An enforcer's dilemma regarding excessive prices

Abstract

The rules on abuse of dominance in the EU and most other jurisdictions (apart from the US), protect against excessive pricing, which occurs when an undertaking, holding dominant market power, charges prices above the competitive pricing level. Promoting consumer welfare is the overarching objective of competition law and, therefore, prohibiting excessive pricing indeed makes sense. Or does it? This question is surprisingly complex and controversial for a host of economic, practical and ideological reasons. US antitrust law is concerned with exclusionary conduct only, that is, it does not prohibit excessive pricing by dominant position. On the other hand, investigating excessive prices in the EU and other jurisdictions has been rare, although in recent years, the competition community saw a surge in cases dealing with excessive pricing