October 11th 2006

Jean Tirole, scientific director of Institute dEconomie Industrielle(IDEI) of the University of Toulouse 1 and professor of MassachusettsInstitute of Technology (MIT), gave this year's Economics Lecture whichopened the 2006-2007 course at the Faculty of Economics and Businessof Universitat Pompeu Fabra. On the 11th of October, Prof. Tirole gave alecture entitled "Platform industries: how telecoms, software, creditcards, media and videogames differ from other markets, and what itmeans for the future of the economy."

This French economist is considered one of the main experts on market regulation and competition. Born in France in 1953, Jean Tirole achieved his doctorate inEconomics at MIT (1981) and has become a scientist of greatinternational acclaim. His research stands out, above all, for theinfluence it has had on the decision-making processes of the majorityof regulatory bodies, public administrations, consultancies andinternational private companies.

A great expert on regulation, his papers have made it easier tounderstand the workings of markets with imperfect competition and howefficient regulations should be designed. In some European Countries,such as Spain, Tirole has advised on how to introduce competition intosectors such as electricity or telecommunications, which havetraditionally been dominated by monopolies.

Recently Tirole has embarked on a new line of research which attemptsto define the relationship between psychology and economics. Heanalyses human behaviour from the perspective of economic theory.

Tirole has written over a hundred papers for the most prestigiouseconomic and financial publications in the world and has also writteneight books which have become reference manuals in all economicsfaculties. His most outstanding books include The Theory of IndustrialOrganisation, Game Theory (with Drew Fudenberg), A Theory ofIncentives in Procurement and Regulation (with Jean-Jacques Laffont),The Prudential Regulation of Banks (with Mathias Dewatripont), andCompetition in Telecommunications (with Jean-Jacques Laffont).

He has received numerous awards for his research into the theories ofregulation and incentives. Tirole was president of the EconometricSociety (1998) and of the European Economic Association(2002). Besides, Jean Tirole received a Doctorate Honoris Causa fromthe Free University in Brussels in 1989, the Yrjö Jahnsson prize ofthe European Economic Association in 1993, and the Public UtilityResearch Center Distinguished Service Award (University of Florida) in1997. He is a foreign honorary member of the American Academy of Artsand Sciences (1993) and of the American Economic Association(1993). He has also been a Sloan Fellow (1985) and a Guggenheim Fellow(1988).