A Note on Competing Merger Simulation Models in Antitrust Cases: Can the Best Be Identified?

Advanced economic instruments like simulation models are enjoying an increased popularity in practical antitrust. There is hope that they – being quantitative predictive economic evidence – can substitute for qualitative structural analysis and lead to unambiguous results. This paper demonstrates that it can be theoretically impossible to identify the most appropriate simulation model for any given merger proposal. Due to the inevitable necessity to reduce real-world complexity and multi-parameter character of merger cases, the comparative fit of proposed merger simulation models with mutually incompatible predictions can be the same. This is valid even if an ideal antitrust procedure is assumed. This insight is important regarding two aspects. First, the scope for partisan economic evidence cannot be completely eroded in merger control. Second, simulation cannot eliminate or substitute for qualitative reasoning and economically informed common sense.merger simulation, merger control, antitrust, economic evidence

Internationalisation of ICT R&D

This report investigates the contrasting views on the process of R&D internationalisation. On the one hand, there is an abundance of anecdotal evidence of companies locating their R&D activities outside of their home countries in order to search for new sources of knowledge and locate themselves close to new markets. On the other hand, however, the levels of international patents lead one to conclude that the level of R&D internationalisation is negligible. Such discrepancies in the views on the new geography of R&D activity, together with the scarcity of data illustrating the developments in R&D activity, pose a challenge for informed policy making. This apparently contradictory evidence can be explained by the complexity of the inventive process and various motivations behind the decisions to do R&D abroad. To address these complexities related to the internationalisation of R&D, the report uses a methodology that divides the process of R&D into input and output side and, subsequently, analyses separately their levels of internationalisation. The results confirm that there is a discrepancy between them. The EU and the US have higher levels of internationalisation than Japan and Asia. However, according to which measures are taken into account, there are differences between the levels of internationalisation in the EU and the US. For example, these two regions have similar levels of R&D input internationalisation, but very different levels of R&D output internationalisation. A comparison of Japan and Asia also shows that these two regions follow different R&D internationalisation trajectories. On the one hand, these discrepancies may indicate that all regions follow different R&D internationalisation paths. On the other hand, they may also be a sign of the unequal capabilities of companies from different regions to ‘go global’.JRC.J.4-Information Societ

Development of grid frameworks for clinical trials and epidemiological studies

E-Health initiatives such as electronic clinical trials and epidemiological studies require access to and usage of a range of both clinical and other data sets. Such data sets are typically only available over many heterogeneous domains where a plethora of often legacy based or in-house/bespoke IT solutions exist. Considerable efforts and investments are being made across the UK to upgrade the IT infrastructures across the National Health Service (NHS) such as the National Program for IT in the NHS (NPFIT) [1]. However, it is the case that currently independent and largely non-interoperable IT solutions exist across hospitals, trusts, disease registries and GP practices – this includes security as well as more general compute and data infrastructures. Grid technology allows issues of distribution and heterogeneity to be overcome, however the clinical trials domain places special demands on security and data which hitherto the Grid community have not satisfactorily addressed. These challenges are often common across many studies and trials hence the development of a re-usable framework for creation and subsequent management of such infrastructures is highly desirable. In this paper we present the challenges in developing such a framework and outline initial scenarios and prototypes developed within the MRC funded Virtual Organisations for Trials and Epidemiological Studies (VOTES) project [2]

The growth and locational dynamics of the UK computer services industry,1981-1996

The central aim of this thesis is to explore the key structural, organisational and locational trends within an innovative, fast growing and strategically important producer service sector in the UK, the computer services industry. The thesis has five more specific objectives; firstly, to examine the ongoing internationalisation processes in this sector; secondly, to profile the spatial, structural and occupational structure of the UK industry in the context of these processes; thirdly, and most importantly, to explore the factors behind the uneven development pattern in this sector (London and the South East accounted for 59 per cent of employment in 1993); fourthly to contribute to the theoretical understanding of uneven development in contemporary economies; and finally, to consider the policy implications of the growth dynamics of the sector. The research is based on three main tranches of fieldwork. Firstly, 17 interviews with managers and officials in the Irish software industry provide a case study of the highly internationalised nature of the package software industry. Secondly, nine interviews with representatives of the top suppliers in the UK industry illustrate how these dominant firms are restructuring both spatially and functionally to meet the needs of the developing, international market. Thirdly, the results of a structured interview survey of 173 firms spread across four counties (Hertfordshire, Berkshire, Cheshire, Tyne & Wear) are presented to illustrate the regional variations within the industry's structure, new firm formation process and linkages that both underpin, and reflect the uneven development pattern in the sector. The analysis concludes that the dominance of the Greater South East in this industry is largely unassailable; based upon the historic growth of the industry, the region has long since achieved the critical mass to create many new firms which then reinforce the dominance, supported by the availability of labour, an acceptable living environment, and proximity to a large, high-order, regional market. The investment and restructuring strategies of key foreign-owned multinationals are also a key contributor to the South-East's primacy

Farewell national champions

Nicolas Véron presents and analyses new data about the internationalisation of Europe's largest companies and their US counterparts, and discusses some policy implications.

Generalised quantum tree search

This extended abstract reports on on-going research on quantum algorithmic approaches to the problem of generalised tree search that may exhibit effective quantum speedup, even in the presence of non-constant branching factors. Two strategies are briefly summarised and current work outlined.This research is financed by the ERDF through the Opera tional Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation - COMPETE 2020 Programme and by National Funds through the Portuguese funding agency, FCT, within project POCI-01- 0145-FEDER-03094

Born-digital: The Internationalisation path of digital firms

While digital firms are playing an increasingly important role in the world economy, their international expansion remains an emergent topic for international business researchers. We still lack a clear understanding of the characteristics and patterns of internationalisation by digital firms. This study aims to address this research gap by examining the path of digital firms’ international expansion. Applying the research methods of tabulation analysis and mini case study, our study reveals that digital firms expand into foreign markets in a way that significantly differs from conventional brick-and-mortar firms, thus questioning explanations provided by extant internationalisation theories. Three patterns of digital firms’ internationalization are identified. Based on analysis of archival data, this study contributes to theoretical development of internationalisation theory and provides guidance to managers of digital firms creating and implementing international expansion strategies