chris pike

expert competition economist, writing on inclusive competition policy and digital markets

[John Burn-Murdoch @jburnmurdoch]

NEW: we need to talk about UK graduate wages, and the idea that Britain sends too many people to university.

American readers should stick around for the UK/US comparisons 👀

Let’s start with this: the UK graduate wage premium has fallen substantially over the last 25 years

[chris pike @chrispikewh]

@Elibietti Can't wait to read. Be interesting to see how it relates, if at all, to my contribution on this topic: https://t.co/EbRcnHH5UU

[chris pike @chrispikewh]

Recent discussions with @guardian& @FT got me thinking about the bottleneck on justice in UK competition policy.Strikes me this is a problem that an incoming government should think about grasping as an opportunity to make a difference for ordinary people https://t.co/y85KYuD9mL

[chris pike @chrispikewh]

Alongside the correction from the CJEU on 3/O2, this will make the @CMAgovUK investigation of 3/Vodafone an interesting one. A big opportunity for the CMA to push back against the 'not open for business' rubbish that's been spouted

[Financial Times @FT]

Why Vodafone’s megamerger could have a 3.9% problem https://t.co/5EPqD2Ay9R | opinion

[Guardian news @guardiannews]

Mobile and broadband firms accused of fuelling UK ‘greedflation’ with major price hikes https://t.co/JaDr4rch9Q

[Lee Hepner @LeeHepner]

BIG: In an email from Matt Booty (head of XBox) to Tim Stuart (XBox CFO), when asked if they should put first party content on rival services, he responds: "No f--ing way."

He adds: "I think the idea is to create a moat that nobody else can attack."

#Microsoft #Activision

[chris pike @chrispikewh]

So disappointing to read the @guardian meekly accepting the prospect of another attempt to push through an anticompetitive telecom merger. No need for the CMA to bargain for meaningless commitments, protect consumers (and workers?) by simply blocking the deal @BalancedEconomy

[The Guardian @guardian]

The CMA must tell Vodafone to make hard commitments, not loose promises https://t.co/aSCwhEt9MP

[IPPR @IPPR]

📢 | New blog from @GeorgeDibb @openmarkets & @BalancedEconomy

Unchecked market power can hold back investment and innovation in the economy. By addressing this, competition policy can be one of the government's most powerful tools.

https://t.co/NPRM01cu6J

[Cristina Caffarra @Caffar3Cristina]

EC scraps 2008 economic guidance on exclusionary abuse & infamous #As_Efficient_Competitor - the go-to test in so many cases. Aside from super fragile (can get any number you want) it’s also deeply ideological: “if you are not as efficient as the incumbent, you deserve to die” 1/

[Joel Waldfogel @JWaldfogel]

Male-authored books have risen quickly, and female-authored books have risen even faster, meaning lots of new products. Adding new products – as with the female book influx - can have significant welfare benefits, particularly when product quality is unpredictable.

[Henry Wismayer @henrywismayer]

I keep returning to these graphs by @jburnmurdoch at the @FT and wondering why more British journalism can't be as straightforwardly lucid and illustrative as this. The catastrophe of Tory rule laid bare.

[Diane Coyle @DianeCoyle1859]

“Rebuttable structural presumption” - ie. Burden of proof should be on big tech to permit an acquisition, says @TomValletti - the debate is heating up #economicsfest

[Richard Murphy @RichardJMurphy]

This is well worth watching. @BenChu_ shows just how arbitrary and absurd the argument that we need tax rises and austerity in the UK really is.

[chris pike @chrispikewh]

@vestager Would be interested to see how Luxembourg defines 'normal' in light of the fact that they signed up to @OECD_BizFin recommendation on competitive neutrality

[chris pike @chrispikewh]

12 years of this stinking government - economic failure and incompetence at every turn, their legacy - a wasted decade. #GeneralElectionNow

[Torsten Bell @TorstenBell]

What does an economic disaster look like? This light blue line. In 8 out of the 14 years since 2009 real wages have actually fallen. Next year will almost certainly join that list. This used to basically never happen. Now it's the norm

[chris pike @chrispikewh]

Interesting discussion of algorithmic rents today & the way that exploitative abuse of dominance is no longer just about excessive pricing but extends to excessively poor quality in the algorithms offered by tech monopolists. Intrigued to see how the work is taken forward

[UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose @IIPP_UCL]

Great discussion with leading UK regulators testing our research on how digital platforms monopolies harm competition and digital markets at today’s workshop on algorithmic rents and competitions @IlanStrauss @timoreilly @MazzucatoM

[chris pike @chrispikewh]

@IIPP_UCL @MazzucatoM @IlanStrauss @timoreilly It was a real privilege to participate in this workshop - a hugely important topic, and one that benefits from being placed within the broader context of the work that @IIPP_UCL excel at.

[chris pike @chrispikewh]

Hugely important public service...

[chris pike @chrispikewh]

Important new complaint alleging anti-competitive monopolisation against Apple. A different type of case to those we're involved in against Amazon and Facebook. Interesting times. #digitalcompetition https://t.co/kqSlSrCTQ9