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Nicolas Petit

Nicolas Petit is a French Belgian academic specializing in competition policy, economic regulation, law and technology. He is Joint Chair… more

H-index: 20
Economics 31%
Business 25%
competitionprof.bsky.social
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....
competitionprof.bsky.social
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?
competitionprof.bsky.social
One day against the DMA, the next one against. It’s like his support to Trump. At least Musk is consistent in inconsistency 😁.
spignal.bsky.social
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
spignal.bsky.social
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
competitionprof.bsky.social
Check out today’s exhibit on misinformation: @economist.com subtitle suggesting a baseline of irrelevance at the EUI.
simonhix.bsky.social
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
simonhix.bsky.social
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

Reposted by: Nicolas Petit

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

Reposted by: Nicolas Petit

eui-eu.bsky.social
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
competitionprof.bsky.social
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?
competitionprof.bsky.social
OFC. I guess the literature suggests algo collusion less prone to deviation.
competitionprof.bsky.social
Can’t be true!

Legal scholars claim Amazon dominates without rivals.

Economists claim algorithms collude.

When theory fails to match reality… ignore reality?
competitionprof.bsky.social
Big data, big power … big what exactly? Was a delight to discuss with @ivanenadic.bsky.social. Looking fwd to our next coffee.
eui-eu.bsky.social
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
competitionprof.bsky.social
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.
competitionprof.bsky.social
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, …
lugaricano.bsky.social
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/
competitionprof.bsky.social
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
competitionprof.bsky.social
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
competitionprof.bsky.social
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
competitionprof.bsky.social
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
competitionprof.bsky.social
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
competitionprof.bsky.social
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
competitionprof.bsky.social
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
competitionprof.bsky.social
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
competitionprof.bsky.social
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
competitionprof.bsky.social
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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