Economics of Competition and Market Regulation

Overview

About

The Barcelona School of Economics Competition and Market Regulation Program presents students with a learning progression, starting from the basic necessary conceptual frameworks and economic tools, and then introducing core issues in Competition Policy and Market Regulation with the help of leading specialists in each field.

Students themselves will examine real-world competition policy cases and demonstrate how regulation works across specific industries such as banking, energy, and telecommunications, and will design and conduct an independent master's project in their domain.

Students will have a wealth of opportunities to complement their coursework with conferences and seminars in various fields of specialization. Chief among these is the Regulation and Competition Seminar Series, organized by the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF) Department of Economics and Business, the Comisión del Mercado de las Telecomunicaciones (CMT), and the Barcelona GSE. Seminars feature academics, regulators, and practitioners at the forefront of their fields discussing specific issues and presenting original research. In addition to providing a range of regulatory issue perspectives, seminars also give students the opportunity to network with top professionals in the industry.

Study with the experts

Teaching faculty includes many industry experts teaching in the current edition of the program, as well as Massimo Motta, who has returned from his stint as Chief Competition Economist at the European Commission. Professor Motta has been involved with the master program since its foundation and brings many years of experience both in the classroom and in the practice of competition policy.

Program schedule

In the Fall Term, students have the opportunity to take a mathematics, statistics, and computer tools brush-up course. This is not mandatory but highly recommended to assure a smooth start.

• Maths and Statistics Brush-Up

A master project, which will be supervised in regular meetings with an advisor, will allow students to put their knowledge into practice and improve their writing and exposition skills.

What skills and knowledge will I acquire in this program?

• Orderly thinking in Economic concepts, especially Microeconomics, Industrial Economics, Information Economics, Game Theory, and Strategic Behavior
• Confidence in the fundamentals of competition law and its history
• Understanding of theory and models of regulation, and in particular the basic regulatory frameworks of main industrial sectors
• Ability to publicly present cases, and the development of analytical skills for discussion and argument from different points of view
• Communication through written technical reports containing real data analysis, analysis of economic literature, and selected project themes
• Expert subject knowledge in the discussion of formalized theory on competition policy

Who hires Competition graduates?

• Consulting Firms
• Government and Authorities
• Financial Services
• International Organizations and Non-profits
• Other Industries

Examples of recent professional placements:

• Charles River Associates (CRA) - Consulting Associate - London, United Kingdom
• CNMC - Internship - Madrid, Spain
• Compass Lexecon - Analyst - Brussels, Belgium
• Competition Market Authority - Assistant Economist - London, United Kingdom
• E. CA. Economics - Economist - Berlin, Germany
• Frontier Economics - Analyst - Madrid, Spain
• Global Economics Group - Consulting Project Manager - Mexico City, Mexico
• GPR Economía S.A - Consultant - Buenos Aires, Argentina
• KPMG - Competition Economist - Madrid, Spain
• Mexican Competition Authority (COFECE) - Deputy Director of Technical Analysis - Mexico City, Mexico
• NERA - Research Officer - Madrid, Spain
• RBB Economics - Analyst - London, United Kingdom

• Vivid Economics - Senior Economist - London, United Kingdom

Here is a brief profile of the classmates that a Master's student in the BSE Class of 2022 will meet this year:

• Most students have undergraduate degrees in Economics or Finance. Others come from Engineering, Mathematics, or other backgrounds. 
• Most of the students has work experience before joining BSE, but there are other students who were accepted to pursue the Master's programs immediately after obtaining their undergraduate degrees.
• All continents are represented in the Class of 2022. This year, students come from 49 different countries, with 86% of students coming from outside of Spain and 44% of students coming from outside Europe.

Accreditation

All Barcelona School of Economics Master degrees have been recognized by the Catalan and Spanish Education authorities and within the framework of the Bologna Process (in Spanish, “Master Universitario o Master Oficial”).

The Barcelona School of Economics has been distinguished as a Severo Ochoa Center of Excellence in every edition of the program (2012-15; 2016-19; 2020-23)