Tommaso Valletti

Tommaso Valletti is a Professor of Economics and currently heads the Department of Economics & Public Policy at Imperial College London. He was the Chief Competition Economist of the European Commission between 2016 and 2019, when he led the economic analysis on many large mergers (e.g. Bayer/Monsanto, Microsoft/LinkedIn, Siemens/Alstom), state aid, and antitrust cases (e.g. Google Android, Qualcomm exclusivity, Mastercard and VISA). He has published in the fields of industrial economics, regulation, and competition economics.

What Have The Consultants Ever Done For Us?

Tommaso Valletti argues that economic consultants have made little meaningful contribution to antitrust policy and enforcement over the past 20 years—despite their assertions of bringing academic insights to practice. Valletti calls for more critical scrutiny of consultants' biased economic analyses by antitrust authorities and courts, as well as greater use of structural presumptions in merger review.

Structuring a Structural Presumption for Merger Review

The consumer welfare standard can’t be saved with more theory. The problem is how it works in practice, and solving that means changing the...

Understanding the Virtues of the Robinson-Patman Act Requires Understanding When It Is Most Effective

The literature on the benefits of the Robinson-Patman Act for consumer welfare is often contradictory. Professors Roman Inderst and Tommaso Valletti argue that sifting...

Antitrust Enforcement, Inflation and Corporate Greed: What do we know?

At a recent Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) event, panelists, including the Stigler Center's own Luigi Zingales, reflected on the roles antitrust enforcement...

How to Tame the Tech Giants: Reverse the Burden of Proof in Merger Reviews

Most tech acquisitions are approved without a hitch, despite growing evidence that they bring little benefit, because regulators are waging an uphill battle to...

Why Big Tech Companies Should Engage With Academia, and Why They Don’t

“Academic engagement” of a Big Tech firm: that job should exist. But it has not happened, and it probably won’t happen, unless we get...

“An Offer We Can’t Refuse”: How We Gave Away Our Data and Made Big Tech What It Is Today

WhatsApp’s new terms of service should come as no surprise. For years, Big Tech has been offering its users these “take it or leave...

“Doubt is Their Product”: The Difference Between Research and Academic Lobbying

Tommaso Valletti, the former Chief Competition Economist of the European Commission, reflects on the intersection of academic economics and policymaking and offers advice to...

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