The Competition & Regulation Cluster has acquired a wealth of expertise in market forces, regulation and competition research in a wide range of markets. The Cluster's staff possess thorough knowledge of microeconomics and industrial organisation (IO), disciplines that form the basis for analyses of market forces and regulation.

Quantitative methods
The staff also have a great experience with practical quantitative methods. As quantitative arguments usually play an important role in assessments of competitive relationships, essential components of the research often include measurements of market concentration, the quantification and prediction of the market parties' reactions and modelling of strategic conduct. However, qualitative factors that are less easily measured, such as consumer satisfaction and the quality of service, are also of importance.

Knowledge of specific sectors
The staff, in addition to their general economic and methodological knowledge, also possess a great deal of knowledge of specific sectors including the energy, wireless and landline telecommunications sectors, the financial markets, media, culture and heritage markets, together with in-depth knowledge of the economic aspects of copyright. Social cost-benefit analyses are carried out regularly for these sectors.

Some research projects require specific legal or technical knowledge that is not available in-house. The Cluster then cooperates with a wide range of consortium partners and subcontractors to gain rapid access to the requisite expertise - to the client's benefit.

The Competition & Regulation Cluster has designated the following areas of expertise as spearheads:

• Regulation
• Market organisation
• Public interest analyses
• Social cost-benefit analysis (SCBA)
• Energy & sustainability
• Telecommunications
• Media & Copyright
• Financing & society
• Culture & heritage