Regulation, antitrust and promotion of innovation? Challenges and experiences from communications

Speakers

David Evans (Global Economics Group / UCL)
Steve Unger (Ofcom)
Andrea Coscelli (CMA)
Hannah Nixon (Payment Systems Regulator)
John Fingleton (Fingleton Associates)

Chair

Antonio Bavasso (UCL / Allen & Overy LLP)

Organised by: UCL Jevons Institute for Competition Law and Economics
Accreditation: This event is accredited with 1.5 CPD hours by the SRA and BSB

About the talk

This panel discussion with some of the leading experts and regulators in this this area will explore the theme of innovation in regulatory regimes and competition enforcement in sectors that are affected by a range of new business models. The panel will discuss the international experience and compares lessons learned across different sectors from communications to payments. It will considers the possible benefits and harms posed by different types of innovation (unilateral, collaborative, “permissionless” innovation) and the challenges that regulators, market players and their advisers face in this area.

About the speakers

Andrea Coscelli was appointed Executive Director, Markets & Mergers, at the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) on 11 September 2013. Andrea works closely with the Chief Executive, and as a member of theCMA Board, ensures strategic leadership of the markets portfolio and acts as a decision maker in important merger cases, while ensuring the separation of Phase 1 and Phase 2 decision-making.

Previous career highlights include:
• Director of Economic Analysis, Competition Group, Ofcom
• Vice-President (Partner), European Competition Practice at Charles River Associates (CRA) International
• Associate Director, Lexecon Ltd
• Co-founder of the Association of Competition Economics (ACE)
• PhD in Economics from Stanford University

Professor David S. Evans has taught antitrust law and economics at the University College London Faculty of Laws (2004-present) where he is Executive Director of the Jevons Institute for Competition Law and Economics and Visiting Professor; University of Chicago Law School (2006-present) where he is a Lecturer; and Fordham Law School (1985-1995) where he was a Professor.

He has BA, MA, and PhD degrees, all in economics, from the University of Chicago. He has written extensively on industrial organization including more than 150 articles and 8 books. His 2006 book, Invisible Engines, co-authored with Andrei Hagiu and Richard Schmalensee, was the Winner of the Business, Management & Accounting category in the 2006 Professional/Scholarly Publishing Annual Awards Competition presented by the Association of American Publishers, Inc. Many of his publications concern antitrust law and economics.

Dr. Evans is one of the world’s leading authorities on the payments industry. He is the co-author with Richard Schmalensee of Paying with Plastic: The Digital Revolution in Buying and Borrowing. He has worked as a business advisor to many of the leading payments companies in the world as well as a number of the significant startups. He is currently serving as an advisor on igniting mobile money schemes in lesser developed countries. As an economic expert he has also worked on competition policy matters involving interchange fees, merchant surcharging, consumer protection, and other payments issues in the many jurisdictions around the world.

Dr. Evans is the Chairman of Global Economics Group, where he provides expert help on litigation and regulation matters, and Founder of Market Platform Dynamics, where he provides business and strategic advice. He is also one of the Founders of PYMNTS.com, a leading global media company that focuses on the payments business.

John Fingleton was Chief Executive of the Office of Fair Trading from 2005 to 2012, having previously run the Irish Competition Authority. As an academic economist at the London School of Economics, Trinity College Dublin and the University of Chicago, he wrote and taught game theory, economics of industry and regulation. In government, he oversaw merger regulation, enforcement of competition rules, consumer protection, and credit regulation. He has been a strong advocate for the removal of government restrictions on competition and supply side reforms to improve productivity growth. John is a member of the World Economic Forum Council on Emerging Multinationals, a member of the Policy Advisory Board at the Social Market Foundation, and a Trustee at Kaleidoscope.

Hannah Nixon is the Managing Director of the Payment Systems Regulator. She is responsible for leading the new regulatory body as it takes responsibility for the £75 trillion payment systems industry in the UK.

Hannah joined the PSR from Ofgem, the gas and electricity industry regulator for Great Britain, where she led on the development and implementation of a new regulatory framework. Before that, she was Head of Regulatory Economics at the Office of Rail Regulation, a founding member of Cambridge Economic Policy Associates and Vice President of Deutsche Bank’s global markets economics team.

Hannah is a non-executive director of the Channel Islands Competition and Regulatory Authority.

Steve Unger was appointed Acting Chief Executive in January 2015. He has been with Ofcom since its inception, and has held a variety of senior roles, most recently as Ofcom’s Chief Technology Officer Before joining Ofcom, Steve worked in industry – for two technology startups, both of whom designed and operated their own communications networks, and as a consultant advising a variety of other companies on the commercial application of new wireless technologies. He has a Physics MA and a PhD in Astrophysics.

Antonio Bavasso is a specialist in EU and international competition law. His main areas of expertise include merger control, anti-competitive agreements and practices, abuse of dominance, State aid and EU internal market. He has a particular expertise in the application of competition rules in the media, broadcasting, communications, and high tech sectors.

Professor Bavasso is the author of a number of articles published internationally on EU and competition law. He is a regular speaker at international conferences on antitrust law. He is co-editor of Competition Policy International and is the co-founder and executive director of the Jevons Institute for Competition Law and Economics at UCL. He is a non-governmental advisor to the International Competition Network.

Professor Bavasso obtained a JD summa cum laude from the University of Florence, has been a British Chevening Scholar and holds a Ph.D. from the University of London (UCL). He is dual qualified in both England and Wales, and Italy and has also practiced in Brussels and San Francisco. In private practice he is a partner at Allen & Overy LLP where is the co-head of the international antitrust practice.