Welcome

The Role of Economic Evidence in Merger Analysis: Taking Stock of the Past and Shaping the Future

The Colombian Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio (SIC) is pleased to invite you to the 2012 International Competition Network (ICN) Merger Workshop, which will be held in Bogotá, Colombia, on 8 and 9 November 2012.

The 2012 Merger Workshop will be the 9th workshop hosted under ICN auspices, and is a continuation of the series of agency-led conferences that began in 2002.

During the two-day Workshop, discussions will focus on the role of economic evidence in merger analysis. First addressed during the 1st Merger Workshop in Washington in 2002, this topic was tackled at length in a 2003 article which has become Chapter 4 of the Investigative Techniques Handbook. Several years later, where do agencies stand as regard the use of economic evidence in their merger cases? The Workshop will take stock of current practices on using economic analysis in merger cases and provide a forum for Merger Working Group members to share their experiences in this regard.

During the Workshop sessions, participants will discuss topics related to economic evidence and merger analysis, such as how economics can be used to better understand the specifics of the market(s) concerned and to develop a coherent and well-articulated theory of harm, how economics can help generating reliable evidence, and how economic data can be efficiently gathered.

The sessions will include in-depth discussions on relevant recent and/or major cases. The Workshop will also address how Chapter 4 of the Investigative Techniques Handbook has been used in practice and how it can be improved to better assist agencies in the assessment of merger cases to come.

In addition to ICN member agencies, Non-Governmental Advisors (NGAs) will be invited to participate in most of the sessions of [to be decided] the Workshop. The SIC looks forward to meeting ICN member agencies and NGAs in Bogotá in November 2012!