Regulating Vertical Agreements: a comparative law & economics analysis of Brazil and Europe

This research reviews the enforcement of the Brazilian and the EU antitrust policies oriented to vertical agreements from an institutional perspective. It has considered both the evolution of the legal framework and the application of the existing policies in practice. The thesis highlighted the main challenges of the current approaches taken by the competition authorities in these jurisdictions and formulated specific proposals for improvements. Because Brazilian competition rules were originally inspired by the European legal framework, this PhD research also resumes discussions regarding comparative law and the efficiency of transplanting laws and good practices.