13th ASCOLA Conference 

THE EFFECTS OF DIGITIZATION, GLOBALIZATION AND NATIONALISM ON COMPETITION LAW 

+ WORKSHOP on Competition Law Issues 

New York, USA

June 21 to June 23, 2018

 

CALL FOR PAPERS

 

The Academic Society for Competition Law (ASCOLA) will hold its 13th annual conference from Thursday June 21 to Saturday June 23, 2018 at New York University School of Law, New York, NY, USA.

 

Topic

 

“The Effects of Digitization, Globalization and Nationalism on Competition Law”

 

Several trends affect our markets. Many markets are going digital or are affected by the digitization of related markets. A broad variety of technological developments, including the introduction of the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and Big Data, and greater connectivity and storage capacities, have all contributed to digitization. Digitization, in turn, has enabled more markets to become truly global, although enforcement is still national. Globalization has led to the promotion, at least in some jurisdictions, of an opposite trend of national self-interest.

 

This conference seeks to explore the effects on competition law of these three trends, as well as the interplay between them. Questions will focus, inter alia, on whether competition laws can address anticompetitive conduct in the digital economy; how competition law should interact with other rules that focus on socially important aspects of digital markets such as privacy and data protection; how the fact that digitization enables firms to expand their international reach should affect the application of competition law, if at all; and how competition law should deal with the increased globalization that results from digitization, and the resultant appeals to national self-interest.

 

At the 13th ASCOLA conference, we would like to reflect systematically and critically on these questions. While some of the issues were also raised in our last conference, we believe that the discussion has only started, and there still is much room to explore these evolving issues in more depth.

 

Questions

 

The conference will be structured around four major themes (the first and third topics will be given more weight). We invite scholars to propose papers addressing one or more of the following themes:

 

(1) Application of Competition Policy in the Digital Economy: What are the new competition-related challenges created by the digital economy? What role should competition law play in regulating such environments?  Can current concepts address new types of conduct, and is it efficient or otherwise important to do so? Do new forms of abusive or anti-competitive behaviour arise in such industries? If so should new principles be formulated, or should established doctrines be applied differently? How should efficiencies be taken into account?  

 

(2) The effects of globalization on the application of competition law: How does the fact that some markets are becoming more global affect competition law?  How does it affect, if at all, substantive and procedural rules? How does it affect national enforcement tools and priorities? How does (or should) globalization affect the interplay of enforcement by different national competition authorities?

 

(3) The effects of national self-interest on the application of competition law: How should the trend of national self-interest affect competition law, if at all?  How does it affect substantive and procedural rules? How does it affect national and international enforcement tools and priorities?

 

(4) The interplay of digitization, globalization, and national self-interest: How does or should the interplay of the three trends, or each pair of them, affect competition law?

 

The conference topic will not be limited to any specific jurisdiction but aims to promote a discussion on the evolution of these issues throughout the world. The papers should potentially facilitate a discussion with regard to similar problems encountered worldwide.  Papers are not limited to government enforcement, but can consider the impact on private enforcement as well.

 

Parallel Sessions

 

As in previous years, part of the conference will take place in the form of parallel sessions. These sessions allow interested scholars to present their most recent research on any topic related to competition law (including jurisdiction-specific topics). Thus, submissions do not have to relate to the themes of the conference.

 

The papers for the parallel sessions will undergo the same evaluation process applicable to papers relating to the conference’s general theme.

 

Submission of Papers

 

ASCOLA members are invited to submit DRAFT PAPERS or EXTENDED ABSTRACTS (minimum of 8 pages) no later than January 15, 2018. Authors will be informed by March 15, 2018, by the latest, whether they have been selected for the conference. The papers will be evaluated by an Evaluation Committee, and each paper will be evaluated by two independent evaluators. Non-members can submit papers, and take advantage of that opportunity to apply for membership.

 

Authors of selected papers will then have until May 15, 2018 to submit their papers for the conference.

 

The organisers retain the right to exclude a paper that does not meet the quality requirements set for the conference.

 

Venue for publication of the conference papers

 

Provided their authors agree, the papers will be published on the conference website.

 

In addition, the authors of the selected papers relating to the topic of the conference will have a choice to submit their papers to an issue of the Journal of Antitrust Enforcement potentiallydedicated to ASCOLA’s papers or to a book collection to be published by Edward Elgar. The editors might need to make a selection based on quality, should either publication be more popular than the number of papers that can be published therein. Papers submitted to the journal will undergo a double-blind review, and will be published in an issue dedicated to the conference (one out of the three issues published by the JAE per year).

 

Costs

 

Speakers are expected to cover their costs for travel and hotel expenses but ASCOLA will provide scholarships, depending on available funds, to those who cannot finance their participation otherwise. Decisions on scholarships will be taken by a Scholarship Committee. Scholarships will mainly be granted to those presenting in the general sessions, on the topic of the conference.

 

Awards

 

Two awards will potentially be given during the conference.

 

– A Best Junior Paper Award will be given for the best contribution among those submitted by authors not older than 35 years. In order to be eligible for this award, scholars should specifically state their date of birth at the time of submission.

– An Award for Distinguished Services to ASCOLA will be given to one or several ASCOLA members who have made a substantial contribution to the development of the association.