YTCA Award

Young Talent Competition Award

As part of Lear Competition Festival, Lear has instituted the Young Talent Competition Award (YTCA) for young economists and lawyers who wish to pursue a professional or academic career in the field of competition law and economics, policy assessment, and regulation.

Research proposals need to be related to one of the following topics:

  • Competition law
  • Competition economics
  • Public policy assessment
  • Regulation (in any sector)


The winner will be awarded a prize of € 1,500 and the opportunity to join the 2025 edition of the Trento Summer School on Advanced EU Competition Law & Economics (maximum two attendees).

Below you find the rules to participate and further details on the award.

How to participate

Participation to the Young Talent Competition Award (YTCA) is open to post-graduate and PhD students who wish to pursue a professional career in the field of competition law, competition economics, policy assessment, or regulation. Both economists and lawyers can participate.

The research proposals should be submitted in PDF to award@learcompetitionfestival.com

The deadline for the submission of the proposal is June 14, 2024. Please note that the proposals received after this date will not be considered.

The three finalists are invited to present their proposals at the Lear Competition Festival during the session dedicated to the award. Furthermore, each candidate is tasked with creating a poster highlighting the key outcomes of their research, which will be on display throughout the festival in the designated exhibition area. To design the poster please follows the guidelines that you can find here.

Download the rules of participation

Scientific Committee

The Scientific Committee will prepare a ranking of the three best proposals. The Scientific Committee includes the following five outstanding academics and practitioners.

Pinar Akman

Professor of Competition Law & Member, Competition Appeal Tribunal

Michele Carpagnano

Professor of Law, Trento University

Joseph E. Harrington, Jr.

Professor of Business Economics & Public Policy, The Wharton School University of Pennsylvania

William E. Kovacic

Professor of Global Competition Law and Policy, George Washington University

Tommaso Valletti

Professor of Economics, Imperial College Business School

YTCA 2023: Finalists

Below you find the best three proposals shortlisted for the Young Talent Competition Award.

Breaking Barriers: Investigating the Effect of Restrictive Covenants on Entry Deterrence in Retail

Alina Ozhegova

Winner

Using machine learning to detect international cartels: an interorganizational analysis

Oriane Maille-Lefranc

Winner

Antitrust and (Foreign) Innovation: Evidence from the Xerox Case

Robin Mamrak

YTCA 2022: Finalists

Below you find the best three proposals shortlisted for the Young Talent Competition Award.

Internet infrastructure and competition in digital markets

Philip Hanspach

Winner

Cross-Regulation Enforcement – Suggested Doctrine for Application & How it Can Improve Competition Law Enforcement in the Digital Age

Or Elkayam

The Impact of Upstream Divestiture on Bargaining Power

Yann Allan Delaprez

YTCA 2021: Finalists

Below you find the best three proposals shortlisted for the Young Talent Competition Award.
The winners of the first edition of the Young Talent Competition Award (YTCA) are Francesco Clavorà Braulin and Michela Boldrini with their research proposal “Taming Tech Giants’ Algorithms: the Amazon Buy-Box Case”.

Taming tech giants’ algorithms: the Amazon buy-box case

Francesco Clavorà Braulin, Michela Boldrini

Winner

Acquisitions of Startups and Entry in Software Markets

Luise Eisfeld

Platform Search Design and Market Power

H. Tai Lam