Photo: Andrew Stewart

Competition and Liberalisation 

Market analyses and analyses of competition are important elements when considering liberalisation. For instance, such analyses indicate whether prices will rise or fall.

Trend

Authorities in both the EU and in Denmark have focused their attention on competition. This has led to the liberalisation of a wide range of infrastructures, including traffic by air, rail and buses, and the markets for energy, telecommunications and mail.

Lower prices

Often liberalisation leads to lower prices and a more flexible supply situation. However, in some cases the benefits are probably outweighed by the costs of carrying out the liberalisation process or by inexpedient incentives on the resulting markets.

COWI services

COWI carries out analyses of how different sectors can be liberalised and whether or not it is a good idea. An example of such an analysis is the COWI project on the possible liberalisation of refuse disposal plants in Denmark.  

Competition analyses

COWI also carries out traditional competition analyses as used for competition cases in Denmark and the EU. These analyses include market investigations, delimitation of markets, SSNIP- market power tests, etc. Competition analyses are also used by enterprises in-house, e.g. for evaluating prices. COWI has conducted competition analyses for SAS, Post Denmark and others.