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Lars-Hendrik Röller (born in
Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
on July 19, 1958) is a German
economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...
who served as the Director General for Economic and Financial Policy at the
German Chancellery The Federal Chancellery (, ) is a Germany, German Federal agency (Germany), federal agency serving the executive office of the chancellor of Germany, the head of the Government of Germany, federal government, currently Friedrich Merz. The Chancel ...
from 2011 to 2022, a position that made him
Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...
Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German retired politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. She is the only woman to have held the office. She was Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2005 and Leade ...
's chief economic advisor. He previously was the president of the
European School of Management and Technology The European School of Management and Technology, also known as ESMT Berlin, is a private non-profit business school based in Berlin, Germany. The business school was founded in 2002 by 25 companies and institutions and offers a range of Master o ...
(ESMT) in Berlin. In 2002, he was awarded the Gossen Prize in recognition for his contributions to empirical
industrial economics In economics, industrial organization is a field that builds on the theory of the firm by examining the structure of (and, therefore, the boundaries between) firms and markets. Industrial organization adds real-world complications to the perfe ...
.


Early life and education

A native of
Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
, Röller is the son of the former chairman of the board of
Dresdner Bank Dresdner Bank AG () was a German bank, founded in 1872 in Dresden, then headquartered in Berlin from 1884 to 1945 and in Frankfurt from 1963 onwards after a postwar hiatus. Long Germany's second-largest bank behind Deutsche Bank, it was eventually ...
, Wolfgang Röller. He earned a B.Sc. in
computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...
from the
Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...
in 1981 as well as a M.Sc. in
artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...
and a M.A. in
economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...
from the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
in 1982 and 1983. In 1987, Röller obtained a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Pennsylvania, where he also briefly worked as lecturer, with a thesis on the theory and application of
contestable market In economics, the theory of contestable markets, associated primarily with its 1982 proponent William J. Baumol, held that there are markets served by a small number of firms that are nevertheless characterized by competitive equilibrium, and th ...
s.


Career in academia

Röller worked as assistant professor (1987–91) and later associate professor (1991–95) and full professor of economics (1995–99) at
INSEAD INSEAD ( ; French: ''Institut européen d'administration des affaires'') is a non-profit business school with locations in Europe (Fontainebleau, France), Asia (Singapore), the Middle East (Abu Dhabi, UAE) and North America (San Francisco, USA ...
in
Fontainebleau Fontainebleau ( , , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the Kilometre zero#France, centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a Subprefectures in Franc ...
. From 1994, he worked in Berlin in various functions, directing the Institute on Competitiveness and Industrial Change at the
WZB Berlin Social Science Center The WZB Berlin Social Science Center (, WZB), also known by its German initials WZB, is an internationally renowned research institute for the social sciences, the largest such institution in Europe not affiliated with a university. It was fou ...
from 1994 to 2007, where he also has been working as research professor on innovation and competition since 2007, and holding the chair of the Institute of Industrial Economics at
Humboldt University Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humboldt ...
since 1995. Additionally, Röller was a full professor at the
European School of Management and Technology The European School of Management and Technology, also known as ESMT Berlin, is a private non-profit business school based in Berlin, Germany. The business school was founded in 2002 by 25 companies and institutions and offers a range of Master o ...
, which he presided over between 2006 and 2011. Throughout his academic career, Röller has held visiting appointments at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona,
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
,
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
, and the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration (NHH). In addition to his academic positions, Röller served as chief competition economist at the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
under successive presidents
Romano Prodi Romano Prodi (; born 9 August 1939) is an Italian politician who served as President of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004 and twice as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1996 to 1998, and again from 2006 to 2008. Prodi is considered the fo ...
and
José Manuel Barroso José Manuel Durão Barroso (; born 23 March 1956) is a Portuguese politician and law professor. He previously served from 2002 to 2004 as the List of Prime Ministers of Portugal, 114th prime minister of Portugal and from 2004–2014 as the 11 ...
from 2003 until 2006, in this capacity advising European Commissioners for Competition 
Mario Monti Mario Monti (; born 19 March 1943) is an Italian politician, economist and academic who served as the Prime Minister of Italy from 2011 to 2013, leading a Technocratic government (Italy), technocratic government in the wake of the European sov ...
and
Neelie Kroes Neelie Kroes (; born 19 July 1941) is a retired Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and businessperson who served as European Commissioner from 22 November 2004 to 1 November 2014. Kroes studied Economics at ...
.


Career in government

In 2011, Röller succeeded
Jens Weidmann Jens Weidmann (born 20 April 1968) is a German economist who served as president of the Deutsche Bundesbank between 2011 and 2021. He also served as chairman of the Board of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). Before moving to the Bunde ...
as Director General for Economic and Financial Policy at the
German Chancellery The Federal Chancellery (, ) is a Germany, German Federal agency (Germany), federal agency serving the executive office of the chancellor of Germany, the head of the Government of Germany, federal government, currently Friedrich Merz. The Chancel ...
, a position that makes him
Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...
Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German retired politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. She is the only woman to have held the office. She was Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2005 and Leade ...
's chief economic advisor. In this role, he – among else – leads Germany's negotiation team at the G7 and G20 meetings of Merkel's chancellorship. Amid the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, he co-chaired (alongside Zane Dangor) the
Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator The Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT Accelerator or ACT-A), or the ''Global Collaboration to Accelerate the Development, Production and Equitable Access to New COVID-19 diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines'', is a G20 initiative annou ...
's Vaccine Manufacturing Working Group from June 2021.


Other activities


Corporate boards

*
BlackRock BlackRock, Inc. is an American Multinational corporation, multinational investment company. Founded in 1988, initially as an enterprise risk management and fixed income institutional asset manager, BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager ...
, Chair of the Transition Investing Advisory Council (since 2022)


Berlin Global Dialogue

In 2023, Röller founded the Berlin Global Dialogue, an annual high-level conference held at ESMT.


Non-profit organizations

Röller maintains affiliations with the Georgetown Center for Business and Public Policy (
Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...
), the
Centre for Economic Policy Research The Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) is an independent, non-partisan, pan-European non-profit organisation. It aims to enhance the quality of policy decisions through providing policy-relevant research, based soundly in economic schola ...
(CEPR), where he has led the programme on
industrial organization In economics, industrial organization is a field that builds on the theory of the firm by examining the structure of (and, therefore, the boundaries between) firms and markets. Industrial organization adds real-world complications to the per ...
, and the European think tank Bruegel. In terms of professional service, Röller was president of the German Economic Association and the European Association for Research in Industrial Economics, member of the board of Bruegel and of the advisory board of the DIW and the Forschungsinstitut für Wirtschaftsverfassung und Wettbewerb, of the
Alexander von Humboldt Foundation The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation () is a foundation that promotes international academic cooperation between scientists and scholars from Germany and abroad. Established by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany, it is funded by t ...
's Scientific Council for Transatlantic Cooperation, and of the German-French Council of Economic Advisers, among else. He also is a member of the
American Economic Association The American Economic Association (AEA) is a learned society in the field of economics, with approximately 23,000 members. It publishes several peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Review, an ...
,
European Economic Association The European Economic Association (EEA) is a learned society, professional academic body which links European economists. It was founded in the mid-1980s. Its first annual congress was in 1986 in Vienna and its first president was Jacques Drèze. ...
, German Economic Association, and
American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary association, voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in the United States; national in scope, it is not specific to any single jurisdiction. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated acti ...
.


Editorial boards

Röller is or has been performing editorial duties for the '' Global Competition Litigation Review'', '' Journal of German and European Competition Law'', '' Journal of Productivity Analysis'', '' International Journal of Industrial Organization'', '' Journal of Industrial Economics'', and '' Managerial and Decision Economics''.


Research

Röller's research focuses on the economics of
competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indi ...
, technology, and innovation. His contributions to research have been acknowledged through the Gossen Prize (2002), a fellowship of the
European Economic Association The European Economic Association (EEA) is a learned society, professional academic body which links European economists. It was founded in the mid-1980s. Its first annual congress was in 1986 in Vienna and its first president was Jacques Drèze. ...
(2004), and a membership of the German Academy of Sciences (2008). Key contributions of his research include the following: * Investments into telecommunication infrastructure between the mid-1970s and mid-1990s likely substantially increased
economic growth In economics, economic growth is an increase in the quantity and quality of the economic goods and Service (economics), services that a society Production (economics), produces. It can be measured as the increase in the inflation-adjusted Outp ...
in the
OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...
, especially when it led to an infrastructure allowing for near universal service (with Leonard Waverman). * Whether or not innovation policies are complementary depends on whether the target is to make firms innovative or increase their innovation intensity as well as on the particular pair of policies, suggesting that packages of policies may be needed to make firms innovate whereas a more targeted approach is needed to increase the intensity of their innovations (with Pierre Mohnen). * Reflecting the need to evaluate the efficiencies of corporate mergers on a case-by-case basis, first assessing mergers through routine tools with modest information requirements and then assessing them further, including an efficiency defence, may be an information efficient framework for evaluations (with Johan Stennek and Frank Verboven). * In particular due to the alignment of the pricing strategies of mobile phone services operators across multiple markets and the cross-ownership of licenses, the prices for such services in the
U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...
during the 1980s were significantly above those to be expected under
perfect competition In economics, specifically general equilibrium theory, a perfect market, also known as an atomistic market, is defined by several idealizing conditions, collectively called perfect competition, or atomistic competition. In Economic model, theoret ...
or in a non-cooperative
duopoly A duopoly (from Greek , ; and , ) is a type of oligopoly where two firms have dominant or exclusive control over a market, and most (if not all) of the competition within that market occurs directly between them. Duopoly is the most commonly ...
(as existed due to the award of two licenses per geographic region by the FCC), suggesting substantial gains to deregulation (with Philip Parker). * If lobbying is efficient, accountability low, mergers large, and profits grow disproportionately as the size of mergers increases, the use of a consumer surplus standard by an antitrust agency to assess mergers yields higher welfare than the use of a welfare standard (with Damien Neven). * Electoral concerns and lobbying significantly affected the allocation of investments into transportation infrastructure across French regions in 1985-92, whereas concerns for maximizing the economic returns to infrastructure spending doesn't seem to have played a major role (with Olivier Cadot and Andreas Stephan). * Eliminating the gap in technical efficiency between American and European air carriers in 1986 was expected to create annual savings of $4.5 billion (1993 U.S. dollars) and displace about 42,000 across the European air carrier industry (with David H. Good, M. Ishaq Nadiri and Robin Sickles). * The decisions of the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
on merger control are not only determined by concerns over consumer protection, though they don't seem sensitive to firms' interests; instead, other institutional and political factors, e.g. the definition of a market's scope, procedural aspects, and country and industry specificities, appear to be significant (with Neven and Tomaso Duso). * Based on quadratic cost functions, the
Bell System The Bell System was a system of telecommunication companies, led by the Bell Telephone Company and later by the AT&T Corporation, American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T), that dominated the telephone services industry in North America fo ...
appears to have held a
natural monopoly A natural monopoly is a monopoly in an industry in which high infrastructural costs and other barriers to entry relative to the size of the market give the largest supplier in an industry, often the first supplier in a market, an overwhelming adv ...
over the U.S. telecommunications industry prior to its break-up.


Selected publications

* Röller, L.H. (2000). ''The Political Economy of Industrial Policy: Does Europe have an Industrial Policy?'' Berlin: Edition Sigma.


References


External links


Profile of Lars-Hendrik Röller on the website of the European School of Management and Technology
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roller, Lars-Hendrik 1958 births Writers from Frankfurt German economists Scholars of competition law Academic staff of the European School of Management and Technology Texas A&M University alumni University of Pennsylvania alumni Living people Bruegel (think tank) people