About this event
Digital developments necessitate rethinking traditional tests and concepts in competition law. Much has been written about how the best outcomes can be achieved in the digital environment.
This session focussed on two important areas. Merger analysis depends on a difficult forward-looking test which is complicated by the nature of dynamic digital markets and Dr Rhonda Smith addressed this issue. Globally, nations are exploring the potential of central bank digital currency (CBDC) which will revolutionise banking and commerce. Competition issues are inextricably linked to CBDCs at local and international level. Professor Liyang Hou and Professor Deborah Healey discussed different aspects of competition and CBDCs.
This panel discussed issues emerging from the two cutting edge areas of competition law and policy.
Speakers:
Dr Rhonda Smith
Rhonda Smith is a Senior Lecturer/Senior Fellow in the Economics Department at the University of Melbourne. Her teaching centres around the economics of competition law and she has published extensively on competition law issues. Rhonda worked for some time as a business analyst which provided useful insights into business operations. She has acted as an expert witness in a number of competition cases and has provided economic advice both to the ACCC and also to parties in relation to numerous cases. She is a former ACCC Commissioner.
Professor Liyang Hou
Liyang Hou is Professor of Competition Law at KoGuan Law School, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (Shanghai). He obtained his PhD of law from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. Liyang’s research interest covers a variety of legal domains, such as competition law, Internet regulation, telecom regulation and economic analysis of law. He has published about 10 books and more than 60 academic articles in academic journals.
Professor Deborah Healey (Speaker and Moderator)
Deborah Healey is a Professor at UNSW Law and a Director of the China International Business and Economic Law Centre. She is also a member of the Centre for Law, Markets and Regulation. Her research and teaching focus on competition law and policy in Australia, China, Hong Kong and the ASEAN nations and she has written widely on them over a long period of time. She is a regular visitor to those jurisdictions to research and teach. Within the area of competition law, she is particularly interested in the role of government in the market, both in Australia and internationally; merger regulation; competition in banking and finance; and the digital economy. Deborah has undertaken substantial research in the development of the Anti-Monopoly Law of China against the background of its political economy and has written widely alone and with Chinese co-authors and in material translated into Chinese. She has consulted with, and completed research projects for, UNCTAD, OECD and ASEAN. She is a Non-Government Adviser to the International Competition Network and a member of the Law Council of Australia Competition Law Committee.
Note: This is CIBEL’s 4th event in 2021 related to central bank digital currency (CBDC). Click here for more details and recordings of our past events on CBDC.