Consumer protection and competition policy (B03)

• Subject Area: Economic Policy, Applied Economics
• Term: since 2018
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 326731373

We examine the performance and design of regulatory policies aimed at improving consumer welfare and efficiency in product markets. First, we advance methodology by developing flexible oligopoly models and exploring delegated agency problems—core tools for analyzing competition policy and consumer protection. Second, we investigate the design of industrial policy and merger control, with particular attention to coordinated effects and innovation incentives in digital ecosystems. Third, we explore key issues in consumer protection, including the impact of advertising narratives, the regulation of price discrimination, and quality provision by franchisors and franchisees.

• DFG Programme: CRC/Transregios
• Subproject of: TRR 224: Economic Perspectives on Societal Challenges: Equality of Opportunity, Market Regulation, and Financial Stability
• Applicant Institution: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn
• Project Heads: Professor Dr. Daniel Krähmer; Professor Dr. Volker Nocke; Professor Nicolas Schutz, Ph.D., since 1/2022