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> Home > Areas of expertise > Impact Assessment
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What is holding back cross-border competition in regulated professions?
Services account for almost 70% of GNP and jobs in the EU, but the full economic potential of the service sectors is currently hampered by many Internal Market barriers. Examples of barriers to service provision are abundant. Service providers wishing to establish themselves in other Member States may face restrictive authorisation schemes and other disproportionate, possibly even discriminatory, requirements. Similarly, cross-border provision of services is sometimes hindered by obligations and administrative burdens imposed by national and local regulations. We excel in quantifying the economic importance of barriers to the Internal Market, and we advise on the pros and cons of specific regulation in relation to client objectives.
What drives competition in network industries?
During the past decade, the forces of market opening have been at work in the so-called network industries. Markets previously characterised by public monopolies have been opened up to competition. This includes electricity, telecommunication, rail passenger and freight transport, urban passenger transport, air (passenger) transport, natural gas, and postal services. Network industries provide crucial inputs for production in all other sectors of the economy. To the extent that market opening in network industries has succeeded in reducing prices, market opening is a key factor for stimulating economic growth and employment in the EU economy. We excel in quantifying the economic potential in market opening, and we advise on the pros and cons of specific regulation in relation to client objectives.
Energy and Climate
Copenhagen Economics can help you analyse burden-sharing issues. The distribution of costs and benefits of a given policy depends on how mitigation options are distributed. But it also depends on spill over effects via product markets, e.g., if a firm can pass on mitigation costs to their customers. We can help you understand both how mitigation options are distributed and how costs and benefits of a given policy are ultimately distributed. We have a long track record of using relevant databases and we also have a number of models developed in-house that can be adapted to your needs, e.g., the Copenhagen Economics Climate Model (CECM).
Are selective reductions of VAT rates a good idea or not?
Value Added Tax (VAT) is a fundamental tax instrument in the European Union raising 20 percent of total tax revenue, but the structure of VAT-rates within and between member states is bewilderingly diverse and complex. On the one hand, it is argued that the current VAT-structure is economically inefficient and that VAT-rates should be made more uniform. On the other hand, we are witnessing a constant debate about extending lower VAT-rates to even more products based on arguments of efficiency and equity. Which side has the upper hand?
We have found out that both arguments have their merits. We utilize this insight to provide clients with arguments to support their case.
What are the net-benefits for the surrounding area of a new production plant or a major sporting event?
New investments can play an important role in raising a region’s technological level, its productive efficiency and its ability to compete internationally. New investments mean new technologies, new knowledge and new management skills, and existing firms can learn from this. Benefits may also accrue from single events such as a great sporting event. We can quantify the expected economic net-benefits of investments or events, and we know what matters for a (foreign) investor when he decides to invest in a specific region of the world.
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Sankt Annæ Plads 13 | DK-1250 Copenhagen | Phone: +45 2333 1810 | Fax: +45 7027 0741
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