Serving as the Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Economics at the Antitrust Division of the U.S Department of Justice, Shapiro made a presentation on “economic analysis of mergers: theory and practice,” focusing on transatlantic differences in merger and acquisition regulations. “The United States cannot block a merger without a court decision, contrary to EU,” he said.

John Van Reenen from the London School of Economics also attended the event, which was sponsored by the Turkish Central Bank, the Turkish Competition Authority and Türk Telekom.

Talking to the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review, Associate Professor Eren İnci from Sabancı University said EARIE is one of the most important conferences about the global economy. “Istanbul plays a major role as one of the rising centers of the global economy and this is one of the reasons that the city is hosting EARIE this year,” İnci said.

The events were to continue until Saturday, with more than 400 economists, academics, industrialists and students presenting proposals on issues such as consumer choices, pricing, network economics, industry-science links, banking, productivity and regulation.