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Five new projects receive research grants from the Swedish Competition Authority

The procurement of automated decision-making support systems by public authorities, how the COVID-19 crisis has affected public transport and an analysis of the online pharmaceutical industry. These are the subjects of some of the research projects that have been awarded research grants this year by the Swedish Competition Authority.

The Swedish Competition Authority contributes funding to selected research projects at Swedish universities. This year, SEK 4.3 million has been distributed to new research projects.

“It’s important to increase our understanding of how markets work. It helps to develop society. In various ways, the research projects that have now received research funding will develop new knowledge that increases our understanding of different issues in the field of competition and procurement,” says Rikard Jermsten, Director General of the Swedish Competition Authority.

One of the five research projects that have been awarded research funding will study competition between healthcare providers, as well as how this competition is affected by social insurances. The research project is being led by Dr. Maksym Khomenko of Stockholm University’s Department of Economics. The aim of the project is to improve the efficiency and accessibility of health and medical care.

A review of the EU Charter’s impact on competition law from a Swedish perspective will be studied under the leadership of Professor Xavier Groussot of Lund University’s Department of Law. The research project will focus in particular on the horizontal clauses in the EU Charter, the digital single market and Sweden.

Professor Henrik Artman of KTH Royal Institute of Technology’s School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science will study the procurement of automated decision-making support systems by public authorities. The project will identify how (and whether) public authorities impose non-functional requirements when purchasing decision-making support systems. The project also aims to develop guidance on how to improve non-functional requirements.

The coronavirus pandemic has caused a financial crisis for public transport providers in Sweden. Doctor of Business Gunnar Alexandersson of the Stockholm School of Economics Institute for Research (SIR) has been granted research funding to study how the COVID-19 crisis has resulted in the renegotiation of existing agreements within regional and local public bus services, as well as what these contract changes have entailed.

Senior Lecturer Vladimir Bastidias of Uppsala University’s Department of Law has been granted research funding to analyse two-sided markets in the online pharmaceutical industry.

In addition to the five new research projects, seven ongoing projects will also receive grants.

For further information, please contact:

Joakim Wallenklint, Research Director, tel +46-8-700 16 03,

Last updated: 2021-07-29

Press release28 july 2021