Competition Policy and RegulationActivities & Teaching Strategies
Active learning works for this topic because students must weigh evidence, role-play decision-makers, and experience market pressures firsthand. These approaches build the critical evaluation and analytical skills needed to assess real-world regulatory scenarios.
Learning Objectives
- 1Analyze the economic rationale for government intervention in mergers and acquisitions, citing specific market failure arguments.
- 2Differentiate between collusion, predatory pricing, and abuse of dominant position, explaining their distinct impacts on consumer welfare.
- 3Evaluate the effectiveness of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in achieving fair market outcomes using case study evidence.
- 4Synthesize arguments for and against specific merger blockages, considering both producer and consumer surplus.
- 5Critique the limitations of competition policy in addressing digital market monopolies.
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Case Study Rotation: Merger Decisions
Prepare three merger cases from CMA reports. Small groups rotate every 10 minutes to summarize rationale for approval or block, consumer impacts, and alternatives. Groups report back with one key insight each.
Prepare & details
Analyze the economic rationale behind government intervention in mergers and acquisitions.
Facilitation Tip: During Case Study Rotation, assign each pair a different merger scenario to analyze, then rotate until all cases are covered, forcing students to compare multiple outcomes.
Setup: Panel table at front, audience seating for class
Materials: Expert research packets, Name placards for panelists, Question preparation worksheet for audience
Debate Pairs: Regulation Effectiveness
Assign pairs to argue for or against the statement: 'UK competition policy prevents most anti-competitive harm.' Provide data sheets; pairs prepare 3-minute speeches then switch sides for rebuttals. Whole class votes and discusses.
Prepare & details
Differentiate between different types of anti-competitive practices and their impact on consumers.
Facilitation Tip: For Debate Pairs, provide a pro-regulation and anti-regulation prompt to ensure balanced arguments and push students beyond initial assumptions.
Setup: Panel table at front, audience seating for class
Materials: Expert research packets, Name placards for panelists, Question preparation worksheet for audience
Role-Play: CMA Hearing
Small groups role-play a CMA investigation into a cartel: one group as firm representatives, one as regulator, one as consumer advocate. Present evidence, question witnesses, and decide on remedies.
Prepare & details
Evaluate the effectiveness of competition policy in ensuring fair market outcomes.
Facilitation Tip: In the Role-Play, assign roles (CMA investigator, corporate lawyer, consumer advocate) with clear objectives to keep the hearing focused on economic evidence.
Setup: Panel table at front, audience seating for class
Materials: Expert research packets, Name placards for panelists, Question preparation worksheet for audience
Market Simulation: Oligopoly Pricing
Pairs simulate bidding in an oligopoly market with/without collusion rules, using cards for products. Track prices and profits over 5 rounds, then analyze anti-competitive effects.
Prepare & details
Analyze the economic rationale behind government intervention in mergers and acquisitions.
Facilitation Tip: In Market Simulation, limit the number of firms to four to create visible oligopoly behavior and force students to react to price leadership.
Setup: Panel table at front, audience seating for class
Materials: Expert research packets, Name placards for panelists, Question preparation worksheet for audience
Teaching This Topic
Teachers should ground abstract concepts in concrete examples and require students to justify their reasoning with data. Avoid letting students default to ‘block all mergers’ or ‘regulation is always good.’ Instead, guide them to identify trade-offs using structured frameworks. Research shows that simulations and role-plays deepen understanding of tacit collusion and enforcement limits better than lectures alone.
What to Expect
Successful learning looks like students using economic reasoning to justify CMA decisions, explaining how different practices distort markets, and linking theory to case outcomes. They should confidently critique both corporate strategies and regulatory responses.
These activities are a starting point. A full mission is the experience.
- Complete facilitation script with teacher dialogue
- Printable student materials, ready for class
- Differentiation strategies for every learner
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
Common MisconceptionDuring Case Study Rotation, watch for students assuming all mergers reduce competition and should be blocked.
What to Teach Instead
Redirect students to reread the efficiency defenses in their case pack and calculate long-run consumer price changes before voting. Ask them to prepare a two-sentence argument balancing market share against cost savings.
Common MisconceptionDuring Debate Pairs, watch for students believing anti-competitive practices only occur in monopolies.
What to Teach Instead
Prompt pairs to cite examples of tacit collusion from the Market Simulation or cartel cases they read earlier, and ask them to explain why oligopolies often coordinate without written agreements.
Common MisconceptionDuring Role-Play, watch for students thinking competition policy can fully eliminate market power.
What to Teach Instead
After the hearing, have each student write one sentence on the whiteboard showing where some market power remains despite regulation, then discuss why perfect elimination is impossible.
Assessment Ideas
After Case Study Rotation, present students with a new hypothetical merger scenario. Ask them to write a short memo to the CMA outlining what evidence they would request and why, then discuss in small groups.
During Market Simulation, give students a quick index card. On one side, write the term ‘price leadership.’ On the other, write ‘predatory pricing.’ Ask them to define each and explain one way price leadership can harm consumers.
After Role-Play, have students swap their written CMA decision summaries with a partner. Partners check for: identification of the anti-competitive practice, a stated economic rationale, and one counter-argument. Each provides one sentence of written feedback.
Extensions & Scaffolding
- Challenge students to draft a press release announcing a CMA decision for one of the merger cases, explaining the rationale in consumer-friendly language.
- Provide a simplified merger case with fewer documents for students who struggle to process complex evidence quickly.
- Deeper exploration: Have students research a real CMA decision from the past five years, then present the case as a news report with interviews of stakeholders.
Key Vocabulary
| Merger | The combination of two or more companies into a single, larger corporation. Governments scrutinize mergers to prevent excessive market concentration. |
| Anti-competitive practices | Actions taken by firms to reduce or eliminate competition, such as price-fixing, market sharing, or predatory pricing. These harm consumers and market efficiency. |
| Abuse of dominant position | When a firm with significant market power uses its position to unfairly disadvantage competitors or consumers, for example, by charging excessive prices or blocking market entry. |
| Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) | The primary competition and consumer authority in the UK. It enforces competition law, investigates mergers, and promotes a competitive market. |
| Collusion | An agreement between competing firms to fix prices, limit output, or divide markets. This is illegal and directly harms consumers. |
Suggested Methodologies
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