Martin Schmalz, professor at the University of Oxford, Saïd Business School, acted as opponent.

Tove’s dissertation “The Evolution of Competition: The Role of Institutional Ownership, Measurement, and Regulation” consists of three self-contained essays on how competition has changed over the past decades.

The first essay examines the link between ownership structure and competition. Ownership today is concentrated to large institutional investors who often hold shares in competing firms. The essay shows how 70% of institutional investors use the same proxy advisor when they vote at shareholder meetings and how this leads to coordination of investors’ interests and softening of competition.

The second essay explores estimation of markups, a key measure of competition. The essay provides a novel empirical assessment of the production approach to estimate markups, finding support for the usefulness of the approach.

The third essay investigates the effectiveness of antitrust enforcement in countering collusion. Studying a gradual tightening in regulation, the essay finds that stricter competition laws lead to fewer registered cartels but cartels continue to form undercover.

Tove will join the Norwegian School of Economics as an Assistant Professor.