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Competition Law Toolkit
I. Competition Law Toolkit
Competition Law
- consists of rules intended to protect the process of competition, with the result that goods and services are sold at competitive prices and that consumers have a choice as to the products they wish to purchase.
- has grown at a phenomenal rate in recent years in response to the enormous changes in political thinking and economic behavior that have taken place around the world. There are now at least 100 systems of competition law in the world, in all continents and in all types of economies; several others are in contemplation. Many economic activities that once were regarded as natural monopolies or the preserve of the state, such as the provision of telecommunications, energy, transport, broadcasting and postal services have been opened up to competition and to the possibility of competition law scrutiny.
Competition law, as described in this toolkit, is not the same as "unfair" competition law. Nor is competition law—as opposed to competition policy—directly concerned with other important areas of law and policy, such as industrial policy, employment, the treatment of small and medium-sized business, trade liberalization, and foreign direct investment.
Purpose of the Toolkit
- to provide a resource to increase understanding of the purpose of competition policy;
- introduce key concepts in competition law and policy;
- provide insights into the numerous issues when countries are deciding whether to adopt a system of competition law, and the difficulties they are likely to encounter when they actually do so. The toolkit contains links to relevant work in the field, and to a variety of resources such as model laws, guidance and decisional practice.
Structure of the Toolkit
The toolkit is divided into a number of sections:
- Overview of Practices Controlled by Competition Law contains a brief overview of the practices that competition law aims to control in order to protect the process of competition.
- Countries That Have Adopted Systems of Competition Law contains a brief account of the countries that have adopted systems of competition law, including countries within Asia and the Pacific region, and provides links to websites which contain further information about those regimes.
- Benefits of Competition Policy explains why competition policy is thought to be beneficial for consumer welfare.
- Practices Controlled By Competition Law then provides a more detailed treatment of the practices that competition law controls in order to protect the process of competition.
- Key Concepts and Tools deals with key concepts and tools in competition law and policy.
- Competition, Privatization, and Regulation is a study of the competition issues facing utilities, infrastructure development and operators, banking and finance.
- Competition Law and Policy in Emerging Economies discusses the importance of competition law and policy in emerging economies
- Enforcement Mechanisms is a review of enforcement mechanisms that are essential for effective application of competition laws.
- ADB Resources and Projects contains ADB publications on competition, competitiveness, and development.
- Other Resources lists a bibliography and references to important websites, model laws and expert resources in the field. References to relevant laws, administrative guidance, policy statements, academic literature and other sources are also given throughout the toolkit.
- Glossary and List of Abbreviations includes important terminology used in industrial economics and competition law and a list of abbreviations used in this toolkit.
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