Enrique Cañizares and Valerio Sodano have contributed the opening chapter to the recently published book Competencia y regulación en mercados digitales (Competition and Regulation in Digital Markets).
The chapter examines the methodological challenges involved in defining relevant markets in the digital space, focusing on multi-sided platforms and indirect network effects, services offered at a zero monetary price, and digital ecosystems. It also considers how competition authorities, including the European Commission, have adapted their analytical frameworks to address these features.
The chapter concludes that, despite these additional complexities, market definition continues to play an important role in systematically identifying the competitive constraints faced by firms. Even where the hypothetical monopolist test cannot be implemented quantitatively, it remains a sound economic framework for assessing the available evidence.
The book, edited by Professors Jerónimo Maillo González-Orús and Daniel Escoda Villacorta and published by Editorial Aranzadi, is available here.
