In this supplementary discussion paper, commissioned by Liberty Global, Oxera addresses recent policy developments in the debate on whether and how to regulate oligopolies in electronic communications markets.
Summary
Retail prices will rise in Eastern European and Baltic countries as cross-border access accelerates a move to exclusive, pan-European licencing
The quality, quantity and diversity of locally produced, culturally tailored content will decline as investment by local platforms and distributors falls
The quality and choice of local pay-TV and online distribution platforms will decline as a result of rights limitations and pan-European homogenisation
In this report for ACI EUROPE, Oxera found the European aviation market grew by 25% between 2010 and 2016.
The Government of Jersey is reviewing the impact of raising the minimum wage to £7.88 per hour, based on 45% of mean weekly earnings, or to £8.40 per hour, based on 60% of median earnings. Oxera has been asked to estimate the potential consequent economic and fiscal impacts.
This discussion paper, commissioned by Liberty Global, is Oxera’s contribution to the current policy debate in the EU on whether and how to regulate oligopolies in electronic communications markets.
Across the UK, large towns and cities are suffering from deteriorating air quality and chronic levels of traffic congestion, which affect public health as well as the economy. In this paper, Robert Montgomery, formerly Managing Director of UK Bus at Stagecoach Group plc, and Matthew Shepherd, Oxera, explore how public transport can provide a solution to these problems, and consider the role of public/private sector transport partnerships.
Oxera Partner, Andrew Meaney, writes on the implications of Brexit for UK ports.
The Sutton Trust commissioned Oxera to investigate the impact of increased social mobility on the UK economy.
The FCA commissioned Oxera and the Centre for Experimental Social Sciences (CESS) to conduct a behavioural experiment to assess the effectiveness of different summary cost metrics. This report presents the findings of the behavioural experiment.
On 24 June 2016 the CMA published its final report, in which it concluded that, between 2012 and 2015, domestic customers paid around £1.4bn per year more than they would have done in a properly functioning competitive market. This estimate was based on a comparison of tariffs charged by the established suppliers to tariffs charged by the benchmark companies chosen by the CMA, OVO Energy and First Utility, subject to certain adjustments.
As part of our work for ScottishPower, Oxera reviewed the CMA’s analysis. The CMA had not opened its analysis to detailed scrutiny, and the final report contains only limited detail on how it was calculated. However, it is clear that adjustments for customer acquisition and overhead costs, which the CMA made for the first time in its final report, have a significant impact on the estimates of overall consumer detriment, of no less than £978m per year.
Our analysis identified a number of issues with the approach adopted by the CMA, including those related to adjustments for customer acquisition and overhead costs, implicit benchmarking of wholesale costs, and choice of benchmark companies. We found that addressing these issues would leave the range of possible consumer detriment between -£720m and +£755m.
