Diversity in legal rules allows to satisfy a larger number of preferences and safeguards the benefits of competition as a learning process. Harmonisation of laws should be limited to fields of law where economic distortions, such as a "race to the bottom" or significant negative externalities...

This paper discusses the exemption of the insurance branch from the applicability of EC antitrust rules. It argues that the conditions for an exemption are not met and that the exemption allows the existing restrictions on competition to remain in existence, which will seriously hinder the...

The principle of mutual recognition is almost universally acclaimed for removing barriers to trade, for enabling regulatory competition, and for preserving scope for regulatory autonomy instead of embarking on a path to harmonisation and centralisation. By using economic theories of legal...