Better Competition, Better Prices: A presentation of the Senate's report on competition and a panel discussion

Abstract

During the last year several reports on business dynamism have emerged all pointing to low competition as the reason for high prices. While some reports focus on particular sectors, others see market competition as a general issue that needs addressing through regulation (for example, stricter competition policy). What does the evidence tell us as to what the problem is? Based on this, what are the steps that we need to take to remedy this situation?

The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics recently undertook an inquiry into promoting economic dynamism, competition and business formation in Australia.

This event hosted by the Economics Society of Australia (QLD) will feature a presentation of this work by the chair of the committee, Dr Daniel Mulino as well as by one of the authors of the report, Dr Guillem Roig. This will be followed by an expert panel who will provide their views on the issues raised. A Q&A session will follow.

Presenters

	Dr Daniel Mulino MP is chair of the House of Representatives’ Standing Economics Committee and has a PhD in economics from Yale. He first completed degrees in arts and law at the ANU and then completed a Master of Economics (University of Sydney). Born in Brindisi, Italy, Daniel was a young child when he moved with his family to Australia. In 2018 he was preselected for the new federal seat of Fraser and became its first MP at the 2019 election. He has lectured at Monash University, was an economic adviser in the Gillard government and was a Victorian MP from 2014 to 2018. As Parliamentary Secretary to the Victorian Treasurer, Daniel helped deliver major infrastructure projects and developed innovative financing structures for community projects.
	Dr Guillem Roig is a Lecturer in Economics at Universidad del Rosario in Bogotá and joined the Senate’s Standing Economics Committees of the Parliament of Australia as an advisor in 2023. He is currently visiting the Queensland University of Technology.  In 2015, he joined the Centre for Market Design at the University of Melbourne as a postdoctoral researcher after completing his Ph.D. at the Toulouse School of Economics. He researches market design, regulation, and the economics of innovation. He worked as an associate researcher for the World Bank Group.
Panellists
	Anna Barker has over 18 years’ experience working in Australian, UK and international public policy and regulatory organisations. She is an experienced economist and has worked on a range of policy issues including regulation, competition, consumer protection and the digital economy. Anna currently works as part of the leadership team in Treasury, where she has worked in the Competition Taskforce and on the Food and Grocery Code review. She was previously at the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and has also worked on competition and consumer issues at the OECD in France. She has first class honours in economics from the University of Queensland, and a Masters of Competition and Consumer Law from the University of Melbourne.
	Flavio Menezes is a Professor of Economics and Director of the Australian Institute for Business and Economics at the University of Queensland (UQ). Flavio is also the Chair of the Queensland Competition Authority and a member of the NDIA’s Pricing Arrangement Reference Group. Professor Menezes was a member of the Expert Panel for the Special Disability Accommodation (NDIS) 2022-2023 price review. He was the president of the Economic Society of Australia (Queensland) from 2016 to 2018 and a member of the advisory board of the Federal government’s 2019-2020 Deregulation Taskforce.
	Dr Pradeep Philip is the Head of Deloitte Access Economics, Australia, after a long and successful career in public policy. With a deep expertise in economics, and proven leadership experience, Pradeep has operated as a senior government bureaucrat, working at the highest levels of public policy across three jurisdictions in Australia, and served as Director of Policy to an Australian Prime Minister. Pradeep is also a Board member of the Committee for the Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) and is President of CEDA for Victoria and Tasmania. Pradeep also serves on the Advisory Board of the Melbourne School of Government at the University of Melbourne. Pradeep has served as the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (Victoria), and recently led an Independent Review of the Medicare Payment System in 2022, for the Commonwealth Government.

Light refreshments will be provided prior and after the event