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Defra has published Europe Economics' report on the economic need for improving intelligence within the food authenticity programme. The report explores the scope for applying economic intelligence to the analysis and prediction of food fraud in the UK; we explore whether it is possible to predict the likelihood of fraud based on the economic variables that drive the potential profits to be made by committing such fraud.

Last year Bob Young was asked by the Fairtrade Alliance to estimate the cost of Unfair Trading Practices across the EU food supply chain, using two sizeable surveys conducted by an independent agency. His estimates are now to be used in further discussions within the European Commission so we publish Bob's paper here.

The international committee of the Independent Petroleum Association of America, which includes a number of U.S.-based companies with significant operations in the UK and other foreign jurisdictions commissioned Europe Economics to estimate how much investors in the UK would stand to lose by fossil-fuel divestment. The attached file presents our findings.

The Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has published Europe Economics’ study on dominant positions in national railway transport services markets, as part of its external consultation on Dutch rail. The research provides evidence to be used by ACM in identifying possible relevant markets and the competitive conditions in these markets. The study used conjoint analysis to estimate the sensitivity of train passengers to changes in the price and quality of services. The estimates were then used to assess the profitability of passenger operators when prices are potentially increased by a “small” amount (following the concept of a SSNIP test for defining markets). The results of the study show evidence of instances where passenger operators may have a dominant position. The research also shows situations where freight operators have a dominant position, especially in those market segments where freight transport by road and inland waterway are not perceived as alternatives to rail.

Europe Economics has published a new study of the EU market for patented medicines. Serious problems are identified for patients in lower income countries, resulting from the combination of External Reference Pricing and parallel trade. You can view the annexes to this report here, and a discussion paper on the case for transparency in pricing here.