The Competition Authority's morning meeting on the interplay between competition, inflation and purchasing power took place in Björtuloft in Harpa on Monday, 13 June. The conference was held to mark the visit of the chief economists of European competition authorities to the country, as the Competition Authority hosted their annual meeting.
Lilja Dögg Alfreðsdóttir, Minister of Culture and Commerce, delivered the opening address at the meeting and Pierre Régibeau, Chief Economist of the Competition Directorate of the European Commission, gave a presentation. He spoke about the impact that competition and competition enforcement can have on inflation and purchasing power. Rising inflation is a concern worldwide these days, as it can erode the purchasing power of households.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ffHFM1KPNg
Excellent guests took part in lively panel discussions:
Agenda:
Ana Sofia Rodrigues has worked as the chief economist of the Portuguese Competition Authority (AdC) since October 2015, after a year at the OECD where she worked as a competition specialist. Prior to this, she held various positions at the AdC. Ana Sofia completed her PhD in Economics from the University of York in 2008.
Ásgeir Jónsson was appointed Governor of the Central Bank in 2019. Prior to this, he worked as President of the Department of Economics at the University of Iceland. Ásgeir completed a Master's degree in Economics from Indiana University in 1997 and a PhD in Economics from the same university in 2001.
Lilja Dögg Alfreðsdóttir She has been a member of the Government of Iceland since 2016, taking over the Ministry of Culture and Commerce in November 2021. Before Lilja was elected to the Althingi, she held various positions for both the Central Bank of Iceland and the International Monetary Fund in Washington D.C., United States. Lilja holds a master's degree in economics from Columbia University in New York.
Martin Gaynor is a professor of economics at Carnegie Mellon University in the United States. He is the former head of the economics department at the Federal Trade Commission. Martin has been a prominent figure in research on competition policy and competition in the healthcare sector. He completed his PhD in Economics at Northwestern University in 1983.
Páll Gunnar Pálsson He has been the Director of the Competition Authority since 2005. Páll Gunnar is a lawyer by training.
Pierre Régibeau is the Chief Economist of the Competition Directorate of the European Commission. His research has focused on industrial economics, legal economics and international trade. Pierre received his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley in the United States. He has also taught at MIT, Northwestern University and the University of Barcelona. He is currently an Honorary Visiting Professor at the University of Essex.
Sveinn Agnarsson He is the chairman of the Competition Authority and works as a professor at the Faculty of Business Administration at the University of Iceland. Sveinn completed a degree in history at the University of Iceland and a doctorate in economics at the University of Gothenburg.
Valur Thráinsson He has been the Chief Economist of the Competition Authority since 2019. Valur completed a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Iceland, a master's degree in economics from the University of Amsterdam, and a postgraduate diploma in European competition law from King's College London.
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