Centre for Market Design
We produce innovative microeconomic research and form partnerships with industry and governments to deliver value to society.
The Centre for Market Design is a research hub with expertise in microeconomics, hosted by The Department of Economics, University of Melbourne
Latest news and research
-
Dr Siqi Pan awarded ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) Fellowship for Economics
The Australian Research Council (ARC) has announced the ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) Fellows for 2025, including the University of Melbourne’s Dr Siqi Pan.
Research -
Professor David Byrne awarded ARC Future Fellowship for economics
The Faculty of Business and Economics congratulates Professor Byrne on his successful Australian Research Council Future Fellowship application for ‘Informational Foundations of Monopoly Power in the Digital Age’.
Research -
Associate Professor Maria Recalde wins 2024 Research Excellence Award
-
Professor David Byrne delivers the 2024 Giblin Lecture on Dollars and Sense: Exposing unfair pricing
-
Loyalty programs may limit competition, and they could be pushing prices up for everyone
New research shows that paradoxically, by changing the way companies target customers, loyalty programs can sometimes reduce price competition, writes Associate Professor Alexandru Nichifor for The Conversation.
Research -
CMD Director wins 2023 Deans' Research Awards
-
Professor David Byrne wins Young Economist of the Year 2023
Professor David Byrne from the Department of Economics at the University of Melbourne is the Economic Society of Australia’s Young Economist of the Year for 2023.
-
Research Impact: research cited in 2023 Economic Report of President Biden
Upcoming Events
The Centre for Market Design's research is published in top-ranking generalist and leading field journals.
Our team includes outstanding young economists specialising in research in economic theory, structural econometrics and experimental economics, who partner with peers in Australia and worldwide to drive innovation in the field of market design.
We also support workshops, mini-schools, conferences and academic visitors.
Featured content
The Centre for Market Design applies game theory, information economics and incentive design to policy and industry problems.
We connect leading academics with real-world policy problems to design, test and implement tailor-made solutions. We develop mechanisms that help government and industry make positive changes using robust economic design tools.
See a full list of our partnerships with government, industry and universities.
Latest projects
-
Integrated Care and Commissioning Design and Implementation
-
Submission to the House of Representatives Economics Committee
-
Incentive-compatible biosecurity policies - a framework for regulatory design
-
Employment Services Scheme
CMD was engaged to provide advice on the current Employment Services Program
-
Analysing third-party comparison websites
The Centre for Market Design is undertaking an investigation into the role, effectiveness and value of third-party price comparison websites in the Australian electricity market.
-
Power Changers
Associate Professor David Byrne has been instrumental in designing and evaluating a trial to help households reduce power use.
-
Improving Transport for Students with Disability
Travel times by students with autism at a northern Melbourne school have been cut by half as a result of a CMD pilot project.
-
Youth Justice
A joint field experiment is underway to evaluate the effectiveness of non-custodial interventions for young offenders.
-
Biodiversity Offsets Scheme
A smart market is being designed for the New South Wales Government’s Biodiversity Offset Scheme.
-
Waste Sector Reform
Economic design methodology will assist Infrastructure Victoria to identify options to manage waste and recycling policy.
-
Border Biosecurity
The CMD is focusing on incentives to improve Australia’s biosecurity system.
We work closely with state and commonwealth government agencies, researchers from local and international universities, and organisations with an interest in market design research and applications.
We share knowledge and promote market design solutions for procurement, also partnering with industry and the community to problem solve.
Our team continues to provide fiscal, efficient and engagement outcomes for its stakeholders and plans to increase contractual work by developing new strategic partnerships.
Please contact the CMD office to discuss potential partnerships.
The Centre for Market Design (CMD) was established in 2012 as a consortium of Federal and Victorian Treasury departments and the University of Melbourne, to partner with industry, government and university peers to produce innovative economic research.
It became a University research centre in 2018.
We use mechanism design, auction theory, matching markets, experimental economics, and structural econometrics to find solutions to public policy, procurement and resource allocation problems.
We work closely with state and commonwealth government agencies, researchers from local and international universities, and organisations with an interest in market design research and applications, to share knowledge and find solutions.