Evaluating non-price effects of regulatory and competition enforcement interventions

This thesis provides an ex-post evaluation of the effects of regulatory and competition policy enforcement interventions on non-price dimensions of competition. Chapter 1 examines the effects of a merger between two large Dutch supermarket chains on the variety and composition of product assortment. Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 investigate, both theoretically and empirically, the effects of access regulation in fixed telecoms markets on incentives to invest in superior infrastructure technologies. Non-price effects, together with price effects, are crucial to shed light on the extent of competition in a market and assess the effectiveness of regulatory and competition authorities' interventions. When evaluating non-price effects, however, it is harder to draw conclusions on the overall impact on consumers' welfare.