Economist Roundtable with the Competition Bureau
May 16, 2018 | 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM Eastern
Attend In-Person or by Teleconference
In Person: Stikeman Elliott LLP, 5300 Commerce Court West, 199 Bay Street, Toronto, ON
In-person registration will commence at 9:30 AM ET
Lunch will be provided
Fifth annual Roundtable with the Competition Bureau’s economists hosted by the Economics and Law Committee.
10:00 am – 10:15am | Introduction and Opening Remarks
There will be three panels as well as a keynote address over lunch:
10:15 am – 11:30 am | Panel 1
Competition Issues in Markets Involving Platforms
Platforms are gaining increasing interest given the attention to issues such as big data and the rise of online marketplaces. The panel will discuss the issues and challenges that arise for competition law enforcement in markets that involve platforms.
Speakers:
- Jeff Church (University of Calgary)
- Elisa Kearney (Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg)
- Alan Gunderson (Competition Bureau)
- Navin Joneja (Blake, Cassels & Graydon)
11:30 am – 11:45 am | Break
11:45 am – 12:45 pm | Panel 2
Pricing Practices in the Digital Economy
The panel will discuss behavioral economics and its insights into consumer decision making including responses to various pricing techniques used by firms. The application and challenges for competition law enforcement will also be discussed.
Speakers:
- Sebnem Gavin (Competition Bureau)
- Derek Leschinsky (Competition Bureau Legal Services)
- Mark Opashinov (McMillan)
- Claire Tsai (University of Toronto)
12:45 pm – 1:45 pm | Lunch and Keynote Address from Paul Johnson, the Bureau’s TD MacDonald Chair in Industrial Economics
Keynote Address
The Bureau’s TD MacDonald Chair in Industrial Economics, Paul Johnson, will provide a luncheon keynote address on the topic of innovation and merger review. Paul will describe how Canada’s efficiency defense, competition and innovation are interrelated.
1:45 pm – 3:00 pm | Panel 3
What Should Be Included in Competitive Effects?
Traditionally, competitive effects have been measured in terms of the economic concept of deadweight loss for purposes of the trade-off against efficiencies in merger review. This panel will discuss what other considerations could be included as competitive effects (e.g., X-inefficiency) and the challenges of incorporating them into merger analysis.
Speakers:
- Renée Duplantis (Brattle Group)
- Ryan Jakubowski (Competition Bureau)
- Joshua Krane (Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP)
- Margaret Sanderson (Charles River Associates)
- Steve Sansom (Competition Bureau Legal Services)
