Daniel Fordan

24 Oct 2016

Competition Policy in Multi-Sided Platforms

Abstract
Multi-sided platforms fundamentally dier from conventional businesses. Multi-sided platforms
serve two or more markets interacting with each other. On the other hand, conventional
businesses are usually a part of a supply chain simply serving consumers on one end. As such,
the economic considerations in multi-sided platforms deviate from those of conventional
businesses. For instance, due to network externalities, multi-sided platforms must employ
innovative pricing and business models. This paper seeks to find an application of competition
policies, particularly the Philippine Competition Act, to multi-sided platforms that takes into
account the novel economic considerations of such platforms. It attempts to make our current
competition policies compatible with multi-sided platforms.