Melbourne Law School The Melbourne Law Masters

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Economics for Competition Lawyers 730610

Objectives

A student who has successfully completed this subject should:

  • Understand the economic rationale behind the competition provisions of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth)
  • Be familiar with the economic terminology and concepts used in competition law
  • Understand the relevance of the economic theories of competition and efficiency to competition law
  • Understand how economic techniques can be used to develop and present evidence in competition law matters before the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the Australian Competition Tribunal and the courts.
Syllabus

Principal topics will include:

  • The values underlying competition law
  • Markets, market power and competition
  • The economics of collusion
  • Barriers to entry
  • The effect of vertical arrangements on competition
  • Economic issues in misuse of market power
  • Mergers with homogeneous products
  • Mergers with differentiated products
  • Economic efficiency and authorisation
  • Quantification of penalties and damages.