Digital platform companies, innovation and competition

Swedish Entrepreneurship Forum have started a new policy paper series on technology, economics and structural change. The first paper address innovation, competition and digital platforms. The article sheds light on the friction between competition laws and digital platform companies that are significantly different from the type of business the legal structure was developed for. Simultaneously, digital platform companies contribute to market growth and increased competition on a number of other markets. A digital single market is a long-standing policy priority in the EU. Yet, the European digital economy remains fragmented. To understand how legislation can be adapted to harness the potential benefits of digital platforms is crucial for future European competitiveness and innovation.

In the paper, I introduce five policy paradoxes that relate to how platform companies effect competition and innovation. These paradoxes can hopefully contribute to illuminating areas in need of more research and also define the questions and trade-offs that the ongoing political debate need to consider, says the author Joakim Wernberg, Research Director Swedish Entrepreneurship Forum.

 

Read: Innovation, Competition and Digital Platform Paradoxes, Policy Papers on Technology, Economics and Structural Change 2021.1