Top of the Agenda

Oxera

Brought to you by Oxera. Welcome to the Top of the Agenda Podcast, where industry experts and senior executives delve into the most pressing topics of our time. By using the combination of economics, data science and finance, we can shape and improve the business, legal and regulatory landscape and inspire new solutions from the everyday, to ever-evolving global issues. Oxera is a consultancy that uses the expertise of economics, data science and finance to help its clients make well-informed and data-backed decisions. How is the green transition funded? Should sport be regulated, and if so, how? How are our urban transport needs changing and how should we pay for this? What is the impact of AI on jobs? These are just a few of the questions that we help to answer every day, in countries around the world, and ‘Top of the Agenda’ shares the insights from experts at the heart of these questions. Our skills apply to any industry and help to provide new and impartial solutions. You can find out more about Oxera, and how our work with our clients makes a difference, by visiting our website. www.oxera.com.

  1. 4d ago

    Episode 30: How should sustainability considerations be reflected in European Merger control?

    Against the backdrop of the European Commission’s draft merger guidelines, our latest episode explores how sustainability can be given appropriate weight when assessing mergers. Helen Jenkins is joined by Simon Holmes, a Member of the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal and Visiting Professor in Law at the University of Oxford, and Nicole Rosenboom, a Partner at Oxera. Together, they discuss how the draft guidelines make sustainability a central consideration in market assessment in two ways. First, sustainability is recognised as a parameter of competition. Alongside more familiar factors such as price, product quality and range, businesses compete on the sustainability of their offerings. Second, a merger may generate sustainability benefits that would not otherwise be achievable.

  2. Aug 21

    Episode 29: Bridging the water investment gap: how can investment be secured?

    This latest episode of Top of the Agenda, recorded in front of a live audience at Oxera’s new London office, explores how the investment needed to meet global commitments to safe water and sanitation can be encouraged and secured. The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6) commits the world to universal access to safely managed water and sanitation. However, a decade on 2.2 billion people still lack safely managed drinking water, 3.4 billion lack safely managed sanitation and only 56% of global domestic wastewater is safely treated. To address this global challenge, Oxera has partnered with the UK Host Country Committee for the International Water Association (IWA) World Water Congress and Exhibition to develop Bridging the Water Investment Gap: A Framework for Delivering UN Sustainable Development Goal 6, better known as the Glasgow Framework. This new practical framework is designed to support governments, investors and water sector leaders in overcoming the systemic barriers that continue to constrain investment in water infrastructure and services. Helen Jenkins is joined by the people behind the Glasgow Framework: Peter Simpson, Co-President of the IWA Congress, Alex Plant, Chief Executive of Scottish Water and Co-President of the IWA Congress, and Oxera experts Chris Davis and Georgia Davies. Together, they discuss how the Glasgow Framework could help unlock billions in investment to strengthen global water security.

  3. Aug 11

    Episode 28: AI and fairness: who captures the gains and who is bearing the costs?

    Who benefits from AI's economic value? Much of the discussion around AI focuses on the tasks the technology is replacing. But arguably just as important are the economic questions about competitive advantage: who is capturing the gains, and how widely are they being shared? In this episode of Top of the Agenda, Helen Jenkins is joined by Oxera Partners Dave Jevons and Sebastian Wernicke to explore how AI is changing the structure of firms and markets, who is capturing those productivity gains, whether the benefits are distributed broadly across the economy, and ultimately, who benefits from AI?

  4. Jul 31

    Special edition: Modernising EU competition policy: from guidelines to outcomes

    This special edition of Top of the Agenda was recorded at our 2026 Brussels conference, which hosted senior figures from the European Commission, national competition authorities, academics and the legal community to discuss one of the most significant developments in EU competition policy in two decades: the revision of the EC Merger Guidelines. This episode covers three main themes that came out of the conference conversations: what adopting a more dynamic assessment really means in practice; the new approach to efficiencies and why the guidelines are now encouraging merging parties to change their behaviour, not just their paperwork; and the role of competition enforcement in a world where European competitiveness, scale, and innovation have become more urgent political priorities. Francesca Sala, Oxera Partner, presents extracts from speakers at the event including: Linsey McCallum, Deputy Director General of DG COMP; Emanuele Tarantino, DG COMP's Chief Economist; Daniele Calisti, the Head of Merger Policy at DG COMP; Anna Lyle-Smythe, Partner at Slaughter and May; Volker Nocke, Professor of Economics at the University of Mannheim; Griet Jans, Chief Economist of the Belgian Competition Authority; Martijn Snoep, Chairman of the Dutch Competition Authority; and Thibaud Vergé, Vice President of France's Autorité de la concurrence.

  5. Jun 26

    Episode 27: How does economic policy shape European markets?

    In this episode of Top of the Agenda, Helen Jenkins sits down with Sir Philip Lowe, who spent over 40 years at the European Commission, to reflect on his career.   From his early work in the 1970s responding to the decline of industries such as coal and steel, Sir Philip’s career spans regional and rural development, building the single market, merger policy reform, European energy infrastructure, competition enforcement, and international trade negotiations.   Together, they explore how innovative policy can and has shaped positive, long-term outcomes for European markets and the people they serve.

  6. May 28

    Episode 26: How will Europe be affected by the global oil and gas supply crisis?

    The conflict between the US, Israel, and Iran, which has disrupted traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, has caused major disruption in global oil and gas supplies, triggering complex economic consequences across industries and markets far beyond the energy sector.   In this episode of Top of the Agenda, Helen Jenkins is joined by Bill Farren-Price, Senior Research Fellow and Head of Gas Research at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, and Jostein Kristensen, Senior Advisor in Oxera’s Energy Practice. Together they discuss the impact of the global energy supply crisis on Europe and explore what we can expect in the short and long term.

  7. May 27

    Episode 25: Draft merger guidelines: can we ensure dynamic and innovative markets flourish in Europe?

    The European Commission's draft merger guidelines are one of the most important ongoing debates in European policy. Nearly two decades have passed since the guidelines were last reviewed, and the new draft draws upon years of practice and precedent, reassessing core concerns around market power and consumer harm in today's digitalised, networked economy, where innovation is central to sustainable growth. In this episode of Top of the Agenda, Helen Jenkins is joined by Guillaume Loriot, Deputy Director-General for Mergers at the European Commission's Directorate-General for Competition, and Massimo Motta, Research Professor of Economics at ICREA, Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), and the Barcelona School of Economics. Together they discuss the draft guidelines and how greater emphasis might be placed on innovation, resilience, investment incentives, industrial scale, and Europe's global competitiveness, all alongside the core aim of merger control: protecting the long-term interests of consumers.

  8. May 15

    Special edition: PR24 redetermination: what the CMA's decision means for UK households and water regulation

    In this special edition of Top of the Agenda, we’re diving into the UK water sector to explore the Competition and Markets Authority's (CMA) final determinations: the PR 24 Redetermination process.   In England and Wales, the amount consumers pay for their water is regulated by the Office of Water Regulation (Ofwat). Five water companies: Anglian, Northumbrian, South East, Southern and Wessex disputed the price control decisions made by Ofwat in December 2024 and exercised their statutory right to ask the CMA to reconsider. The CMA has now delivered its verdict.   Helen Jenkins is joined by four members of Oxera's water team—Partner Christopher Davis and Managing Consultants Charles Blake, Daniel Brown, and Joseph Duffy—to unpack what the CMA decided, why it matters to UK households, and what it signals for the future of water regulation.

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About

Brought to you by Oxera. Welcome to the Top of the Agenda Podcast, where industry experts and senior executives delve into the most pressing topics of our time. By using the combination of economics, data science and finance, we can shape and improve the business, legal and regulatory landscape and inspire new solutions from the everyday, to ever-evolving global issues. Oxera is a consultancy that uses the expertise of economics, data science and finance to help its clients make well-informed and data-backed decisions. How is the green transition funded? Should sport be regulated, and if so, how? How are our urban transport needs changing and how should we pay for this? What is the impact of AI on jobs? These are just a few of the questions that we help to answer every day, in countries around the world, and ‘Top of the Agenda’ shares the insights from experts at the heart of these questions. Our skills apply to any industry and help to provide new and impartial solutions. You can find out more about Oxera, and how our work with our clients makes a difference, by visiting our website. www.oxera.com.

Information

  • Creator
    Oxera
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    42
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2019 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Top of the Agenda