Competition Economics

Economic evidence increasingly plays a decisive role during antitrust proceedings. Swiss Economics supports you with advice, studies and expert opinions. We analyze and quantify the competitive effects of agreements, business practices and mergers, and develop solid theories of harm and efficiency.

Expert reports. Swiss Economics prepares expert reports using the latest methods of industrial economics. We offer a wide range of theoretical and empirical analyses to help you effectively communicate and defend your position. We develop our arguments in a clear and compelling manner in order to maximize the impact for a broad audience.

Antitrust proceedings. We support you in answering questionnaires, merger notifications, and other submissions to competition authorities. In addition, Swiss Economics prepares risk assessments, and second opinions, and participates in expert meetings and negotiations.

Compliance. We help you to avoid massive fines and legal battles by developing sustainable business practices, which are compliant with competition law.

Damages from anti-competitive behaviour. Swiss Economics quantifies damages from anti-competitive behaviour and supports you during dispute resolution.

Contact

Samuel Rutz is the Deputy Managing Director of Swiss Economics.

Michael Funk is a Principal with Swiss Economics.

Get to know our whole team.

Selected projects

What factors influence the efficiency of antitrust complaint procedures before the Federal Administrative Court (BVGer)?

What impact do increased import capacities have on security of supply and competition?

Is the provision of telecommunications services by a state-controlled company still legitimate?

How is the Swiss forward market price for electricity deliveries determined? Does the price formation meet expectations? Are there indications of market power held by individual players? How could the Swiss wholesale price be reduced?

Economic support of the legal team in the merger proceedings of the two major Swiss banks before FINMA.

How will the reallocation of broadcaster licenses for regional television affect the program and opinion diversity?

What are the effects of a planned pricing of an e-voting plattform on competition?

From an economics perspective, what challenges do energy platforms pose? What role does artificial intelligence play in this context?

What are the main challenges for Swiss digital policy? How can these challenges be analyzed and classified economically?

What is the geographical extent of retail markets?

Is there a need for regulation in the area of interchange fees in the wake of the rapid growth of new debit cards?

How can cross-subsidies be classified? When is cross-subsidzation allowed and reasonable to corporate financing?

What are financial losses of hospitals due to measure against COVID-19 introduced by the Federal Council?

Update on the economic assessment of effects from the merger between UPC and Sunrise in the light of the reversed acquisition intention of UPC, following Sunrise's withdrawal of its own bid  

Development of a screening tool for detecting bid-rigging agreements on behalf of the Civil Engineering Office of the Canton of Bern.

What are the cost drivers of district heating? What is a "fair" price for district heating? How should the governance and regulation for district heating networks look like?

Price recommendations – even when marked as non-binding – are a hot topic from an antitrust perspective.

Assessment of the antitrust-compliance of a new pricing model in the energy sector

Assessment of unilateral effects in the context of a merger for a professional association.

Assessment of the effects from the merger between Sunrise and UPC on competition, including analysis of coordinated and non-coordinated effects.

What are the damages resulting from a margin squeeze (abuse of a dominant position)?

Assessment and design of a pricing model in compliance with antitrust law in the advertising industry.

Is the dominance test currently used in Switzerland for merger control still up to date?

Publications

Published on SSRN on 9th October 2024.

Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 10. Juli 2024

Foundational Paper

Article in the Swiss Journal of Competition Law

Study for the Verband elektronischer Zahlungsverkehr

Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 3. Dezember 2021

Baseline study on universal services and public service provision for the Liechtestein Think Tank "Zukunft.li"

Oekonomenstimme, 18 May 2020

Book chapter in "The Changing Postal Environment. Topics in Regulatory Economics and Policy." Parcu P., Brennan T., Glass V. (eds). Springer, Cham.

Concurrences N°4-2019, pp. 50-58.

Zeitschrift für Immaterialgüter-, Informations- und Wettbewerbsrecht (sic!), 5/2019, S. 304-306

An article in Neue Zürcher Zeitung

Pros & Cons of the Swiss Experience

Journal of Competition Law & Economics, Volume 14 (2), pp 292-310

Journal of Competition Law & Economics, Volume 14 (2), pp 235-261

An article for Neue Zürcher Zeitung

Study for the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO)

An article in Neue Zürcher Zeitung

An article in Neue Zürcher Zeitung

Die Volkswirtschaft, 10-2017, pp. 58-59

Utilities Policy 31, pp. 266-277

In: Reforming the Postal Sector in the Face of Electronic Competition. Edited by M. Crew and P.R. Kleindorfer, Edward Elgar, pp. 294-305

In: Multi-Modal Competition And The Future Of Mail. Edited by M. Crew and P.R. Kleindorfer, Edward Elgar, pp. 236-246

Wirtschaftsdienst - Zeitschrift für Wirtschaftspolitik, 92(1), 4-5

The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy 11(1), Article 19

In: Reinventing the Postal Sector in an Electronic Age. Edited by M. Crew and P.R. Kleindorfer, Edward Elgar, 267-280

Research into the development of competition in the letter market

Postal Technology International: 2011 Annual Showcase, 41-43

In: Heightening Competition in the Postal and Delivery Sector, edited by M.A. Crew and P.R. Kleindorfer. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar

Study for Sunrise

Swiss Economics presents a concept for the evaluation of e-government projects

In: Fallstudien zur Netzökonomie, G. Knieps und H.-J. Weiss (Hrsg.), Wiesbaden: Gabler, 87-110

Journal of Sports Economics 9(4), 339-350

In: Competition and Regulation in the Postal and Delivery Sector, Michael A. Crew und Paul R. Kleindorfer (Hrsg.), Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA, USA: Edward Elgar, 136-149