Quantitative Methods for Competition Analysis

Course overview

A team of leading academics and practitioners will walk you through the latest methods for analyzing competition cases.

The BSE Intensive Course on Quantitative Methods for Competition Analysis provides participants (economists, lawyers and practitioners working for firms or in agencies) with a thorough understanding of recent empirical methods to measure market power and competition, with applications to market definition, merger analysis and damages from anticompetitive conduct.

The program’s faculty includes some of the leading academic economists in the area of industrial organization and competition policy, and practitioners with extensive experience on quantitative methods in competition cases.

Course directors

faculty Massimo Motta
PhD, Université Catholique de Louvain
ICREA-UPF and BSE

faculty Frank Verboven
PhD, University of Toronto
University of Leuven

Key benefits

Review established and recent quantitative methods for competition analysis, with a proper balance between techniques and interpretation also accessible to non-economists.
Learn about the practical considerations to apply techniques, based on the lessons from various recent cases where quantitative techniques have been applied.
Learn to interpret and critically evaluate the empirical results from different approaches.
Develop a good common sense of the advantages and disadvantages of different approaches, and the circumstances under which they are (not) suitable.
Acquire a thorough understanding of the data requirements for applying various techniques.
Three practice sessions illustrate how to implement the econometric techniques with standard software (Stata), covering demand estimation, merger simulation and treatment effects.
Every participant taking this course will receive a free license of STATA several days before the start of the course.

Next edition

Future editions TBA

Learn about in-company training options

Schedule

Instructors, topics, and schedule are subject to change.

Monday, May 24, 2021
Time	Session	Professor
14:00 - 15:30	Introduction to market definition	Szabolcs Lorincz
Short break
15:45 - 17:15	Demand estimation I	Frank Verboven
Short break
17:30 - 18:30	Demand estimation II	Frank Verboven

Tuesday, May 25, 2021
Time	Session	Professor
14:00-15:30	Demand approaches to market definition	Frank Verboven
Short break
15:45 - 17:15	UPP and calibrated merger simulation	Szabolcs Lorincz
Short break
17:30-19:00	Practice session (demand estimation)	Helena Perrone

Wednesday, May 26, 2021
Time	Session	Professor
14:00-15:30	Direct approaches to merger analysis I	Szabolcs Lorincz
Short break
15:45 - 17:15	Direct approaches to merger analysis II	Szabolcs Lorincz
Short break
17:30 - 18:30	Introduction to damages	Benoît Durand

Thursday, May 27, 2021
Time	Session	Professor
14:00-15:30	Merger simulation	Frank Verboven
Short break
15:45 - 17:15	Direct approaches to merger analysis III	Benoît Durand
Short break
17:30 - 19:00	Practice session (merger simulation)	Helena Perrone

Friday, May 28, 2021
Time	Session	Professor
14:00 - 15:30	Estimation of damages in cartel cases	Benoît Durand
Short break
15:45 - 17:15	Practice session (treatment effect approaches)	Benoît Durand
End of course

Chatham House Rule

In order to promote a frank, open and constructive discussion, this course will be conducted under the Chatham House Rule, which states that "participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed."

Faculty

Benoît Durand

PhD, Boston College

Partner, RBB Economics

Szabolcs Lorincz

PhD, University of Toulouse

Economist, European Commission

Helena Perrone

PhD, Toulouse School of Economics

Junior Professor of Economics, University of Mannheim

Frank Verboven

PhD, University of Toronto

Professor, University of Leuven

Participant profile

Lawyers, economists, policy makers, consultants and managers working in the areas of competition policy and regulation in:

Competition authorities
Regulatory agencies
Economic consultancy firms
International organizations
Other public institutions
Corporations
Law firms and courts
Judiciary
Academic institutions and research centers in competition law and economics

Testimonials

Giuseppe Buglione, Associate Principal, Charles River Associates

The techniques covered in the course are extremely useful in the work of an applied economist in the field of competition policy, both in the private and the public sector. The faculty is composed by top ranked professors and practitioners who were able to explain the theoretical concepts clearly, while at the same time providing examples from real cases and useful insights, based on their experience, on the main advantages or issues associated to the taught techniques.

Siphamandla Mkhwanazi, Senior Economic Analyst, South Africa Competition Commission

I personally found it very useful. It was a well-balanced presentation of the extent to which econometric methods can be used in competition cases.

Fees

Fee Category	Early-bird Registration and Payment (until 17 April 2021)	Fee (until 17 May 2021)
Regular Fee	1800€	2000€
Reduced Fee Public Sector (e.g. agencies, tribunals, regulators, competition authorities, government institutions...) Academia (full-time professors and PhD students) BSE Alumni (Graduates of BSE Master's programs) Unemployed	1080€	1200€

Fee Category

Early-bird Registration
and Payment
(until 17 April 2021)

Fee
(until 17 May 2021)

Regular Fee

1800€

2000€

Reduced Fee

Public Sector
(e.g. agencies, tribunals, regulators, competition authorities, government institutions...)
Academia
(full-time professors and PhD students)
BSE Alumni
(Graduates of BSE Master's programs)

Unemployed

1080€

1200€

NOTE: Early-bird registration fee will only be applied if payment is received before April 17. From April 18, regular fee will be applied.

Confirmation

No participant will be given access to the Professional Courses or Workshops unless s/he is officially registered and has paid the full course fee before the deadline (subject to seat availability and notified by the Admissions Office accordingly). Therefore, a place for the course is guaranteed only upon full payment of the course fees. If a sponsor (participant's employer or university) is covering the course fees, the participant must provide their details in the application and specify if an invoice issued in advance will be required to arrange the payment. Upon successful confirmation of payment, an email will be sent to the participant acknowledging receipt of the course fees and, therefore, confirmation of course registration.

Cancelation

All cancelations must be received in advance by email. Participants wishing to withdraw from the course will have their course fees totally or partially refunded according to the following policies:

Until April 17, 2020: Full refund, except for 200€ to cover administration and admissions expenses.
Between April 18 and May 17, 2021: 50% of the course fee charged.
After May 17, 2021: No refund.

All refunds will be processed after the course and confirmed by email.

The BSE reserves the right to cancel the course if the minimum number of participants is not met.

Accommodation

This is an online course. Session streaming will be scheduled on Barcelona local time (CET).