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Economics in Competition Law and Practice, The Role of (LAWS0309)

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.

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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

  1. Introduction & the economic turn in competition law

  2. Market definition, market power and the consumer welfare standard

  3. The economics of unilateral conduct

  4. The economics of collusion and oligopoly

  5. The economics of merger control

  6. Competition law and economics in emerging and developing market economies

  7. Multisided markets and digital regulation

  8. Competition law and digital ecosystems

  9. Competition law and financialisation: the case of common ownership

  10. 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
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%)