We are delighted to invite you to our first Public Lecture in 2025, and the 4th lecture of this academic year, when we will welcome Amelia Fletcher CBE, Professor of Competition Policy at Norwich Business School and Deputy Director at the Centre for Competition Policy.

Amelia will present her paper titled “Implications of behavioural economics for the pro-competitive regulation of digital platforms” which she co-authored with Zita Vasas (Compass Lexecon), and which is about to come out in the Oxford Review of Economic Policy.

This Lecture will take place on Friday, 7 February 2025, 2.00pm - 3.30pm UK time, in-person-only, in the Hothouse, Room 282, Adam Smith Building. Following the lecture, and the Q&A with the audience, discussions will have a chance to continue at the drinks reception in the foyer.

To register and secure your place in the audience, please register here.

Abstract
In recent years, the relevance of behavioural economics to competition policy has become ever more apparent, especially in digital markets. Choice architecture, which shapes how consumers make decisions, has been at the centre of numerous recent legal cases brought under competition law, as well as the development of regulations at promoting competition in markets currently dominated by major tech platforms. This article focuses on the impact of behavioural insights for the design and implementation of one such regulation, the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). It underscores the relevance of choice architecture to several DMA provisions and emphasises the necessity of testing different designs ¬– through online experiments, field trials, and surveys – to ensure compliance. Despite their seemingly minor effects today, such improvements to choice architecture could prove pivotal in fostering competitive markets.