. The fundamental dilemma is whether giant corporations, such as Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Facebook, fit the traditional antitrust law or not. Senator Klobuchar proposed the new bill (the Competition and Antitrust Law Enforcement Reform Act) in 2021, and Congress is currently between a rock and a hard place. If Congress decides to support the New Brandeis movement and enact the bill, it could harm the tech giants and make the US start lagging behind China. If it decides otherwise, it could cause considerable dissatisfaction among US voters. This paper analyses the bill in detail and explores the possible outcomes. The conclusions suggest that enactment of the bill could have overwhelmingly adverse economic consequences for the competitiveness of US markets, innovation, and consequently for consumer welfare.

Building Guardrails: Crisis Management in China–US Competition

Intensifying US–China rivalry has heightened the risk of accidental crises that might spiral out of control. Even as President Biden continues much of the Trump administration’s confrontational approach to China, senior Biden administration officials agree on the strategic imperative of improving the risk reduction mechanisms between Beijing and Washington. Though the odds of armed conflict arising from deliberate provocations may be low, the risks of spinoff crises in China’s periphery and accidental crises in emerging domains like space and cyberspace have grown in recent years. Amid growing geopolitical and geoeconomic tensions, better crisis management serves the interests of China, the United States, and the world at large. Beijing should maintain its effective deterrence by upholding the “security through mutual trust” principle and laying out clear red lines. It should also resist Washington’s efforts to include illegitimate interests and conduct risk reduction mechanisms and promote multilateral security talks on the codes of conduct in space, cyberspace, and other emerging domains.