This paper analyses the main features and determinants of labour market reforms in the EU over the period of 2000-2011 using the European Commission LABREF database. The data suggests that the timing, focus, and geographical distribution of reforms reflect the interplay between economic shocks and existing institutions. The 2008 crisis was followed by increased policy activity in most policy domains in a large number of EU countries, initially to cushion the impact of the crisis on employment and incomes, subsequently to improve the adjustment capacity of labour markets. Regression analysis indicates that reform activism is stronger in countries with lower GDP per capita and long-standing EU membership, under critical economic and labour market conditions, and where political costs are low. The direction of reforms is affected by economic and labour market conditions, available fiscal space, and by initial policy settings.JEL classification: J20, J38, J48, J58, J68

The Directorate General for Competition at the European Commission enforces competition law in the areas of antitrust, merger control, and state aids. This year’s article provides first a general presentation of the role of the Chief Competition Economist’s team and surveys some of the main achievements of the Directorate General for Competition over 2017/2018. The article then reviews: the Google Search (Shopping) case, the role of price discrimination in state aid cases; and the use of counterfactuals in merger cases where alternative transactions might have occurred absent the merger.

The Directorate General for Competition at the European Commission enforces competition law in the areas of antitrust, merger control, and state aids. This year's article provides first a general presentation of the role of the Chief Competition Economist's team and surveys the main achievements of the Directorate General for Competition over 2016/2017. The article then reviews the economic work undertaken in one merger case between Dow/DuPont, which raised

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