John Kay

Utility liberalisation has come slowly and belatedly to continental Europe. But the lessons so expensively learnt by British and American investors have been ignored and utilities are at the centre of Europe’s rising tide of cooperate activity.

Merger Monday has proved that in the merger market, hope springs eternal. The wall of money chasing alternative investments in hope of the returns achieved in the heady 1990s, made it possible to take almost any company private.

In the US monopolies are prohibited, in Europe they are simply prohibited to abuse their dominant position. There is nothing wrong with current legislation in Europe, as a law that protects competition protects efficient competitors, and vice versa.

The choice between Tweedledum and Tweedledee may not matter much to the chooser but it matters a lot to Tweedledum and Tweedledee. While rich diversity may at times seem of little value, it is an axiom of modern economics that we benefit from choice – from products to public services and government.

In the past, shameful legacies made it difficult to debate central political issues around national identity and immigration. The erosion of these paves way for valuable debate.

Government should not promote national champions by protecting weak companies from the product market. But there is a case for protecting strong companies from the capital market – the commercial life of a city, region and country is diminished if control of its succesful businesses is transferred elsewhere.

Is it inevitable that media industries will be dominated by conglomerates? This is the industry where scale creates more problem than its advantages

The increased concentration of the car industry has been a commonly used, yet increasingly untrue example on the effects of globalisation. There is still an important lesson to learn though.

The biggest universities in the world are clearly not the best. So why do some British universities think that mergers will make them world class?

The proposed merger between Go and Easyjet has provoked minimal controversy. This belies the important questions it poses for the future of competition policy.