Current student- Luc Greiner
Which aspects of your chosen program were the most challenging?
The M2 Economics and Competition Law program is mostly about applying industrial organisation concepts to assess competition on current markets and industries. As it is more applied, it is not as challenging as, for example, the M1 Economics and Law, since most of the theoretical knowledge was acquired in M1 and during the previous years at TSE. What is challenging is the economics and law program as a whole, from the first year – L1 – on: Studying both economics and law can be difficult because the methods used and the required learning are very different between both fields.
Which was your favourite course(s) and why?
My favourite course is « Topics and Cases in Competition Policy » because it focuses on some of the European Union Commission’s landmark cases that shaped EU competition law. One of the purposes is to discuss the application of industrial organisation to real-world mergers and alleged anti-competitive behaviours, which is always very interesting. In this course, it is also great to welcome expert economic consultants to study hot topics in competition economics, and expert lawyers to review the intricacies of competition law. This year, we are even participating in a mock trial with respect to the Facebook-Instagram merger with a jury of professionals.
What do you plan to do next?
In a few months, I will be starting an internship in economic consulting in the field of competition economics. I look forward to continue applying industrial organisation to real-world cases. In my opinion, this is the most interesting part of economic science: figuring out what theories can explain the facts. And with digitisation, and the rise of platforms, economic consulting is the place to be to study the latest issues in economics!
Alumni – Frédéric Axisia 
What are you up to now?
I’ve been working for nine months at TERA Consultants, a consulting firm in Paris gathering both economists and engineers. TERA is specialised in telecommunications and deals with competition and regulation cases. As a result, the job can offer a large variety of missions. Since I arrived, I have been involved in several litigations before the French Competition Authority, a lot of trials before different commercial courts for unfair competition practices, but also in the design of a margin squeeze model for a European regulator. Most cases I work on are related to the telecom field, but not all. It is quite challenging at first to understand all the mechanisms involved in that field but also quite rewarding to develop an expertise in such an evolving domain of the economy.
Cases apart, as the firm only has around 15 employees, we obviously all know each other and go sometimes for an afterwork drink. You also won’t be home sick in Paris, as half – if not more – of TSE graduates live there! I only miss being an active member of a student association…
Which skills, acquired from studying at the TSE, have you found useful?
It might disappoint some people, but I would say that the most important right now is my writing skill. You of course need an economic understanding of the cases you work on. But as I have to write economics reports intended for courts on a daily basis, being able – thanks to my law cursus – to organise my arguments and present them in a proper way is essential. Essential, but not sufficient. When working on competition cases, I did some econometric analysis – using STATA – and used economic literature to back up my points. And when working on the margin squeeze case, I had to understand a quite complex Excel model. As for the rest, economic reasoning learned through different classes would be what most consulting firms look for.
Finally, as a former member of the association Say It Aloud, I cannot emphasise enough the importance of public speaking. That way, you can look like you know, even when you don’t.
The TSEconomist 