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Jevons Institute for Competition Law and Economics

Jevons Institution for Competition Law and Economics

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Latest News

The Jevons Institute for Competition Law and Economics held a Roundtable: Behavioral Economics, Consumer Protection and Antitrust, in Washington, D.C. on September 30, 2009  The event, organized by Professors Antonio Bavasso and David S. Evans, was chaired by Judge Douglas Ginsburg of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.  The 25 participants included top officials from the European Commission, Federal Trade Commission, U.S. Department of Justice, other competition authorities, judges, academics, and practitioners. During the five-hour program, the participants discussed behavioral economics which examines how individuals and firms actually behave rather than assuming they behave rationally. Behavioral economics has already been applied to consumer protection where for example some have advocated that consumers be “nudged” to make decisions that are in their best interest but which they might not otherwise take.  The participants, most of whom are antitrust specialists, also discussed whether and to what extent behavioral economics was relevant to antitrust.  The discussion continued over a dinner hosted by Dominick Chilcott, Deputy Head of Mission of the British Embassy. This was the third annual Jevons Roundtable in DC.

About the Institute

The Jevons Institute for Competition Law and Economics at UCL (The Jevons Institute), set up in 2006, aims through external events, research projects, teaching and publications to:

  • stimulate research and debate concerning the application of competition law and industry regulation to the marketplace; and
  • promote interaction among academic scholars in law and economics, policymakers and enforcement officials, the judiciary, practitioners and business leaders.

Our approach to legal doctrine and research in this area of law and policy is based on two pillars:

  • a strong interaction between legal principles and analysis and applied economic theory and empirics;
  • the use of comparative teaching and research methodologies involving competition policy in developed and developing market economies.

The Jevons Institute co-ordinates UCL’s teaching offerings and research activities which comprise a wide range of courses in antitrust law, regulation and economics. We are committed to training the next generation of leading practitioners, academics, and antitrust and regulation enforcers and others involved in competition law and policy.

The Jevons Institute actively seeks to develop international links with academic institutions and research bodies to promote joint initiatives in pursuance of its aims.

The Jevons Institute has been named after William Stanley Jevons, one of the foremost economists of the 19th Century. Read more about William Stanley Jevons.