Competition and the public interest

For more than a century, the Royal Netherlands Economic Association (KVS) has published a yearly report containing the recommendations ('preadviezen') of Netherlands-based economists to the Dutch government. The subject of this year's report, presented to the public on 11 December 2009 in The Hague, is "competition and the public interest". TILEC director Eric van Damme acted as editor-in-chief along with Maarten Pieter Schinkel from ACLE, TILEC's partner in the Competition Law and Economics European Network (CLEEN). The report highlights that good competition requires a vigorous government. As exemplified by the recent financial meltdown, when the government doesn't come up to the mark in regulating and managing markets, it risks market failure. Yet, at the moment not enough measures are taken to prevent bad outcomes in many markets. For instance, TILEC member Bert Willems and TILEC extramural fellow Machiel Mulder, who co-wrote a chapter about the energy sector, argue that, although there is limited room for effective government intervention to secure energy supply, the need for government action is more acute when it comes to tackling environmental externalities.