This chapter reviews market studies, presenting aggregated information on the number of market studies carried out during the decade, as well as a description of related OECD work.
A Decade of OECD Competition Trends, Data and Insights
Abstract
Market studies are a useful tool for competition authorities to assess whether competition in a market is working effectively and identify recommendations to address any issues if not. They are also key for the advocacy activities of the authorities, as they may include key messages and recommendations for relevant actors in the markets. A total of 1 561 market studies were conducted in the past decade, with the average number of market studies carried out per year remained relatively constant (three per year per jurisdiction). It is important to note that these numbers do not consider the different definitions that each authority may have of what constitutes a market study, as well as any changes in content, quality and depth of the studies through time.
As it can be seen in Figure 3.1 there was a surge in the number of studies observed for OECD jurisdictions between 2020 and 2022 and despite the level of studies dropping off in the past two years, there remain more market studies per year in OECD jurisdictions than at the beginning of the decade. This shows their continued relevance for competition authorities, although there has been a fall in non-OECD jurisdictions. Reflecting their relevance, the decade has seen several pieces of OECD work related to market studies. Box 3.1 summarises this work.
Note: A three-year average is used to smooth out volatility caused by random fluctuations. Data based on the 60 jurisdictions in the OECD CompStats database that provided data for market studies for the period 2015-2024.
Source: OECD CompStats database.
At the beginning of the past decade, market studies were one of the priority areas for the Competition Committee. In 2015, the OECD surveyed around 50 member and non-member jurisdictions on the scope, legal powers and institutional settings of market studies (OECD, 2015[26]). In 2016, at the Global Forum on Competition, competition authorities discussed the results of the survey, focusing on the role of market studies as a tool to promote competition (OECD, 2016[27]).
In its efforts to consolidate international good practices, in 2017, the OECD reviewed different methodologies to conduct market studies, looking at experiences in information gathering methods, econometric modelling and qualitative and quantitative methods (OECD, 2017[28]). This work culminated in 2018, when the OECD published its Market Studies Guide for Competition Authorities, consolidating all the previous work on the topic (OECD, 2018[29]).
In 2020, the Global Forum on Competition held a roundtable on using market studies to tackle emerging competition issues, concluding that “Market studies can be a powerful preventive tool to identify, diagnose and clarify options to address emerging competition issues by exploring the different drivers and clarifying the options available to tackle them from a competition policy, enforcement, regulatory, or other policy perspective.” (OECD, 2021[30])
In December 2025, Working Party 2 on Competition and Regulation of the Competition Committee will hold a roundtable on Market Studies and Other Market Analysis Tools.
Sources: OECD (2015[26]), Market studies: the results of an OECD Survey. Available at: https://one.oecd.org/document/DAF/COMP(2015)7/en/pdf; OECD (2016[27]), The role of market studies as a tool to promote competition, https://doi.org/10.1787/3aaffccf-en; OECD (2017[28]), Methodologies for Market Studies, https://doi.org/10.1787/8731d5ef-en
OECD (2018[29]), Market Studies Guide for Competition Authorities, https://doi.org/10.1787/7381b582-en; OECD (2021[30]). Using market studies to tackle emerging competition issues, https://doi.org/10.1787/3ff6e671-en; OECD (2025), “Market studies and other market analysis tools for competition authorities”, https://www.oecd.org/en/events/2025/12/market-studies-and-other-market-analysis-tools-for-competition-authorities.html..