Market design and mechanism theoryprimary
3 projects
MARKLIM (Markets and their limits), ROBUST (Robust Mechanism Design), and DYNMECH (Dynamic Mechanisms) form a sustained programme in market theory and auction design.
Organization
FONDATION JEAN JACQUES LAFFONT,TOULOUSE SCIENCES ECONOMIQUES
Elite French economics research centre specializing in market design, climate-energy economics, and advanced econometric methods.
Research institutesocietyFR
H2020 projects
10
As coordinator
6
Total EC funding
€8.8M
Unique partners
38
What they do
Their core work
TSE (Toulouse School of Economics) is a top-tier economics research centre specializing in market design, industrial organization, and the economics of climate and energy policy. They develop theoretical models and econometric methods to understand how markets function — from price discrimination and auction design to consumer behaviour in energy transitions. Their work bridges abstract economic theory with real-world policy questions, particularly around CO2 mitigation, renewable energy adoption, and welfare effects of market structures.
Core expertise
What they specialise in
Climate and energy economicsprimary
3 projects
GEMCLIME, GEOCEP, and partly ADEMU address CO2 mitigation, energy transition, consumer behaviour in energy efficiency, and renewable energy policy modelling.
Industrial organization and price theoryprimary
2 projects
PRIDISP focuses specifically on price discrimination and market equilibrium models, while ISECO studies competition and externalities in information services.
Microeconometrics and statistical inferencesecondary
1 project
MiMo develops inference methods for discrete choice models, panel data, and network econometrics — foundational tools that support their applied work.
Information economicssecondary
2 projects
ISECO (Information services: competition and externalities) and MARKLIM both address how information asymmetries shape market outcomes.
Evolution & trajectory
How they've shifted over time
Early focus
Climate economics and market theory
Recent focus
Structural econometrics and price theory
In the early period (2015–2018), TSE's work was split between broad market theory (information, incentives, morality in MARKLIM) and applied climate-energy economics (CO2, mitigation, consumer behaviour in GEMCLIME). From 2019 onward, their focus sharpened toward rigorous econometric methods (discrete choice models, panel data in MiMo), structural modelling of industrial organization (price discrimination in PRIDISP), and a renewed push on energy transition economics (GEOCEP). The trend shows a move from abstract theoretical questions toward empirically grounded, policy-relevant economic modelling.
TSE is increasingly combining advanced econometric methods with applied industrial organization, making them a strong partner for projects needing rigorous economic impact assessment or market design expertise.
Collaboration profile
How they like to work
Role: consortium_leaderReach: European16 countries collaborated
TSE predominantly leads its own projects — 6 of 10 projects as coordinator, mostly ERC grants (4 ERC-STG, 2 ERC-ADG), which are individual excellence awards rather than consortium projects. When they participate, it's in larger research networks like GEMCLIME and GEOCEP (MSCA-RISE mobility programmes) and the ADEMU policy research consortium. This pattern indicates a group of strong principal investigators who attract their own funding but selectively join collaborative networks where their economic modelling expertise fills a specific gap.
TSE has worked with 38 unique partners across 16 countries, primarily through MSCA-RISE mobility networks and the ADEMU consortium. Their network is broad and European in scope, with connections spanning both economics departments and climate-energy research groups.
Why partner with them
What sets them apart
TSE is one of Europe's most prestigious economics research centres, consistently ranked among the top 5 in the continent. What sets them apart for consortium partners is their rare combination of deep theoretical economics (mechanism design, game theory) with applied quantitative skills in climate, energy, and industrial policy. If your project needs economic modelling that will hold up to academic scrutiny AND deliver policy-relevant insights, TSE is the gold-standard partner in France.
Notable projects
Highlights from their portfolio
- MARKLIMLargest single grant (EUR 2.1M ERC Advanced Grant) exploring the fundamental limits of markets — connecting incentives, information, and morality.
- PRIDISPMost recent coordinated project (2020–2026), developing new structural models of price discrimination with direct welfare implications for competition policy.
- GEMCLIMELarge MSCA-RISE network (2016–2022) on climate and energy economics, demonstrating TSE's ability to work in international research mobility programmes.
Cross-sector capabilities
Energy policy and transition economicsClimate change mitigation assessmentCompetition and regulatory economicsConsumer behaviour modelling
More in society
See all society organizations →UNIVERSITA CA' FOSCARI VENEZIA
Venice-based research university excelling in digital humanities, cultural heritage, climate adaptation, and nanomaterials risk — a major Marie Curie fellowship host.
Open →
ERASMUS UNIVERSITEIT ROTTERDAM
Leading Dutch research university specializing in health economics, social policy, development studies, and the governance of AI and migration.
Open →
LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND POLITICAL SCIENCE
Europe's premier social science university, producing world-class research in economics, political behaviour, public policy, and the social dimensions of climate, health, and security.
Open →