Ariel Ezrachi
Slaughter and May Professor of Competition Law
Ariel Ezrachi is the Slaughter and May Professor of Competition Law and a Fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford. He serves as the Director of the University of Oxford Centre for Competition Law and Policy.
His research interests include European competition law, mergers and acquisitions and cross border transactions. His recently published papers focus on passive investments, excessive pricing, private labels and buyer power.
He is the editor of the Journal of Antitrust Enforcement (OUP) and the author and editor of numerous books, including EU Competition Law, An Analytical Guide to the Leading Cases (3rd ed, 2012, Hart), Intellectual Property and Competition Law: New Frontiers (2011, OUP), Criminalising Cartels: Critical Studies of an International Regulatory Movement (2011, Hart), Article 82 EC - Reflections on its recent evolution (2009, Hart) and Private Labels, Brands and Competition Policy (2009, OUP).
He convenes the Competition Law Group and teaches competition law at graduate and undergraduate levels. He develops training and capacity building programmes in competition law and policy for the private and public sectors, including training programmes for European judges endorsed and subsidised by the European Commission. He is a member of UNCTAD Research Partnership Platform and a former Non-Governmental Advisor to the ICN.
Publications
Showing five recent publications sorted by year, then title [change this]
2013
A Ezrachi and Gilo, European Competition Law and Policy: A Comparative Perspective (forthcoming 2013)
A Ezrachi and J Thanassoulis, 'Upstream Horizontal Mergers and (the Absence of) Retail Price Effects' (2013) Journal of Competition Law and Economics (forthcoming) [...]
The paper explores the retail price effects of upstream and mid stream horizontal mergers. It questions the prevailing assumption in merger review according to which such transactions will have similar effects on retail price as that of downstream horizontal mergers. The analysis illustrates how a sophisticated profit-maximizing merged entity may find it more profitable to enter into efficient contracts which seek to maximise the profit of the distribution channel, and so ensure that retail prices are not raised. The merged entity uses its market power and improved bargaining position to extract as much of that profit as possible from the retailer. We therefore argue that one cannot simply assume a direct link between the creation of market power upstream following a merger transaction, and the subsequent increase in retail prices. An analysis of the effects of upstream mergers on retail prices should call for a more nuanced appraisal which distinguishes the transfer of wealth within the operators in the distribution chain from the possible price impacts on final consumers.
ISBN: 1744-6414
2012
A Ezrachi and Koen de Jong, 'Buyer Power, Private Labels and the Welfare Consequences of Quality Erosion' (2012) European Competition Law Review [...]
The paper explores the effects buyer power may have on product quality. It argues that, at times, excessive pressure on input price will trigger direct welfare costs to consumers in the form of disguised inferior products. To illustrate quality erosion, the discussion focuses on the unique area of private labels and the relationship between the powerful buyer and its private-label supplier.
A Ezrachi, 'Buying Alliances and Input Price Fixing – In Search of a European Enforcement Standard ' (2012) Journal of Competition Law & Economics [...]
This paper considers the welfare implications of input price fixing and the enforcement standard to be applied to these arrangements. It explores the way in which European competition law approaches input price fixing, the scope of the object-based approach and the instances in which effects-based analysis may be used in the appraisal. In doing so, the paper sets to clarify the legal approach to price fixing of procured input. It outlines a possible benchmark for the assessment of input price fixing, with the aim of sharpening the dividing line between instances which restrict competition by object, and those which necessitate consideration of effects.
ISBN: 1744-6414
A Ezrachi, 'Cross Border Transfer of Wealth – Reflections on Competition Law and Developing Economies ' in Sokol and Lianos (eds), The Global Limits of Competition Law (Stanford University Press 2012) (forthcoming)
Other details
Director of the Centre for Competition Law and Policy
Correspondence address:
Pembroke College
St Aldates, Oxford, OX1 1DW
other affiliation(s):
Centre for Competition Law & Policy
