The European Commission has appointed Professor Fiona Scott Morton as the chief competition economist of the Directorate-General for Competition (DG COMP). Dr. Morton, the first woman to ever take on the role, will provide strategic advice and economic analysis of policies and enforcement of the EU. She will be on public service leave from her position as the Theodore Nierenberg Professor in Economics at Yale SOM while serving in her new role.
Heather Tookes, Deputy Dean for Faculty at Yale SOM, had nothing but praise for Dr. Morton: “Fiona is one of the world’s leading experts in competition and antitrust economics. She is also deeply committed to public service and to the idea that competition benefits consumers and the broader society. She has already made substantial contributions through her academic work, her teaching, her tenure with the U.S. Department of Justice, and her leadership of the Thurman Arnold Project. I and my colleagues at Yale SOM are proud to see her take on this important new role.”
Prior to her appointment as Chief Competition Economist, Dr. Morton served as the Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Economic Analysis (Chief Economist) at the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. She was responsible for helping enforce U.S. antitrust laws, as well as founding the Thurman Arnold Project at Yale. This initiative brings together students and scholars from across Yale for research related to competition policy and antitrust enforcement.
Related: An Economist’s Perspective on the EU Competition Judicial Review Process
In 2019, Dr. Morton launched the Digital Economy Project at the Tobin Center for Economic Policy. This initiative seeks to accelerate economic understanding of digital markets, and was seen as a logical stepping stone to her current position.
David Wilkinson, Executive Director of the Tobin Center, said of Dr. Morton: “Fiona’s extensive knowledge and direct policy expertise on the risks associated with dominant digital platforms make her the ideal pick for the European Commission. She launched and contributed extensively to our Digital Economy Project, which has already produced high quality digital market research and policy analysis and will continue to be a priority for the Tobin Center.”
Dr. Morton has also been working on establishing ways to enforce U.S. antitrust laws against Google and Facebook, and also led the committee that produced an influential report on the competition implications of digital platforms. She also co-authored work that exposed the practice of surprise medical billing and led to federal legislation addressing the problem.
The European Commission chose an innovative leader in the competition field to become their first female chief economist. With her dedication to public service and her extensive knowledge of policy and digital markets, Professor Fiona Scott Morton is sure to bring her high level of expertise and commitment to the Directorate-General for Competition.
