UCL economist wins 'best paper' prize

The paper 'Competition in Two-Sided Markets', published in the RAND Journal of Economics in 2006, was selected as having made the most significant contributions to the understanding and implementation of competition policy.

'Competition in Two-Sided Markets' deepens the theoretical and practical understanding of competition in the context of two-sided markets, where 'platforms' - shopping centres, television channels or video-game systems - permit the mutually beneficial interactions of two groups of economic actors - shoppers and stores, advertisers and viewers or game players and writers.

Professor Armstrong developed a theoretical framework for systematically analysing markets with a structure that is widely applicable across many industries. The paper illuminates the different and interrelated impacts of competition between platforms and competition among sellers on one side of a given platform.

The judging committee stated: "The resulting insights lay a needed foundation for the further development of sound competition policy applied to the diverse array of multi-sided markets."

Professor Armstrong will share the $20,000 prize with co-winners Professor Igal Hendel and Professor Aviv Nevo  (Northwestern University, Chicago) for their paper, entitled 'Measuring the Implications of Sales and Consumer Inventory Behaviour'.

The prizes are run by Competition Policy Associations (COMPASS), an economics consulting company specialising in financial and economic analysis of policy, regulation and litigation matters.

• Links: 
• 'Competition in Two-Sided Markets'
• UCL ELSE