Dr. Michael Noel
View Dr. Noel's Biography, academic CV, and a selection of testimonials from economists, attorneys, and past students about Dr. Noel's work and effectiveness.
Biography
Dr. Michael D. Noel is a Competition Economist, a Professor of Economics at Texas Tech University, and an Economic Expert in the areas of Antitrust & Mergers, Business Strategy, Labor & Employment, and other competition-related matters. Dr. Noel has published extensively on Competition Economics and is perhaps best known for his work on dynamic price competition in the Oil & Gas industry. He pioneered the now large professional literature on price cycles and price volatility in gasoline markets, and is internationally known as a leading competition expert in the industry. Dr. Noel teaches university courses at the intersection of Competition Economics and Antitrust Law at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and regularly interacts with industry, government, the legal community, and the media to discuss competition issues. Dr. Noel holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) and Bachelors and Masters degrees from the University of Toronto.
Dr. Noel has substantial expertise in Competition Economics. He has analyzed Antitrust and Merger issues in a wide range of industries including the Oil & Gas industry, banking, retail products, supermarkets, health care and pharmaceuticals, payment cards, book publishing, auto manufacturing, and others. Dr. Noel's specific areas of expertise include price fixing, collective dominance, coordinated behavior, predatory pricing, price discrimination, market definition, mergers, vertical contracts, damages, and regulatory issues. Dr. Noel is also an expert in Competitive Business Strategy, using sophisticated statistical and econometric techniques, including Predictive Analytics techniques, to guide data-driven price and strategic positioning analyses. In addition, Dr. Noel has extensive expertise in Labor & Employment issues. He has handled numerous Labor & Employment matters involving potential damages from a variety of labor market disputes.
Dr. Noel's research has been published in leading professional journals in Economics including the RAND Journal of Economics, the Review of Economics and Statistics, the Journal of Industrial Economics, the International Journal of Industrial Organization, Energy Economics, Economic Inquiry, and the Journal of Economics and Management Strategy. He has also published articles at the intersection of Economics and Antitrust Law in legal journals including the Columbia Business Law Review, the CPI Antitrust Chronicle, the Antitrust Practitioner, the Journal of Competition Law and Economics, and the Canadian Competition Law Review. His work on payment cards was cited extensively by the U.S. Supreme Court in its Ohio v. American Express decision. Dr. Noel has presented his research to audiences on six continents around the world, and serves as a peer reviewer for more than fifty professional journals in economics.
Over the past twenty years, Dr. Noel has taught university courses on Antitrust Economics, Competitive Strategy, Industrial Organization, Game Theory, and Microeconomic Theory to thousands of students at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Dr. Noel has a talent for explaining even complex problems in Competition Economics in the simplest and most straightforward manner possible to students, economists, and non-economists alike. Prior to his current appointment at Texas Tech, Dr. Noel taught courses on Competition Economics and related subjects at the University of California San Diego, the University of Toronto, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.)
Dr. Noel regularly shares his expertise with local, national and international media. He has been called upon many times to discuss a wide variety of current economic issues - from changing crude oil and gasoline prices to disputed merger reviews to labor market issues - in the news.
What Others Are Saying about Dr. Noel
Dr. Noel is one of the special teachers you get where it is an absolute joy to come to class and learn. I went out of my way to take Dr. Noel's class and am extremely pleased I did. By far the best class I've taken at Tech.
A Student in Dr. Noel's class, from an anonymous course evaluation
Dr. Noel is an economic expert in complex competition/antitrust litigation and has been integral to the success of various matters. Dr. Noel's economic work is thoughtful, creative and robust, and is delivered with a high degree of professionalism and timeliness. I would highly recommend him.
An Attorney that worked with Dr. Noel
Dr. Noel is widely regarded as one of the leading experts on the economics of the retail gasoline market, and on the topic of price cycles there is no doubt that Dr. Noel is known worldwide as THE expert.
A Professor of Economics at a peer institution, from a recent peer review
Dr. Noel is a once-in-a-college professor. He is knowledgeable about everything he is talking about and teaches it very effectively. The entire class loved him. Definitely a person worthy of all the praise.
A Student in Dr. Noel's class, from an anonymous course evaluation
The quality of Dr. Noel's work, along with his impeccable credentials, make him an excellent consulting expert and would make him a formidable expert witness for deposition or trial. I strongly recommend Dr. Noel as an expert in civil litigation.
An Attorney that worked with Dr. Noel
Professor Noel has established himself as a leading expert on firm competition and market analysis. His publication record on these and additional topics is highly impressive.
A Professor of Economics at a peer institution, from a recent peer review
Your classes have singlehandedly been the most personally impactful classes out of my economics degree. You said "this is where you become an economist" and I want to let you know that "becoming an economist" has been one of the most meaningful experiences in my life.
A Student in Dr. Noel's class, from a thank you email