Research initiatives
The Centre’s objective is to research original topics relating to collective action, with important practical implications, from a trans-disciplinary perspective. We take a broader perspective than traditional "law and economics" centres, being inspired by the Law and Political Economy tradition, experimenting with new approaches, bringing together the best of social science research (orthodox and heterodox, theoretical and empirical) when exploring the intersection between the legal system and the economy, technology and more broadly society.
The Centre takes a Mode 2 perspective on knowledge production. For this reason, the organization of our activities is different than in traditional research centres.
Firstly, we choose the topics of our research in close collaboration with the world of practice (governments, International Organizations, law firms and economic consultancies, corporations, the civil society) and we integrate as much as possible the main actors from practice in our work.
Secondly, we have a flexible internal organization for each of these “research initiatives”, with specific teams from the Centre and/or practice working together, independently from the other projects of the Centre, to accomplish their research outcomes.
Thirdly, we take a broader perspective than traditional "law and economics" centres, experimenting with new approaches, bringing together the best of social science research (orthodox and heterodox) when exploring the impact of the legal system on the economy, technology and society.
Regulating Competition in Digital Capitalism explores the issues raised by the development of digital economy and the rise of digital platforms for competition law and policy
The Competition Law and Financialisation research initiative explores how the hypertrophy of the financial sector, together with the rise of shareholder-centric corporate governance, may affect the competitiveness of markets
Courts, Regulators and the Scrutiny of Economic Evidence explores how the increasing reliance of sectoral regulators on economic inputs in the regulatory state affects the legal outputs of regulation and transforms administrative discretion and judicial review
Complexity Science, Complexity Economics and Economic Regulation explores competition law and policy from the lenses of complexity theory, spurring a research agenda in complexity science and economic regulation
Fairness Considerations in Liberalised Retail Energy Markets explores issues of fairness in the EU and UK energy retail markets from a theoretical and policy perspective
Digital Currencies, Digital Finance and the Constitution of a New Financial Order explores the impact of the digital revolution on the financial and monetary systems
Competition Law and Development engages with the diffusion of competition law in developing countries and the issues raised by integrating development aims in competition law
Global Competition Law & Economic Series constitutes the flagship conference series of the Centre, providing a global perspective on competition law and policy
Impact Assessments in Europe explores the expansion of cost benefit analysis and impact assessment for the adoption of legal norms in Europe and beyond
Social Media Unit (SMU) aims to engage with the legal, economic and societal consequences of the development of social media
Theory and History of Competition Law explores new theoretical approaches in competition law and engages with the history of the discipline
Trust, Distrust and Economic Integration advances the "trust theory of integration" as a new approach in understanding the process of economic integration in Europe and beyond
Economic and Econometric Evidence in Competition Law: An Empirical Perspective critically engages with the use of economics and econometric techniques in competition law
The Hub aims to enhance the research exchanges between academics and PhD students at UCL and the University of Cambridge in the areas of competition law, economics and regulatory policy.