On Tuesday, 27 June we welcomed Mat Hughes, professional anti-trust economist at AlixPartners, to the economics department at Wilson’s. His work has covered cases related to competition practises in the truck and car, telecoms plus pharmaceutical markets mergers. He discussed the close links between what students are taught at A level and the real world, touching on competition policy, market structure and perceptions of the public interest. Students were led to understand that economics to be of use in his world (and policy making in general) requires scientific method, the application of knowledge from other disciplines and a willingness to be intellectually curious. The assembled Year 12 students also enjoyed a lively question and answer session where Mat was able to offer career advice and discuss specific cases he had worked on in greater detail. The Economics and Business department as well the student attendees would like to thank Mat for what was an engaging and entertaining talk that provoked much thought and comment from those who had the privilege to be present.

Mat Hughes

Student views

“Year 12 economists enjoyed the recent opportunity to hear from Mr Mat Hughes about competition policy and its legal aspects. We were introduced to a number of topics which demonstrated how economics can be used in practice, some of which they were able to link to parts of the AS level course that they have studied. At the end of the talk, students were able to ask questions about the talk, Mr Hughes' career, and the possible doors that an Economics degree can open. This was useful and informative for those considering either an Economics or Law degree and was a thoroughly enjoyable experience."

Freddie (Year 12)

"I recently had the pleasure of attending a lecture on the legal aspects of competition policy by Mr Mat Hughes, both an enlightening and captivating experience, he was able to speak about the interlink between economics and law in a way that I’d never even heard of before.

His profound knowledge and expertise in the area alongside his ability to communicate complex ideas around merger controls and anti competitive agreements and draw on real life examples from his own experience such as cases against global corporations like Apple and Google illustrated the intricacies of competition policy beautifully.

What I perhaps enjoyed most however, was the very down-to-earth feeling about Mr Hughes who was delighted to satisfy the curiosity of dozens of students and provide valuable insights on the practical applications of economics not just to do with competition policy but also in micro and macro economics.

Meeting someone with a genuine passion for their subject is somewhat rare (at least not in Wilson’s!) so it is definitely an experience I’d recommend for anyone considering economics in later life even if not the legal aspects of the subject."

Satvik (Year 12)