Behavioural Economics In Eu Competition Law: A Brief Overview

Abstract

This contribution examines the influence of behavioural economics on EU competition law as seen through the lens of public bodies and available academic literature. Behavioural economics highlight systematic biases such as the status quo bias or overconfidence, which can significantly impact consumer and business behaviour in some cases, thereby affecting market structures and competition dynamics. The research presented in this paper explores how these insights are applied in key areas of competition law enforcement, including market definition, the assessment of market power, merger control, the analysis of exclusionary practices, remedies, and sanctions. This contribution argues that empirical analysis is essential to properly account for behavioural biases in the application of competition law. While the benefits of integrating behavioural perspectives are clear, a cautious and contextspecific approach to applying behavioural findings is desirable, particularly when designing remedies and sanctions, to avoid adverse outcomes. This is also important in the area of merger review, where competition authorities have to account for behavioural biases materialising in the future. In such cases, one should pay special attention as to whether (1) the market conditions are prone to exhibit consumer biases and (2) the merged entity would be in a position to take unique advantage of such biases, and (3) evidence on the intent of the merging parties.

Keywords: competition law, law and economics, behavioural economics, behaviouralism