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Bates White Partner Dr. Scott Thompson publishes
work on market definition in the payment card industry in network
economics journal
WASHINGTON, D.C., May 9, 2006—Bates White Partner, Dr.
Scott Thompson, recently published an article titled, “Market
Definition and Market Power in Payment Card Networks,” in
The Review of Network Economics.
Dr. Thompson and co-author, Dr. Eric Emch, discuss competition
among payment card networks, addressing how antitrust practitioners
might approach questions of market definition and market power
in these markets. The article asserts that traditional methods
to measure market power—the application of the hypothetical
monopolist test to define markets, and the use of traditional
metrics—may be less straightforward for card networks than
for other markets. The “two-sidedness” of this market
does not, however, overturn the basic logic of the hypothetical
monopolist test or traditional measurements of market power. Dr.
Thompson and Dr. Emch demonstrate practical ways to apply these
antitrust principles to competition among payment card networks.
Dr. Thompson presented this paper at a conference jointly sponsored
by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and The Review of Network
Economics titled, “Antitrust Activity in Card-Based Payment
Systems: Causes and Consequences.” The conference focused
on recent antitrust investigations in the credit and debit card-based
payment businesses, and addressed the need for better information
on the efficacy of the different antitrust remedies mandated by
international courts. Conference speakers presented individual
research focused on the causes and effects of antitrust actions
in this industry.
Dr. Thompson specializes in antitrust analysis of alleged anticompetitive
conduct and has significant methodological expertise and extensive
experience using economic models and empirical techniques to assess
and quantify predicted effects of proposed mergers, agreements,
and single-firm conduct. He has conducted or supervised the U.S.
Department of Justice’s economic analysis in numerous monopolization
and collusion investigations in matters involving financial services,
investment products, computer software, health care, and medical
technology.
The Review of Network Economics is an electronic-based
journal that publishes papers on the economics of network industries
to provide a fresh perspective on existing literature and to keep
policy makers, academics, and practitioners informed of new research
and debates.
Click
here to download a copy of the article.
About Bates White
Bates White is a national economic consulting firm of more than 150 professionals.
Established in 1999, Bates White offers consulting services in economics,
finance,
and business analytics. Bates White has offices in Washington, D.C., and San
Diego, Calif.
www.bateswhite.com
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