Essays about medication and rental agreements receive prizes from the Swedish Competition Authority

This year, 29 entries were submitted to the jury for deliberation. Five essays receive an award with the winners sharing a prize of SEK 100,000. The Swedish Competition Authority has run the essay competition since 1995, which is aimed at students who have written essays on the subject of competition and procurement.

“It’s very exciting to see our essay competition attract so many students. Competition and public procurement are central social issues and we want this essay competition to encourage students to deepen their knowledge in these important areas. This is something this year’s winners have done exceptionally well,” says Rikard Jernsten, Director General of the Swedish Competition Authority.

Pricing of over the counter medication
First prize in the Economics category was awarded to Karin Fura and Elsa Horn af Rantzien, both from Stockholm. They submitted their essay to the Department of Economics at the Stockholm School of Economics. The authors will share a prize of SEK 30,000 for their essay, “The Swedish Pharmaceutical Market: Competition and Pricing Post-Deregulation.” Motivation for the award explains how it thoroughly provides a model investigation into how competition influences the way pharmacies price over the counter medication.

Rental agreements and public procurement
First prize in the Law category was awarded to Hanna Svensson from Östersund. She submitted her essay to the Faculty of Law at Stockholm University, and will receive SEK 20,000 for her essay, “Rental agreements and public procurement”. The jury stated that the essay is “an excellent survey of the legal situation in a complicated and important problem area”. The jury’s motivation also stated how the essay successfully shows how the connection to civil law can be used to solve a problem relating to procurement law.

Price dispersion on mortgage interest
Second prize in the Economics category goes to Martin Bergqvist, Ekshärad, currently studying at the Umeå School of Business and Economics at Umeå University. He was awarded SEK 20,000 for his essay, “Searching the Mortgage Market: An Estimated Consumer Search Model of the Swedish Mortgage Market”. The jury stated that the essay highlights the competition conditions on an important market and uses a thorough empirical analysis.

The interplay between patents, standardisation, competition and innovation
Second prize in the Law category was awarded to David Kristing from the Faculty of Law at Stockholm University for his essay, “Standard-Essential Patents – Balancing the Interests of Intellectual Property and Competition under EU Law”. The prize is SEK 17,000 and the jury describes how the essay provides a praiseworthy presentation of the complicated relationship between immaterial rights and competition law.

Municipal financial support for new building works
Esmerelda Eberhardson from Malmö was awarded third prize in the Law category. She is studying at the Faculty of Law at Lund University. She was awarded SEK 13,000 for her essay: “Services of general economic interest – An (im)possibility in Swedish municipal housing policy.” The jury stated that the essay presents the subject of municipal financial support for new building works – and whether this is permitted in accordance with EU state aid regulations – in a creative, clear and structured manner.

Read more about the essay competition (in Swedish)