Nicolas Petit
@competitionprof.bsky.social
Thoughtful antitrust, not make-believe antitrust. Prof at EUI & co-founder Dynamic Competition Initiative (DCI). Opinions mine only, not of any group or institution I belong to.
The moment is now. Europe stands at a crossroads:
💊 Blue pill: Path dependency, decline, and irrelevance.
💊 Red pill: Rebirth, dynamism, and a new industrial revolution
5/6
💊 Blue pill: Path dependency, decline, and irrelevance.
💊 Red pill: Rebirth, dynamism, and a new industrial revolution
5/6
November 14, 2025 at 6:46 AM
The moment is now. Europe stands at a crossroads:
💊 Blue pill: Path dependency, decline, and irrelevance.
💊 Red pill: Rebirth, dynamism, and a new industrial revolution
5/6
💊 Blue pill: Path dependency, decline, and irrelevance.
💊 Red pill: Rebirth, dynamism, and a new industrial revolution
5/6
These myths are holding us back.
Europe must confront trade-offs, face empirical reality, and make the hard choice: prosperity over stagnation
4/6
Europe must confront trade-offs, face empirical reality, and make the hard choice: prosperity over stagnation
4/6
November 14, 2025 at 6:46 AM
These myths are holding us back.
Europe must confront trade-offs, face empirical reality, and make the hard choice: prosperity over stagnation
4/6
Europe must confront trade-offs, face empirical reality, and make the hard choice: prosperity over stagnation
4/6
Our message is simple: Less, Better.
Europe doesn’t need more regulation, more bureaucracy, or more mission creep. It needs to focus on what made it great: economic dynamism, open markets, and a culture that rewards innovation
2/6
Europe doesn’t need more regulation, more bureaucracy, or more mission creep. It needs to focus on what made it great: economic dynamism, open markets, and a culture that rewards innovation
2/6
November 14, 2025 at 6:46 AM
Our message is simple: Less, Better.
Europe doesn’t need more regulation, more bureaucracy, or more mission creep. It needs to focus on what made it great: economic dynamism, open markets, and a culture that rewards innovation
2/6
Europe doesn’t need more regulation, more bureaucracy, or more mission creep. It needs to focus on what made it great: economic dynamism, open markets, and a culture that rewards innovation
2/6
My latest paper explains why the US v Google case identified monopoly power on the wrong side of the bargaining table. Comments welcome 🙏 papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
October 27, 2025 at 2:43 PM
My latest paper explains why the US v Google case identified monopoly power on the wrong side of the bargaining table. Comments welcome 🙏 papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
It’s that time to repost “understanding market power” - a full guide to the tricky but essential economics behind antitrust law. If you teach or study antitrust this fall, feel free to use it. Feedback is very welcome to help me improve the next version papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
August 21, 2025 at 8:03 PM
It’s that time to repost “understanding market power” - a full guide to the tricky but essential economics behind antitrust law. If you teach or study antitrust this fall, feel free to use it. Feedback is very welcome to help me improve the next version papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Coup de foudre. Le sublime atteint sous la plume de l’empereur Hadrien. Ne naît-on littérairement qu’après sa première rencontre avec Marguerite Yourcenar?
August 19, 2025 at 10:48 AM
Coup de foudre. Le sublime atteint sous la plume de l’empereur Hadrien. Ne naît-on littérairement qu’après sa première rencontre avec Marguerite Yourcenar?
Guess who has bargaining power here.
August 15, 2025 at 10:41 PM
Guess who has bargaining power here.
Encouraging to see Brussels push back on political interference in legitimate bank M&A.
Less ideal that consolidation is unfolding along national lines.
The big question: will stronger national champions finally unlock real cross-border banking in the EU?
Less ideal that consolidation is unfolding along national lines.
The big question: will stronger national champions finally unlock real cross-border banking in the EU?
July 20, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Encouraging to see Brussels push back on political interference in legitimate bank M&A.
Less ideal that consolidation is unfolding along national lines.
The big question: will stronger national champions finally unlock real cross-border banking in the EU?
Less ideal that consolidation is unfolding along national lines.
The big question: will stronger national champions finally unlock real cross-border banking in the EU?
Can’t be true!
Legal scholars claim Amazon dominates without rivals.
Economists claim algorithms collude.
When theory fails to match reality… ignore reality?
Legal scholars claim Amazon dominates without rivals.
Economists claim algorithms collude.
When theory fails to match reality… ignore reality?
July 7, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Can’t be true!
Legal scholars claim Amazon dominates without rivals.
Economists claim algorithms collude.
When theory fails to match reality… ignore reality?
Legal scholars claim Amazon dominates without rivals.
Economists claim algorithms collude.
When theory fails to match reality… ignore reality?
As @jeffjarvis.bsky.social might say: blaming the decades-old collapse of local journalism on one company - no matter how big - is grotesque. Correlation isn’t causation, even if you’ve got a Nobel Prize.
May 14, 2025 at 5:18 AM
As @jeffjarvis.bsky.social might say: blaming the decades-old collapse of local journalism on one company - no matter how big - is grotesque. Correlation isn’t causation, even if you’ve got a Nobel Prize.
The antitrust cases in @FTC v Meta and US v Google are strong examples of a phenomenon known in economics as 'time inconsistency'. What seems like efficient correction today may lead to unintended economic distortions tomorrow. A thread 🧵1/n.
April 25, 2025 at 2:48 PM
The antitrust cases in @FTC v Meta and US v Google are strong examples of a phenomenon known in economics as 'time inconsistency'. What seems like efficient correction today may lead to unintended economic distortions tomorrow. A thread 🧵1/n.
Quick puzzle on the US v Google remedy trial. Press coverage suggests the Government's focus is as much punitive/deterrent as restorative. So why is the Gov pushing for a breakup? From a legal standpoint, there are better options than breakups for punishment or compensation 1/n
April 23, 2025 at 2:43 PM
Quick puzzle on the US v Google remedy trial. Press coverage suggests the Government's focus is as much punitive/deterrent as restorative. So why is the Gov pushing for a breakup? From a legal standpoint, there are better options than breakups for punishment or compensation 1/n
Interesting exhibition in DC.
April 6, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Interesting exhibition in DC.
Interesting new GenAI feature that Meta rolled out on WhatsApp. As I wrote in my 2020 book, winner-takes-most dynamics in digital often arise from a process of competition *for* the best User Interface (UI) #AI 1/n
March 29, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Interesting new GenAI feature that Meta rolled out on WhatsApp. As I wrote in my 2020 book, winner-takes-most dynamics in digital often arise from a process of competition *for* the best User Interface (UI) #AI 1/n
📖 Our article with @MarcoAlmada on the AI Act is now available at the Common Market Law Review! "The EU AI Act: Between the rock of product safety and the hard place of fundamental rights" 🎸 gives an intro to the Act's provisions and regulatory logics papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
February 19, 2025 at 6:32 AM
📖 Our article with @MarcoAlmada on the AI Act is now available at the Common Market Law Review! "The EU AI Act: Between the rock of product safety and the hard place of fundamental rights" 🎸 gives an intro to the Act's provisions and regulatory logics papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
I am less keen on Acemoglu’s proposal to tax big tech firms. Antitrust enforcement is more effective in curbing monopoly rents in tipped markets. 31/N
January 13, 2025 at 9:09 PM
I am less keen on Acemoglu’s proposal to tax big tech firms. Antitrust enforcement is more effective in curbing monopoly rents in tipped markets. 31/N
For example, I am in favor of limiting digital advertisements in specific settings, similar to TV ad regulations in Europe. 30/N
January 13, 2025 at 9:09 PM
For example, I am in favor of limiting digital advertisements in specific settings, similar to TV ad regulations in Europe. 30/N
Recent data suggests that advertising revenue for legacy media, particularly TV, is not necessarily declining despite decreasing audiences. 24/N
January 13, 2025 at 9:09 PM
Recent data suggests that advertising revenue for legacy media, particularly TV, is not necessarily declining despite decreasing audiences. 24/N
The notion of numerous small firms competing in places like the Bay Area is largely true. Our paper, Gatekeepers, Landlords, or Superstars (w/ Bo Heiden & Sotiris Georgoudios), examined this phenomenon papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
January 13, 2025 at 9:09 PM
The notion of numerous small firms competing in places like the Bay Area is largely true. Our paper, Gatekeepers, Landlords, or Superstars (w/ Bo Heiden & Sotiris Georgoudios), examined this phenomenon papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Remarquable essai d’Eva Illouz expliquant les ressorts de la faute morale d’une gauche s’oubliant à l’antisémitisme.
January 6, 2025 at 7:15 AM
Remarquable essai d’Eva Illouz expliquant les ressorts de la faute morale d’une gauche s’oubliant à l’antisémitisme.
The @financialtimes.com recently featured a piece asking if France, and Europe, could become “a global AI powerhouse”. The FT piece has clear connections with the Draghi Report's embrace of a form of ‘European Preference’ 🇪🇺 in the chapter on competition policy. #AI #DraghiReport 1/n
January 3, 2025 at 1:07 PM
The @financialtimes.com recently featured a piece asking if France, and Europe, could become “a global AI powerhouse”. The FT piece has clear connections with the Draghi Report's embrace of a form of ‘European Preference’ 🇪🇺 in the chapter on competition policy. #AI #DraghiReport 1/n
What I meant a few days ago by EU preference is an exorbitant law and policy approach supportive of domestic AI ecosystems like Station F and firms like @mistralai.bsky.social 1/n
January 2, 2025 at 2:51 PM
What I meant a few days ago by EU preference is an exorbitant law and policy approach supportive of domestic AI ecosystems like Station F and firms like @mistralai.bsky.social 1/n
🤯 that even with Trump’s bad economic policies, “most economists — including at the IMF, the OECD and the European Commission — forecast stronger growth in the US than in Europe in 2025”. #draghi #competitiveness
January 2, 2025 at 2:28 PM
🤯 that even with Trump’s bad economic policies, “most economists — including at the IMF, the OECD and the European Commission — forecast stronger growth in the US than in Europe in 2025”. #draghi #competitiveness
May 2025 bring you and your family large gains in consumer welfare! papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
January 1, 2025 at 11:31 AM
May 2025 bring you and your family large gains in consumer welfare! papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....