Competition in Digital Markets: How can regulators incentivise investment and innovation?

There is a vibrant debate on what regulatory frameworks are needed for digital platforms. Join us to explore critical considerations for policy makers when reflecting on competition regulation, investment, innovation and growth in Australia’s digital ecosystem.

Using the case of Australia’s online marketplaces, recently subject of an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission study, the conversation will look at the dynamic between large and small firms, new entrants and established market participants. It will bring out the challenges of regulatory uncertainty and the impact of regulation on firms’ incentives to compete, invest and innovate.

This debate runs at the core of whether future regulation in the digital sector will succeed – and for whom. It is a timely conversation as regulators in Australia and beyond are considering future frameworks for digital platforms.

The event will take the form of an expert roundtable and will include interactive participant discussions.

Speakers:

Kirsten Webb (moderator)

John Yun

John M. Yun is an Associate Professor of Law at the Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University, and the Deputy Executive Director at the Global Antitrust Institute (GAI). Prior to joining Scalia Law, he was an Acting Deputy Assistant Director in the Bureau of Economics, Antitrust Division, at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC). He has also taught economics at Georgetown University, Emory University, and Georgia Tech. He received his BA in economics at UCLA and his PhD in economics at Emory University.

Stephen King

Stephen King is a Commissioner at Australia’s Productivity Commission and was Mergers Commissioner at the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission from 2004 to 2009. He has been a Professor of Economics at Melbourne and Monash Universities, researching on digital platforms, data and the interface between economics and competition laws. Stephen is a Lay Member of the High Court of New Zealand and has wide experience in providing expert testimony to Australian Courts. He has a PhD in economics from Harvard University and is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia.

Philip Williams

Philip Williams leads the Legal and Competition Team at Frontier Economics (Asia-Pacific). He provides economic advice to clients in the areas of antitrust, valuing damages, transfer pricing, intellectual property and contractual disputes. Prior to joining Frontier Economics, he taught full-time at the University of Melbourne from 1978 to February 2002, when he resigned as Professor of Law and Economics in the Melbourne Business School at the University. In addition to his role at Frontier Economics, he is a member of the Competition and Consumer Committee of the Law Council of Australia, Chairman of the Epworth Medical Foundation and a member of the Council of Court Services Victoria.