Oxera Economics Council

The Oxera Economics Council is a group of leading European academics which meets biannually with Oxera economists and senior policy-makers to discuss major European policy questions in the areas of competition and regulation’.

The most recent meeting was on 12 November 2024 in Brussels, which focused on the relationship between competition policy, industrial policy and competitiveness. The previous meeting focused on the reform of exclusionary abuse of dominance under Article 102. Read the background paper here.

The council is chaired by Sir John Vickers, Professor of Economics at All Souls College, Oxford and the current council members include:

Amelia Fletcher, Professor of Competition Policy, University of East Anglia
Chiara Fumagalli, Professor, Bocconi University
Massimo Motta, Research Professor, ICREA-Universitat Pompeu Fabra and Barcelona School of Economics
Natalia Fabra, Professor of Economics, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid
Volker Nocke, Professor of Economics, University of Mannheim
Dr Walter Beckert, Reader / Associate Professor of Economics, Birkbeck, University of London
Yassine Lefouili, Director of TSE- Partnership and Professor, Toulouse 1 Capitole University
Özlem Bedre, Professor of Economics, Joint Chair at the European University Institute Department of Economics and Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies

Since 2008, the Oxera Economics Council has tackled numerous topics, including:

Behavioural economics and remedies
Competition in pharmaceuticals
Competition in the labour market: what role for competition policy?
Digital platforms: competition, market outcomes and regulation
European Energy reform
FRAND pricing obligations
Incentivising publicly owned regulated organisations
Mergers innovation and efficiency
The economics of privacy
Vertical Mergers

Oxera Economics Council - 7 posts

20 December 2019

Articles

9 minute read

Digital platform regulation: What are the proposals across Europe?

Calls to ‘do something’ about tech giants are getting louder. Some suggest that breaking them up is the best way to go, but such strong intervention is absent from the most developed regulatory proposals seen so far. Taking into account recent prominent reports from (or for) the European Commission and several national competition authorities, what are the main proposals on the table, and are they plausible? Read More

30 September 2019

Articles

10 minute read

Labour markets: a blind spot for merger control?

Recent months have seen increased discussion of merger control in Europe. One central question is whether the impact on labour markets should be examined directly, or indirectly in terms of product market concentration. We shed light on the main arguments in this debate, and discuss some of the challenges that would be faced by competition authorities if they were to consider labour markets concentration in their merger assessments Read More

31 January 2019

Articles

9 minute read

Increased market power: a global problem that needs solving?

The idea that there has been a widespread reduction in competition across many industries has been widely discussed in recent years by academics, policymakers and the media. But what does the empirical evidence actually say, and what are potential causes and policy options? The Oxera Economics Council met to discuss this topic in November 2018 Read More

28 June 2017

Articles

8 minute read

When algorithms set prices: winners and losers

The digital revolution has led to a significant growth in companies’ ability to capture, store and analyse data about their customers, competitors and the wider world. Increasingly, companies are using this information to develop algorithms that set prices for them. But how might the automation of pricing through algorithms affect competitive outcomes in markets, and result in different consumers being charged different amounts for the same good or service? Read More

27 February 2017

Articles

10 minute read

Mergers and innovation: fewer players, more ideas?

Is market consolidation detrimental to innovation? Conversely, do mergers create benefits to society by increasing innovation that brings better outcomes for consumers? While merger assessment has historically focused on static price and cost effects, regulators are increasingly being asked to consider whether a transaction will create the right incentives for product development and innovation over a longer time horizon. The Oxera Economics Council met to discuss this topic in November 2016 Read More

17 December 2015

Articles

9 minute read

A fair share? The economics of the sharing economy

Do you want to travel to dinner in a limousine tomorrow? Stay in an apartment with disabled access in Paris? Invest a small amount in a high-risk start-up? The potential benefits of online sharing platforms for consumers are appealing, but some policymakers have questioned whether there is a level playing field with incumbent suppliers, and how far regulation should apply to these new entrants. The Oxera Economics Council met to discuss the topic in November 2015 Read More

15 November 2010

Articles

14 minute read

Behavioural economics, competition and remedy design

Marketers know that people’s perceptions and decision-making abilities can be manipulated by external influences, and behavioural economics has also sought to take such issues on board. However, only more recently have policy-makers begun to examine closely what behavioural economics means for biases in consumer behaviour, how these can lead to competition problems, and how remedies can be designed to help markets work better. Read More