Rosa-Branca Esteves
Full Professor of Economics at the University of Minho and researcher at NIPE – Economic Policies Research Unit. She directs the PhD Program in Economics and plays an active role in academic governance and institutional leadership.
Her expertise lies in industrial organization, game theory and digital markets, with a focus on personalized pricing, price discrimination, targeted advertising, data-driven mergers, and competition policy. She applies game-theoretic analysis to study firm behavior in data-rich environments and their regulatory implications.
She has published in leading international journals such as the International Journal of Industrial Organization, Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Journal of Industrial Economics, Marketing Science, Journal of Business Research, Information Economics and Policy, and the Scandinavian Journal of Economics. She leads several FCT-funded research projects, including the the project “Data-Based Price Discrimination, GDPR & Competition.”
Her scientific work has been recognized with major awards, including the EARIE Young Economist Award, the IJIO Best Paper Award, and the EEG-UM Research Prize. She is also an experienced evaluator for national and international research foundations, a member of academic promotion juries, and a referee for numerous top journals. Her consultancy and research collaborations extend across academia, public institutions, and regulatory agencies.
Personal Information
Full Professor of Economics School of Economics, Management and Political Science (EEG), University of Minho, Portugal
Integrated researcher at the NIPE (Economic Policies Research Unit).
Email: rbranca@eeg.uminho.pt
ORCID: 0000-0001-5063-697X | Scopus ID: 26321483600 | ResearcherID: B-5332-2009
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Education
Habilitation in Economics, 2023
DPhil in Economics, University of Oxford, 2005 – Thesis: 'Competitive Behaviour-Based Price Discrimination' (Supervisor: Mark Armstrong).
MSc in Industrial Economics, University of Minho, 1999 – Thesis: 'Informative Advertising, Information Targeting and Welfare' (Supervisor: Paulo Guimarães).
BA in Economics, University of Porto, 1995.
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Research Interests
Industrial Organization, Game Theory, Competition in Digital Markets, Price Discrimination, Personalized Pricing, Targeted Advertising, Data-Driven Mergers, Competition Policy.
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Main Areas of Teaching
Game Theory; Industrial Organization; Competition Policy in Digital Markets; Calculus.
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Publications in Peer-Reviewed Journals
1. Esteves, R.B. & Carballo-Cruz, F. Data-Driven Pricing in Markets with Single and Multi-
Unit Buyers: Winners and Losers. Journal of Business Research, forthcoming.
2. Esteves, R.B. & Carballo-Cruz, F. A general framework for retailer competition under
elastic demand and quantity-dependent transport costs. Journal of Retailing and Consumer
Services, 2025.
3. Esteves, R.B.; Ghandour, Z.; Straume, O. Quality discrimination in healthcare markets.
Journal Economics & Management Strategy, 2025, 34(1), 24–41.
4. Esteves, R.B.; Carballo-Cruz, F. Can data openness unlock competition when the
incumbent has exclusive data access for personalized pricing? Information Economics and
Policy, 2023, 64, 101046.
5. Esteves, R.B. Can personalized pricing be a winning strategy in oligopolistic markets with
heterogeneous demand customers? International Journal of Industrial Organization, 2022,
85, 102874.
6. Esteves, R.B.; Shuai, J. Personalized pricing with a price sensitive demand. Economics
Letters, 2022, 213, 110396.
7. Esteves, R.B.; Liu, Q.; Shuai, J. Behavior-based price discrimination with non-uniform
distribution of consumer preferences. Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, 2022,
31(2), 324–355.
8. Esteves, R.B.; Resende, J. Personalized pricing and advertising: Who are the winners?
International Journal of Industrial Organization, 2019, 63, 239–282.
9. Esteves, R.B.; Cerqueira, S. Behavior-based pricing under imperfectly informed
consumers. Information Economics and Policy, 2017, 40, 60–70.
10. Esteves, R.B.; Resende, J. Competitive targeted advertising with price discrimination.
Marketing Science, 2016, 35(4), 576–587.
11. Esteves, R.B.; Vasconcelos, H. Price discrimination under customer recognition and
mergers. J. Economics & Management Strategy, 2015, 24(3), 523–549.
12. Esteves, R.B. Behavior-based price discrimination with retention offers. Information
Economics and Policy, 2014, 27(1), 39–51.
13. Esteves, R.B. Price discrimination with private and imperfect information. Scandinavian
Journal of Economics, 2014, 116(3), 766–796.
14. Esteves, R.B.; Reggiani, C. Elasticity of demand and behaviour-based price discrimination. International Journal of Industrial Organization, 2014, 32(1), 46–56. (IJIO Best Paper Award 2015)
15. Esteves, R.B. Pricing with customer recognition. International Journal of Industrial Organization, 2010, 28(6), 669–681.
16. Esteves, R.B. Price discrimination with partial information: Does it pay off? Economics Letters, 2009, 105(1), 28–31.
17. Esteves, R.B. Customer poaching and advertising. Journal of Industrial Economics, 2009, 57(1), 112–146. (EARIE Young Economist Essay Award 2006)
18. Esteves, R.B.; Guimarães, P. Price discrimination and targeted advertising: A welfare analysis. ICFAI Journal of Applied Economics, 2008, 41–47.
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Submitted and Working Papers
Esteves, R.B.; Shuai, J. Behavior-Based Price Discrimination with a Price Sensitive Demand. (Revise & Resubmit, Journal of Industrial Economics).
Esteves, R.B.; Pascquier, N. Winners and Losers of Gatekeeper-Induced Consumer Preference Distortion in Promoting Personalized Pricing. (Revise & Resubmit, International Journal of Industrial Organization).
Esteves, R.B.; Carballo-Cruz, F. The Profit Impact of Personalized Strategies: The Role of Consumer Demand Elasticity. (Resubmission, Journal of Retailing).
Carballo-Cruz, F.; Esteves, R.B.; Silva, L. Can Strategic Loyalty Investments Help Incumbents Defend Market Positions Against Entry? (Under review, Strategic Management Journal).
Esteves, R.B.; Pascquier, N. Endogenous Personalized Pricing under Asymmetric Personalization Costs and Triangular Preferences: Winners and Losers. (Submitted to Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services).
Can, G.; Esteves, R.B. Timing in Behavior-Based Price Discrimination: Loyalty First Makes It Profitable. (Submitted to Economics Letters).
Yumeng, A.; Esteves, R.B.; Shuai, J. Third-Degree Price Discrimination: A Win-Win for Firms and Consumers? (To be submitted to Management Science).
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Research Projects (FCT-funded and others)
Principal Investigator in five FCT-funded projects and Co-PI in two additional research projects in the field of Industrial Organization and Digital Markets.
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Scientific Recognition & Awards
EEG Research Award, University of Minho, 2017.
International Journal of Industrial Organization Best Paper Award, 2015.
EARIE Young Economist Essay Award, 2006.
Excellence in Reviewing Award, IJIO, 2014.
Citations: 340+ (Scopus); h-index = 11.
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Evaluation and Scientific Service
Evaluator of research proposals for the Austrian Science Fund (2025), University of Louvain (2024), and the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong (2021-present).
Member of academic promotion and habilitation juries at several Portuguese universities.
Referee for several international journals, including the RAND Journal of Economics, Management Science, Marketing Science, Economic Journal, International Journal of Industrial Organization, Journal of Industrial Economics, Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Games and Economic Behavior, and Information Economics and Policy.
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Consultancy & Expert Roles
Consultant, National Center for Cybersecurity (Portugal) – 'Cybersecurity in Portugal', 2021.
Invited Expert, Office of Fair Trading (UK) – 'The Economics of Online Price Customization', 2012.
Invited Expert, Ofcom (UK) – 'Consumer Switching in Communications Markets', 2010.
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Administrative and Leadership Roles
President, School Council, School of Economics, Management and Political Science, University of Minho (from Nov. 2025).
Director, PhD Programme in Economics (2021–present).
Director, MSc in Economics (2012–2016).
Director, BSc in Economics (2010–2012).
Head, Department of Economics (2018–2020).