The objective of this course is to provide students with a thorough understanding of the economic theories, methods and evidence that underpin competition law, taking in perspectives from the United Kingdom, European Union, United States and other jurisdictions globally.
The first half of the module addresses mainstream modern competition law and economics, centred on the consumer welfare standard and the principles of neoclassical price theory. In particular, we will discuss the ‘modernisation’ of competition law, propelled by law and economics scholars associated with the University of Chicago, the core concepts associated with the consumer welfare standard, and the economics of antitrust and merger control.
The second half of the module explores more contemporary topics in competition law and economics, including issues relating to digital markets, financialisation, labour, and sustainable development.
The teaching method is by two-hour seminars, conducted as part lecture and part discussion; students will therefore be required to read material in advance and come to seminars prepared to participate in class discussion. Please note that students can excel in this course with little prior knowledge of economics or mathematics.
Module syllabus
Introduction & the economic turn in competition law
Market definition, market power and the consumer welfare standard
The economics of unilateral conduct
The economics of collusion and oligopoly
The economics of merger control
Competition law and economics in emerging and developing market economies
Multisided markets and digital regulation
Competition law and digital ecosystems
Competition law and financialisation: the case of common ownership
The future of competition law and economics & revision
Recommended materials
The textbook for this module is Gunnar Niels, Helen Jenkins and James Kavanagh, Economics for Competition Lawyers (Oxford University Press 2016).
Other readings will be posted on the module’s UCL Moodle page on a weekly basis.
Preliminary reading
There is no compulsory preliminary reading for this module. Nonetheless, students may benefit from reading Jonathan B Baker, The Antitrust Paradigm: Restoring a Competitive Economy (Harvard University Press 2019) in advance.
Key information
Module details | |
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Credit value: | 22.5 credits (225 learning hours) |
Convenor: | Andrew McLean |
Other Teachers: | Ioannis Lianos |
Teaching Delivery: | 10 x 2-hour weekly seminars, term 1 |
Who may enrol: | LLM Students Only |
Prerequisites: | None |
Must not be taken with: | None |
Qualifying module for: | LLM in Competition Law |
Assessment | |
Practice Assessment: | TBD |
Final Assessment: | 3,000 Word Essay (100%) |