Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Mauro Gilli @maurogilli.bsky.social · 4d

Hey students from Sweden 🇸🇪: here you can find information for three full scholarships to come to study international security at the Hertie School (@hertieschool.bsky.social, @hertiesecurity.bsky.social) in Berlin.

www.hertie-school.org/en/study/fun...

Ax:son Johnson Scholarship

This scholarship is for applicants from Sweden with a demonstrated interest in international security and German-Swedish relations.

www.hertie-school.org

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EUI Department of Law @eui-law.bsky.social · 18d

Our professor @competitionprof.bsky.social quoted in Politico Europe on the landmark ASML–Mistral deal and its implications for European tech sovereignty 🇪🇺💻

www.politico.eu/article/asml...

ASML-Mistral is Europe’s dream tech tie-up. Can it deliver?

Two tech champions face the daunting task of keeping Europe on the AI map.

www.politico.eu

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Nicolas Petit @competitionprof.bsky.social · Sep 3

The only value of a university is structural, not substantive. Very nice piece from former @eui-eu.bsky.social law professor Dennis Patterson on academic neutrality www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...

How to save the American university

As Trump threatens funding and public trust plummets, US schools are in the fight of a lifetime. This is how they can survive – with their souls intact

www.theguardian.com

Nicolas Petit @competitionprof.bsky.social · Aug 21

It’s that time to repost “understanding market power” - a full guide to the tricky but essential economics behind antitrust law. If you teach or study antitrust this fall, feel free to use it. Feedback is very welcome to help me improve the next version papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

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Nicolas Petit @competitionprof.bsky.social · Aug 19

Coup de foudre. Le sublime atteint sous la plume de l’empereur Hadrien. Ne naît-on littérairement qu’après sa première rencontre avec Marguerite Yourcenar?

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Nicolas Petit @competitionprof.bsky.social · Aug 15

Guess who has bargaining power here.

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Nicolas Petit @competitionprof.bsky.social · Aug 15

One day against the DMA, the next one against. It’s like his support to Trump. At least Musk is consistent in inconsistency 😁.

Stanley Pignal @spignal.bsky.social · Aug 12

Ah the old "I want small government, but please make it regulate businesses that aren't nice to me" arguments.

Elon Musk seems to be arguing big digital businesses should have a "fairness" obligation -- this is the very core of EU laws he blasts so frequently

on.ft.com/4lozXiH

Elon Musk threatens to sue Apple over App Store rankings

Billionaire accuses tech group of unfairly favouring rival OpenAI

on.ft.com

Stanley Pignal @spignal.bsky.social · Aug 12

Ah the old "I want small government, but please make it regulate businesses that aren't nice to me" arguments.

Elon Musk seems to be arguing big digital businesses should have a "fairness" obligation -- this is the very core of EU laws he blasts so frequently

on.ft.com/4lozXiH

Elon Musk threatens to sue Apple over App Store rankings

Billionaire accuses tech group of unfairly favouring rival OpenAI

on.ft.com

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Nicolas Petit @competitionprof.bsky.social · Aug 9

Check out today’s exhibit on misinformation: @economist.com subtitle suggesting a baseline of irrelevance at the EUI.

Simon Hix @simonhix.bsky.social · Aug 8

Good to see a piece about the EUI in The Economist. But this is a hatched job, with little resemblance to reality. Charlemagne is usually excellent, so this is odd. Can only think that @spignal.bsky.social talked to people who don't really know what's going on.
www.economist.com/europe/2025/...

Europe’s Hogwarts has a new Dumbledore

Patrizia Nanz is trying to make the European University Institute relevant

www.economist.com

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Simon Hix @simonhix.bsky.social · Aug 8

Good to see a piece about the EUI in The Economist. But this is a hatched job, with little resemblance to reality. Charlemagne is usually excellent, so this is odd. Can only think that @spignal.bsky.social talked to people who don't really know what's going on.
www.economist.com/europe/2025/...

Europe’s Hogwarts has a new Dumbledore

Patrizia Nanz is trying to make the European University Institute relevant

www.economist.com

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Florian Ederer @florianederer.bsky.social · Jan 14

Never a dull day in antitrust

Chinese officials discuss sale of TikTok to Elon Musk.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

China Discusses Sale of TikTok US to Musk as One Possible Option

Chinese officials are evaluating a potential option that involves Elon Musk acquiring the US operations of TikTok if the company fails to fend off a controversial ban on the short-video app, according...

www.bloomberg.com

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Thibault Schrepel @profschrepel.bsky.social · Jan 24

Good to (finally!) see some common sense.
While you’re at it, European Commission: kill the Digital Fairness Act. Thanks.

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European University Institute @eui-eu.bsky.social · May 29

Big data, big money... big trouble? 💱

In the latest #EUIUpFront, @competitionprof.bsky.social, Head of the @eui-law.bsky.social, & ‪@ivanenadic.bsky.social‬, @eui-schuman.bsky.social Research Fellow, discuss the shifting balance of power between tech giants & the state.

📹 Watch: buff.ly/a6gdlPG

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Nicolas Petit @competitionprof.bsky.social · Jul 24

Debate.

Nicolas Petit @competitionprof.bsky.social · Jul 20

Encouraging to see Brussels push back on political interference in legitimate bank M&A.

Less ideal that consolidation is unfolding along national lines.

The big question: will stronger national champions finally unlock real cross-border banking in the EU?

Nicolas Petit @competitionprof.bsky.social · Jul 7

OFC. I guess the literature suggests algo collusion less prone to deviation.

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Nicolas Petit @competitionprof.bsky.social · Jul 7

Can’t be true!

Legal scholars claim Amazon dominates without rivals.

Economists claim algorithms collude.

When theory fails to match reality… ignore reality?

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Nicolas Petit @competitionprof.bsky.social · May 30

Big data, big power … big what exactly? Was a delight to discuss with @ivanenadic.bsky.social. Looking fwd to our next coffee.

European University Institute @eui-eu.bsky.social · May 29

Big data, big money... big trouble? 💱

In the latest #EUIUpFront, @competitionprof.bsky.social, Head of the @eui-law.bsky.social, & ‪@ivanenadic.bsky.social‬, @eui-schuman.bsky.social Research Fellow, discuss the shifting balance of power between tech giants & the state.

📹 Watch: buff.ly/a6gdlPG

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Nicolas Petit @competitionprof.bsky.social · May 14

As @jeffjarvis.bsky.social might say: blaming the decades-old collapse of local journalism on one company - no matter how big - is grotesque. Correlation isn’t causation, even if you’ve got a Nobel Prize.

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Nicolas Petit @competitionprof.bsky.social · May 1

The legal illnesses of the EU surface from this 🔥 thread by @lugaricano

1️⃣ Integration through law bureaucratised Europe breaking our ability to build

2️⃣ Infatuation w/ a European 3rd way led to dismiss existing solutions that scale

works across energy, health, digital, …

Luis Garicano @lugaricano.bsky.social · Feb 18

This Draghi piece is a quiet indictment on the
@EUCommission's failure on its core Treaty mandate: "establishing the internal market" & ensuring "free movement of goods, persons, services and capital."
His facts are devastating. A thread summarizing them and drawing some consequences.
1/

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Nicolas Petit @competitionprof.bsky.social · Apr 25

Bottom line? The case for rule-based antitrust policy is fairly straightforward. Unfortunately this established wisdom is being forgotten on account of a fixation on business size. Time to reread the consistently classic Kydland and Prescott paper from 1977 😃 10/n

Nicolas Petit @competitionprof.bsky.social · Apr 25

In turn, the risk premium on acquisitions rises, valuations fall, and capital for innovation dries up. Worse, enforcers may extract disproportionate remedies upfront, knowing they can later revisit deals 9/n

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Nicolas Petit @competitionprof.bsky.social · Apr 25

If the FTC and US DOJ use discretion to renege on the rule-based policy of non reversals of approved mergers, then the risk is that competitors of acquirers that did not manage to seize good assets use section 2 and the antitrust enforcers as an appeals process 8/n

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Nicolas Petit @competitionprof.bsky.social · Apr 25

What is the unintended consequence you may ask? It takes thinking to see one, but it's fairly clear. In digital, there is a high rate of new firm creation and entry. Hence, there’s a vibrant market for corporate control, where firms compete for acquisition of the best assets 7/n

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Nicolas Petit @competitionprof.bsky.social · Apr 25

Now, back to antitrust: if the FTC or US DOJ is given discretion to unwind deals years later using antitrust law, merger approval becomes un-credible. Cleared no longer means cleared 6/n

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Nicolas Petit @competitionprof.bsky.social · Apr 25

Flood zones are a good illustration: the Gov states a “no bailout" rule, but always pays after a flood. The result? People build in flood zones 5/n

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Nicolas Petit @competitionprof.bsky.social · Apr 25

A time inconsistent policy has the allure of efficiency. The false negative is reversed. But econ say that time-inconsistent policies also lead to moral hazard 4/n

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Nicolas Petit @competitionprof.bsky.social · Apr 25

Antitrust law, especially merger policy, is rule-based. Once a transaction is cleared, it’s presumed final. That rule creates credibility and predictability. Using discretion to revise past approvals introduces a classic time inconsistency problem 3/n

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Nicolas Petit @competitionprof.bsky.social · Apr 25

In hindsight, criticizing Meta for its acquisition of Instagram/WhatsApp or Google for its integration of Chrome or Android feels right. Now, assuming present evidence shows that they were false negatives, should antitrust revise past decisions? The econ answer: not so fast 2/n

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Nicolas Petit @competitionprof.bsky.social · Apr 25

The antitrust cases in @FTC v Meta and US v Google are strong examples of a phenomenon known in economics as 'time inconsistency'. What seems like efficient correction today may lead to unintended economic distortions tomorrow. A thread 🧵1/n.

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