French economist Jean Tirole has been awarded the 2014 Nobel Memorial Prize in economics for his outstanding analysis on monopolies created by powerful companies and ways to regulate them.
A former MIT student, Tirole now works as the head of economics at Toulouse University, France.
Tirole has spent the last 30 years studying how a small number of large firms can dominate markets and the damage that can do-and how governments should respond, CNN reports.
The economist argues that the best regulation is adapted to the conditions of each industry, such as telecoms and banking, rather than trying a one-size-fits-all approach, the report says.
The Nobel committee said that cooperation on price setting within a market is usually harmful, but cooperation regarding patent pools can benefit everyone.
It added that while the merger of a firm and its supplier may encourage innovation, it might also distort competition
Tirole was also named as one of the world's most influential academics this year in a survey by Thomson Reuters.
