The Bureau of Economics conducts economic studies, supports antitrust and consumer protection investigations and litigation, analyzes existing and proposed consumer protection rules, and studies the competitive impact of regulations for the Commission. This research may lead to FTC Reports, Bureau of Economics Staff Reports, or Economic Issue Papers.
Many staff economists also conduct research and publish papers in peer reviewed journals. Staff bios list selected publications for our economists. And we compiled a list of peer reviewed publications by economists currently in BE. More preliminary research is presented in the FTC Bureau of Economics Working Papers.
These papers are circulated to stimulate discussion and critical comment.
Each year, the Bureau Director and coauthors write a paper discussing recent economic issues at the FTC.
The Bureau of Economics has conducted many retrospective studies of consummated mergers. Links to these studies, as well as more information about this research program, can be found on our Merger Retrospective web site: