Welcome Remarks
Luis CABRAL (Chair, Department of Economics, NYU Stern) welcomed the participants in the conference, before emphasizing the outstanding speaker line-up and thanking the organizers. Prof. Cabral stressed that antitrust is a central, important issue in a variety of fields.
Larry WHITE (Professor, Department of Economics, NYU Stern) also thanked the organizers, and acknowledged in particular the work of Dan Rubinfeld and Nicolas Charbit.
Opening Keynote Speech : Noah Joshua Phillips
Noah Joshua PHILLIPS (Commissioner, US Federal Trade Commission, Washington DC) dealt with the market for corporate control, emphasizing that fostering this market is a topical, critical challenge
Commissioner Phillips defined the market for corporate control as competition for companies coming from a number of sources, including other firms that may be current or future rivals, such as private equity firms and activists’ funds specialized in identifying and enhancing underperforming firms. He argued that the market for corporate control can lead to increased efficiency within firms, making them stronger competitors that, for example, are more innovative, offer better prices, quality, or increase output.