Patrick Legros

Patrick Legros serves as Professor of Economics at ECARES (European Centre for Advanced Research in Economics and Statistics) within the Free University of Brussels and holds a Research Fellowship at the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR). He joined ECARES in 2000 following academic appointments at Cornell University and the Université de Liège.

His educational foundation includes a Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), establishing his expertise in theoretical economics.

Legros specializes in contract theory, microeconomics, industrial organisation, competition policy, and antitrust. His research employs rigorous theoretical frameworks to analyze organizational design, firm behavior, and market competition dynamics, with notable contributions to understanding management practices, collusion mechanisms, and strategic communication. This work bridges abstract economic modeling with tangible policy applications in regulatory contexts.

Recent publications (2020-2025) reveal sustained focus on industrial organization, examining data markets in M&A transactions, communication costs in strategic settings, and collusion dynamics. His interdisciplinary expansion into health economics—particularly opioid policy impacts in France—and policy-oriented VoxEU contributions on university admissions and mechanism design demonstrate adaptability while maintaining core theoretical rigor.

As an active ECARES member, Legros contributes to a leading European research hub for economic theory and policy analysis, collaborating within networks focused on microeconomic foundations of industrial organization and market regulation.