Will 5G come to the EU?

It has been almost two years since GDPR entered into force. Data monitoring has become a regulatory headache for several industries and could soon …

A threat to freedom: the EU and online terrorist content

In the field of digital rights and civil liberties, all anyone’s talking about is the Digital Copyright Directive and saving memes. However, there may …

Corporate Tax Out of Control

Do European companies pay their fair share of tax? Many companies headquartered in France, Germany, Italy and Spain show very low effective corporate tax …

Competition in the High Technology Sector

The European Union’s approach to competition law and enforcement demonstrates an attitude in the high-tech and media sector, that – due to its anti-competitive …

Regulating the New Media Economy

The new media economy operates differently from other industries when it comes to regulation. The marginal costs of technological giants mean that their interactions …

New Copyright Directive – new restrictions to online business?

In the second voting on the subject, the European Parliament approved the Directive on copyright in the digital single market.  438 MEPs voted in …

Why the EU’s digital turnover tax is a bad idea

The European Commission has proposed a tax on revenues raised from certain digital activities. However, this is essentially a political gesture with only weak …

The trouble with the EU’s digital tax

It’s time to establish a modern, fair and efficient taxation standard for the digital economy – or at least, that’s how the EU have …

State-Enforced Universal Chargers

Picture yourself at a friend’s house. Your Samsung phone buzzes, alerting you to low battery, but you’ve left your charger at home. You ask …

Vestager vs Google

The European Commission decision in the Google Android case illustrates the difference in approach to antitrust issues between the US and EU.  It also …

Robocalypse Now?

It is claimed that robots, algorithms and artificial intelligence are going to destroy jobs on an unprecedented scale. These developments, unlike past bouts of technical …

What we get wrong about technology

Fans of Blade Runner – and I am one of them – have to admit that the film has a few moments that, to modern eyes, …

How to reform a broken taxi market?

High prices, long waiting times, dirty money and drivers at risk of being subjected to violence. These are some of the problems that have …

Which is a better bet: Bitcoin or the dollar?

Keeping your funds in cash is generally viewed as much safer than holding them in stocks. This is because, on any given day, the …

Digital Resellers: The Case for Secondary Ticket Markets

The reselling of tickets for events has a long history, dating back at least to Roman times.
Such secondary markets in tickets are no different …

Supervising the Tech Giants

The rise of the ‘tech giants’ is, of course, a significant commercial threat to more traditional media, but it also raises some potentially important …

No, scrapping net neutrality laws won’t kill the internet

The decision by the US Federal Communication Commission (FCC) to remove so-called “net neutrality” laws in January produced a flurry of outrage.
The American …

No platform? On the economics of P2B exchange

The picture that emerges from the EC surveys of consumers and business regarding platforms is not of a market in which users are routinely …

Financial technology and regulation

Recent years have seen a reduced supply of capital to domestic businesses by banks due to increased capital requirements and compliance costs.
Market finance …

Artificial intelligence and the EU labour market

Widespread automation is often named as the greatest long-term threat to human employment. But Europe’s immediate job market problems are of a different sort: …

The wrong assumptions behind a European web tax

In a recent joint letter to the Commission, Germany, France, Italy and Spain’s finance ministers announced plans to tax tech multinationals, such as Amazon …

Cyber Security: What’s next?

In a world where the rapid development of information and communication technologies (ICTs) permeates every aspect of our daily life, the threat of cyber-attacks …

Businesses and Data Protection: are European firms ready?

The French Council of State recently asked the European Court of Justice to settle a case determining whether search engines such as Google and …

Germany’s battle against fake news

The German elections are just around the corner and a new anti-fake news bill, Netwerkdurchsetzungsgesetz (NetzDG), was passed by the Bundestag on 30 June …

Moscovici’s CCCTB proposal proves unworkable both in theory and in practice

The European Commission seems unable to decide the primary function of the CCCTB; is it mainly an anti-tax-avoidance scheme or is it an exercise …

Uber: a tech pioneer or an old taxi company?

On 4 July, European Court of Justice’s Advocate General Szpunar released an opinion stating that UberPop should be considered illegal, adding to the string …

Are EU citizens ready for the forthcoming digital revolution?

Whether for personal or professional usage, the European Digital Single Market will revolutionise the economy of the European Union, but only if its citizens …

The EU must legislate for the future, not regulate the past: The Google fine

After a 7 year investigation, the European Commission’s Margrethe Vestager announced on 27th June a €2.4 billion fine against search engine giant Google. Google …

Platform for debate

Platform businesses bring together distinct but interdependent sets of users in such a way as to improve the welfare of each side of the …

Antitrust and the challenge of regulation for online platforms

Platform businesses bring together distinct but interdependent sets of users in such a way as to improve the welfare of each side of the …

Estonia’s eGovernance: a lesson on efficiency for the EU

In April of last year, the European Commission released the European eGovernment Action Plan 2016-2020 which lines up the goals for the EU’s progress …

The Robot Tax: a levy on innovation, growth and job opportunities

During his recent electoral campaign, the defeated socialist French presidential candidate, Benoît Hamon, repeatedly hinted at a potentially radical proposal: To impose a tax …

The EU should support tech giants, not attack them

The position of the European Union (Brussels) and some economic commentators on technology multinationals should not surprise us. However, it is totally wrong. It …

Roaming without borders

Following the latest European Commission proposal on wholesale roaming surcharges across the EEA, on 5 and 6 April, MEPs will debate on and vote …

Stakeholder capitalism and the free-rider problem

Professional trend-watcher David Mattin argues that so-called ‘ethical business’ is the new big thing. He raises Uber’s recent regulatory and PR woes – the …

Intelligent choices in the present economy: embracing robotization and Artificial Intelligence

A European Parliament resolution calling for EU-wide ethical and safety standards for robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI), passed on 16 February, is evidence that …

The Economics of Industry 4.0

Viewed over the sweep of history, concerns about technological unemployment have always proved overblown. Over the last two-hundred years, technology has created more jobs …

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, AUTOMATION AND THE LABOUR MARKET

Part 2, for see part 1 here.
 
The great 20th century economist Joseph Schumpeter noted that it is not our technological capabilities that …

Artificial Intelligence, automation and the labour market

Artificial Intelligence (AI), the pipe dream of cognitive scientists and engineers in the 1950s, has until recently been the domain of science fiction, though …

The Fourth Industrial Revolution and its Impact on Labour

In 1821, at the height of the First Industrial Revolution, David Ricardo, one of the most influential classical economists of the late 1700s and …

What’s next for Europe’s mobile network?

On December 12th, Member States’ Representatives voted to formally adopt the latest European Commission proposal to end roaming charges in the EU by June …

Android and the challenge of platform management

Google Android is usually described as a mobile operating system – the software that links mobile hardware with applications and thus enables users to …

Google’s ‘monopoly’. It’s the market, baby!

The long-standing saga of the European Union’s battle against Google recently saw the addition of a new chapter. A few days ago an open …

Hire Authority

In recent years, smartphone-enabled applications such as Uber have gone a long way to resolve the market imperfections which gave rise to taxi regulation …

Google Shopping: the arguments revisited

The arguments on which the various competition cases against Google are being fought involve core features of economic interaction in multi-sided digital markets. As …

A note on sharing economy platforms, in light of the Uber ruling

The sharing economy is about reducing transaction costs. As Duke University Professor Michael Munger wrote for the IEA last year, such reductions take mainly …

Innovation in regulatory approaches

18 October, 2016
 
The sharing economy and digital platforms
 
An important part of the digital platform revolution is the sharing economy, which …

Innov8 — the hottest conference in Brussels about innovation

Innov8, our conference about innovation in various fields from science & tech to agriculture, took place in Brussels this week and provided a stimulating platform …

The case for the gig economy: better organisation, easier taxation and an open labour market

Eva Forslund // 06.09.2016
 
Uber, Airbnb, and BlaBlaCar – the sharing economy is, although still controversial, well established in Europe. So much so …

Reaping the benefits of the sharing economy

Dominykas Sumskis // 23.08.2016
 
The sharing, or collaborative, economy is a rapidly rising business model which enables exchanges of goods and services through …

The policy implications of the sharing economy

15 June 2016
The emergence of the sharing economy is rapidly changing the way in which goods and services are provided across the EU. …

The EU goes digital (sort of)

01 June 2016
While entrepreneurship and innovation are flourishing across much of the EU’s private sector, public policy has lagged behind most recent technological …

Is Android harming competition in mobile software?

21 April 2016
In sum, the Commission’s Statement of Objections concerning Android is not justified in light of the existing arrangements between Google and …

The Commission’s Android probe draws the wrong lessons from the past

Diego Zuluaga // 18.04.2016
It is expected that the EU’s competition authorities will this week issue Google with a formal charge sheet, known as …

Regulatory inertia is holding back the digital economy in Europe

Diego Zuluaga // 23.03.2016
It is a cliché to observe that digital technology is changing the way we work and interact with each other. …

Regulatory approaches to the sharing economy

18 February 2016
The sharing economy is based on reductions in transaction costs which enable exchanges that were previously not possible. Sharing economy firms …

EU Antitrust vs. Google

Istituto Bruno Leoni, 20 January 2016
The extent of market power enjoyed by Google is a debatable question. The antitrust literature emphasises the importance …

Commissioner Vestager misunderstands where the value of data lies

Diego Zuluaga // 18.01.2016
EurActiv reports this morning on a speech delivered by Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager at the DLD conference in Munich on …

Why regulating online platforms is a bad idea

Diego Zuluaga // 21.12.2015
Today, EPICENTER releases its latest briefing, on the economics and regulation of online platforms. The prospect of regulatory intervention into …

Understanding online platforms

21 December 2015
While platforms can operate online and offline, the internet has created new opportunities to lower transaction costs by linking users. Recently, …

The UK’s competition watchdog is right to combat taxi protectionism

Diego Zuluaga // 03.12.2015
In a response released yesterday, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) slammed measures proposed by Transport for London (TfL) …

Online platforms and the bad economics of politicians

EurActiv reports that the Italian Parliament is scheduled to vote on legislation which would regulate online platforms. The measure has been proposed by a …

Some cautionary notes on platform regulation

Diego Zuluaga // 03.11.2015
In a post last week, I welcomed Competition and Markets Authority chief Alex Chisholm’s plea for regulatory prudence on online …

A breath of fresh air in digital competition policy

Diego Zuluaga // 27.10.2015
Let’s say it loud and clear: There is hope for EU competition policy! After months of negative headlines and high-profile …