In this latest episode, Helen Jenkins is joined by Hélène Bourguignon, Oxera Partner, to share the highlights of a recent event hosted by Oxera in Paris on behavioural economics and its implications for competition and regulation. The internationally renowned speakers explored how people make decisions — and what this means for business and policy.

In the latest episode of Top of the Agenda, Helen Jenkins is joined by Timo Klein, Managing Consultant at Oxera and Assistant Professor in Competition Economics at Utrecht University, and Christopher Davis, Partner at Oxera. Together, they explore how market rules, competition law, dispute resolution, and sports regulations shape the business of sport. They also discuss how economic principles designed to ensure fair markets translate into fair play, and where the biggest challenges lie today.

In this episode of Top of the Agenda, Dr Helen Jenkins is joined by Tim Jenkinson, Oxera Partner and Professor of Finance at the University of Oxford’s Said Business School, and Francis Woolley, Senior Consultant at Oxera. Together, they unpack what venture capital is, how it works, and the life cycle of venture capital investments.

In response, defence spending has risen sharply across the continent. Frontline states in Eastern Europe have seen the largest increases, but nearly all European countries are boosting their defence budgets. As a result, defence has returned to the centre of economic and political decision-making across Europe.

In this episode of Top of the Agenda, Dr Helen Jenkins speaks with Aimie Stone, Chief Economist at ADS Group — the trade association representing the UK’s aerospace, defence, security and space industries — and Enrico Russo, Managing Consultant at Oxera. Together, they explore the challenges facing the European defence sector and consider how governments can best mobilise resources to strengthen the region’s security.

In this episode of Top of the Agenda, Dr Helen Jenkins speaks with Olivier Guersent, who, following a long career that began at the French Ministry of Economic and Finance and continued at the European Commission from the early 1990s, most recently served as Director General for Competition at the European Commission. Together, they reflect on the major transformations in European competition policy over recent decades and explore the challenges and developments shaping its present and future.

Climate change is no longer a future threat, it’s a present-day reality that is reshaping economies, ecosystems, and societies around the world. As mitigation is no longer enough; adaptation is essential. Yet, despite increasing recognition of the need to invest in adaptation, global efforts remain fragmented and underfunded.

In our latest episode of Top of the Agenda, guest host Tim Jenkinson is joined by Sophie Talarico, Climate Policy Manager, and Sandra Hanni, Head of Climate Policy, both from the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), alongside Georgia Davies, Senior Consultant at Oxera. Together, they explore how the private sector can play a pivotal role in advancing and scaling up climate adaptation solutions.

The UK government aims to stimulate economic growth by encouraging more investment in British businesses. One potential source of that investment is pension funds, but would such policies truly serve the long-term interests of savers and/or the short-term needs of the economy?

In this episode of Top of the Agenda, Dr Helen Jenkins speaks with Julian Franks, Professor of Finance at London Business School, and Sean Thomas, Principal at Oxera. Together, they explore the challenges governments face in designing policies that boost productivity and drive sustainable growth.

In this episode of Top of the Agenda, Dr Helen Jenkins speaks with Christophe Schramm, Head of Strategy and Sustainability at Siemens Energy Transformation of Industries, and Sahar Shamsi, Partner at Oxera. Together, they discuss how decarbonising industry throughout Europe is essential for achieving net zero goals and examine the key challenges—including policy gaps, regulatory uncertainty, and the need to align financial investment with climate ambitions.

In this episode of Top of the Agenda, Dr Helen Jenkins is joined by Doctor Clémentine Van Effenterre, Professor at the University of Toronto, and Professor Sarah Smith OBE, from the University of Bristol. Together, they delve into the structural barriers, unconscious biases, and rigid career pathways that contribute to the attrition of women in STEM—and discuss what needs to change to build more inclusive and sustainable careers in the field.

In this episode of Top of the Agenda, Dr Helen Jenkins is joined by Professor Ian Goldin, Professor of Globalisation and Development at the University of Oxford. Together, they explore the paradox of declining productivity in an age of innovation, drawing on Professor Goldin’s extensive experience advising global institutions on economic growth, development, and migration.

In this episode of Top of the Agenda, Dr Helen Jenkins is joined by Jonathan Maxwell, founder and CEO of Sustainable Development Capital LLP (SDCL). Together, they explore how private finance can play a pivotal role in advancing sustainable infrastructure, the opportunities and barriers in deploying energy-efficient technologies, and using private finance to support these new technologies.

Together they delve into the themes in Professor Susskind’s new book, ‘How to think about AI: A guide for the perplexed’, and share their thoughts on how we all need to think much more about AI to both harness the opportunities for humanity and avoid and mitigate the risks.

Following on from the discussion Dr Sebastian Wernicke, a Partner at Oxera and an expert in leveraging data science, machine learning and AI, joins Helen to share his insights on how businesses and governments are thinking about and responding to the challenges of implementing AI today.

In this episode of Top of the Agenda, Doctor Helen Jenkins is joined by Professor Marco Becht, Executive Director and Fellow of European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI), and Dr Luis Correia da Silva, Partner and Chair of the Board at Oxera. Together, they discuss the evolution of ESG since its inception in the early 2000s, what the current political shift could mean for businesses and investors, and how the ESG agenda may move forward.

Helen Jenkins and Tim Jenkinson, Oxera Partner and professor of finance at the University of Oxford’s Said Business School, explore the potential of LBOs to unlock value, rejuvenate companies, and drive growth while also addressing how they can negatively impact long-term business performance, sometimes leaving companies worse off.

In this episode of Top of the Agenda, Helen Jenkins is joined by James Hennah, a Partner in Linklater’s litigation arbitration and investigations practice, and Kimela Shah, a Principal at Oxera who specialises in consumer and collective actions. Together, they discuss the latest legal developments, the landmark cases and the evolving framework for collective redress.

In this episode of Top of the Agenda, Helen Jenkins is joined by Sir John Vickers, Warden of All Souls College, Oxford, and Luis Correia da Silva, Oxera Chair. Together, they explore how economic regulation influences growth, competition, and market stability.

In this episode of Top of the Agenda, we offer an exclusive preview of BITC and Oxera’s key insights, recorded live at an event. Join Charlotte Woodworth, Gender Equality Campaign Manager at BITC; Khaldia Al Kasm, Senior Consultant at Oxera; and Jessie Davidson, Consultant at Oxera, as they discuss the findings. Helen Jenkins is also joined by Rob Catherall, Principal at Oxera, for a deeper dive into the research and its implications.

In this episode of Top of the Agenda Helen Jenkins is joined by Mathias Dewatripont, Professor of Economics at Universite Libre de Bruxelles, and Giulio Federico, Oxera Partner. Together they discuss the Draghi report’s call to improve innovation and what challenges and solutions it proposes.

In the first of a series of Top of the Agenda episodes on private equity, Helen Jenkins is joined by Professor Tim Jenkinson Oxera Partner and professor of finance at the University of Oxford's Said Business School. Together they discuss the fundamentals of private equity and how to reconcile the differing perspectives on it.

In this episode of Top of the Agenda, Helen Jenkins is joined by Amelia Fletcher, Professor of Competition Policy, Norwich Business School, University of East Anglia, and Helen Ralston-Smith, a Partner in Oxera’s competition and regulation practices. Together they discuss how pricing strategies affect both businesses and consumers, what economics can tell us about these different strategies, and whether they are advantageous to consumers.

In this episode of Top of the Agenda, Helen Jenkins is joined by Sir Philip Rutnam, Chair of the Council of the National Institute for Economic and Social Research, and former Permanent Secretary at the UK Department for Transport and Home Office, and Andy Meaney, a Partner and Head of Transport at Oxera. Together they discuss how governments can use economic analysis to decide how to spend scarce public funds. How should we allocate funds to health, transport, education or social support? And then once those decisions are made, do we opt for fewer potholes or more bus services; more or better-paid doctors, or more MRI machines?

In this episode of Top of the Agenda, Helen Jenkins is joined by Will Page, former chief economist at Spotify and PRS for music and a thought leader on the economic dynamics of the music world, and Leon Fields, a Senior Consultant at Oxera who is also a musician in his spare time. Together, they discuss the economics of music, tackling questions such as: is it sustainable? Is live performance the answer? And is AI set to drive the next big shake up in the industry?

We may not think much of selecting to ‘accept all cookies’ on a website to get to the content faster or making a quick purchase because we are told there are ‘only two rooms left’. However, these deceptive or dark patterns are designed to exploit inherent decision-making biases to change your choices, often to the benefit of the supplier rather than you. How can we identify and test the effects of these patterns and how, ultimately, can we make these choices fairer?

In our latest ‘Top of the Agenda’ podcast Dr Helen Jenkins talks with Marie Potel-Saville, founder and CEO of Amurabi and Fair Patterns, and Dr Anastasia Shchepetova, a Senior Consultant in Oxera's behavioural economics team. They discuss how we can test these effects, reduce companies’ use of these deceptive patterns online and create a more user-friendly digital space.

Listen to Anna Martin (Financial Services Officer at BEUC, the European Consumer Organisation), Dr Helen Jenkins (Oxera Partner), and Dr Karen Croxson (Deputy Chief Economist and Head of Research for Economic Data, Science and Behavioral Science at the UK Financial Conduct Authority) discuss the issues that arise from earnings and employment gaps, outline how this is heightened by gaps in investment and savings, and explore how and why they exist.

We then look to what policies, market changes, and other actions might help women to have more equitable access to financial markets and employment opportunities, and how barriers can be broken down to create change.

In episode two of the podcast, the discussion addresses how, in practice, policies could be formed to promote an effort that encourages good corporate reporting.

Russel Goldsmith is joined by Pablo Zalba, Partner and EU Policy Managing Director at Deloitte, who chaired the panel including Rients Abma, Executive Director, Eumedion, Daniel Blume, Senior Policy Analyst at OECD, Isabelle Grauer-Gaynor, Head of Corporate Finance and Report Uniot at the European Securities and Markets Authority and finally Roberto Gravero, NED Community and Senior Managing Partner, Cravero&Associates.

In episode one of the podcast, we present and discuss the conclusions of the report, which were debated among academics, policymakers, and business people.

Joining Russell Goldsmith on the podcast is Dr Luis Correia da Silva, Oxera Chair and Partner, who presented alongside Professor Ryan Williams, Université Paris-Dauphine. Andrew Hobbs, EY EMEIA Public Policy Leader, chaired the panel which includes Karel Lannoo, Chief Executive Officer, Centre for European Policy Studies, Professor Nicole Ratzinger-Sakel, University of Hamburg, Chiara Mosca, Commissioner, Italian Securities and Financial Markets Authority, and Gabriela Dias, Chair at the International Ethics Board for Accountants. 

The speaker line-up includes Rosie Ioannou, Director at Fortress Investment Group, Mark Sansom, Partner and Joint Head of the Global Antitrust Litigation Group at Freshfields, Sofie Edwards, Senior Associate at Hausfeld, Kate Vernon, Partner and Head of Competition Litigation at Quinn Emanuel, and Joseph Bell, Partner at Oxera.

On this podcast, we discuss how economics can help to address the trade-offs between the long- and short-term objectives that are facing policymakers and businesses.

Joining Russell Goldsmith on the podcast is Sir Philip Lowe, an Oxera Partner based in Brussels, alongside Dr Luis Correia da Silva, Partner in Corporate Purpose and Finance, and Sahar Shamsi and Jostein Kristensen, who jointly head Oxera’s Climate Economics practice.

 In honour of International Women’s Day 2020, which takes place on 8 March, this month’s Agenda  podcast is dedicated to women in economics.

The podcast explores the role of women in economics and what can be done to encourage young women to study and work in the field. We welcome back Oxera Managing Partner Dr Helen Jenkins, who is joined by Consultants Andreea Antuca and Enza Seminara. For this special edition of the podcast, we’re also delighted to welcome Mary Starks, Executive Director and expert in regulation and policy design at Ofgem, the energy regulator for Great Britain.

In February, before this podcast was recorded, we launched a survey of female economists worldwide, collecting a large number of responses and collating the insights here. We carried out the survey to get a better understanding of what drives our industry and the women who work in it. We received fascinating responses about the challenges that women economists face, who inspires them in the field, and what advice they would give to young women interested in joining the profession.

The survey results made for an animated conversation between our panel—gender equality, behavioural biases and even The Wolf of Wall Street were all mentioned.

economics is a field associated with real power, there is a number of really powerful people amongst senior economists and I think it’s really important we get a gender balance in this field right. Mary Starks

One of the things that is harder for women is letting yourself take the space, and taking that step, taking that space, can be a very scary thing to do—but I think it’s a very important to encourage women to take those risks. Dr Helen Jenkins

Listen and subscribe to the whole podcast series on Spotify, Apple or Google.

Join the conversation on LinkedIn and Twitter. If you would like to get in touch with Oxera about Agenda or contact any of the people who took part in this podcast, email agenda@oxera.com.

Dr Helen Jenkins, Oxera's Managing Partner and a leading expert in competition and litigation, discusses her belief that it's essential for consumers to be at the heart of strategic business questions. Consumers genuinely care about how firms do business, and they make choices based on the firms’ choices about investment. Helen goes on to explain how true consumer engagement can give a business competitive advantage in the market.

Helen is joined by Pascale Déchamps, Partner and Head of Oxera in France, and Dr Luis Correia da Silva, an Oxera Partner who focuses on business sustainability.

Pascale disagrees with the idea that all consumer activity is driven by big ideals, but she also disagrees that consumers are completely passive and only concerned by price. She notes that businesses have a decision to make as to whether they facilitate or hinder consumers shifting towards more sustainable consumption. Luis expands on the discussion by the position of the consumer within the five-capital framework, before exploring the different techniques businesses might use to engage

Tim is Joined by Luis Correia da Silva, Partner at Oxera, who suggests that there has been a gradual shift in boardrooms as the corporate world tries to articulate a purpose that goes beyond financial objectives. However, Luis continues to challenge how well these ideas are embedded within an organisation in the pursuit of real change.

Luis is joined by David Jevons, Partner and Head of Oxera’s Digital practice, Katie-Lee English, a Senior Consultant focusing on public policy issues, and Tim Hogg, a Senior Consultant who specialises in financial services and behavioural economics.