Finance Professor Presents Research on Non-Compete Contracts at Federal Trade Commission Workshop

On January 9, 2020, Ryan Williams, associate professor of finance in the Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona, presented research on non-compete clauses at a public workshop held by the Federal Trade Commission.

The purpose of this workshop was to “explore whether or not there is enough legal basis and empirical economic support to implement a Commission Rule that would cut down on the use of non-compete clauses in employer-employee contracts.”

At the workshop, Williams was one of several legal scholars, policy experts, academic panelists and economists that assessed the current state of the law and several pieces of economic literature that touched base on non-compete clauses and their reasoning. There, he had the opportunity to present his research on the effects that non-compete clauses have on the current workforce, specifically CEOs.

Ryan Williams joined the Eller College of Management in 2012 after earning his PhD at Georgia State University. His industry experience includes working at PwC as an assurance senior associate and at Reznick, Fedder and Silverman as an auditor. His current research focus is on corporate finance, corporate governance, product markets and corporate hedging.