Behavioral Economics

Behavioral Economics & Consumer Behavior

The inter-dependencies between competition and consumer policy have been increasingly recognized by academics and policy makers alike.

Even in Finland consumer policy authorities, on the one hand, and competition policy authorities, on the other hand, merged under the same roof when The Finnish Competition and Consumer Policy Authority was established in 2013. Behavioral economics and consumer research are key to understanding the connections between competition and consumer policies, since this research aims at understanding and quantifying the sometimes irrational (in the sense of self-harming) decision making by consumers thus providing tools for integrating consumer protection and competition policy analysis. Under the umbrella of “behavioral economics & consumer behavior”, these and related questions are being studied.