This innovative book discusses the global character of competition law focusing on three interrelated perspectives; firstly, the impact of economics on competition policy; secondly, the competition law experience in selected countries (USA, EU, Japan, India, China, Brazil, transition countries) and how the law has adapted to the political, economic, geographic and cultural environment; and thirdly, the process of internationalisation and convergence of competition law.

The vast majority of the countries in the world are developing countries—there are only thirty-four OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries—and yet there is a serious dearth of attention to developing countries in the international and comparative law scholarship, which has been preoccupied with the United States and the European Union. Competition Law and Development investigates whether or not the competition law and policy transplanted from Europe and the United States can be successfully implemented in the developing world or whether the developing-world experience suggests a need for a different analytical framework. The political and economic environment of developing countries often differs significantly from that of developed countries in ways that may have serious implications for competition law enforcement. The need to devote greater attention to developing countries is also justified by the changing global economic reality in which developing countries—especially China, India, and Brazil—have emerged as economic powerhouses. Together with Russia, the so-called BRIC countries have accounted for thirty percent of global economic growth since the term was coined in 2001. In this sense, developing countries deserve more attention not because of any justifiable differences from developed countries in competition law enforcement, either in theoretical or practical terms, but because of their sheer economic heft. This book, the second in the Global Competition Law and Economics series, provides a number of viewpoints of what competition law and policy mean both in theory and practice in a development context.

An important and timely contribution to rapidly growing competition law in South Africa, this study meets the need for critical evaluation of the developments in the field since the Competition Act came into force in 1999. Chapters cover vital questions ranging from broad policy considerations to technical issues in the main areas of competition evaluation, namely merger assessment, abuse-of-dominance enforcement, and the detection and prosecution of cartels. The book reflects on the maturing South African competition law regime and discusses a framework for promotion competition in electronic communications; vertical arithmetic and its application in vertical mergers; price discrimination in input markets; the empirical differences between collusion, parallelism, and competition; and the role of information exchange in facilitating collusion.

This book brings together perspectives of development economics and law to tackle the relationship between competition law enforcement and economic development. It addresses the question of whether, and how, competition law enforcement helps to promote economic growth and development. This question is highly pertinent for developing countries largely because many developing countries have only adopted competition law in recent years: about thirty jurisdictions had in place a competition law in the early 1980s, and there are now more than 130 competition law regimes across the world, of which many are developing countries. The book proposes a customized approach to competition law enforcement for developing countries, set against the background of the academic and policy debate concerning convergence of competition law. The implicit premise of convergence is that there may exist one, or a few, correct approaches to competition law enforcement, which in most cases emanate from developed jurisdictions, that are applicable to all. This book rejects this assumption and argues that developing countries ought to tailor competition law enforcement to their own economic and political circumstances. In particular, it suggests how competition law enforcement can better incorporate development concerns without causing undue dilution of its traditional focus on protecting consumer welfare. It proposes ways in which approaches to competition law enforcement need to be adjusted to reflect the special economic characteristics of developing country economies and the more limited enforcement capacity of developing country competition authorities. Finally, it also addresses the long-running debate concerning the desirability and viability of industrial policy for developing countries. The author would like to acknowledge the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong for its generous support. The work in this book was fully supported by a grant from the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong (Project No. HKU 742412H).

'This wonderful volume offers a timely and important look at competition policy where it is changing the most – developing countries pursuing regional agreements. It provides superb analytical discussions of the impact of regional competition policy integration, why developing states have pursued this strategy, and the extent to which it is meeting their needs. the editors have assembled a superb roster of experts, so it is not a surprise that the book recommendations are insightful, and deserving of attention from policy makers.' – Andrew Guzman, Berkeley Law School, US This book presents a detailed study of the interface between regional integration and competition policies of selected regional trade agreements (RTAs), and the potential of regional competition laws to help developing countries achieve their development goals. the book provides insights on the regional integration experiences in developing countries, their potential for development and the role of competition law and policy in the process. Moreover, the book emphasizes the development dimension both of regional competition policies and of competition law. This timely book delivers concrete proposals that will help to unleash the potential of regional integration and regional competition policies, and also help developing countries to fully enjoy the benefits deriving from a regional market. Bringing together analysis from well-known scholars in the developed world with practical insight from scholars in countries hoping to exploit the potential of competition law, this book will appeal to academics working in the field of competition law, practitioners, policy makers and officials from developing countries, as well as those in development organizations such as UNCTAD.

Over the last three decades, the field of antitrust law has grown increasingly prominent, and more than one hundred countries have enacted competition law statutes. As competition law expands to jurisdictions with very different economic, social, cultural, and institutional backgrounds, the debates over its usefulness have similarly evolved. This book, the first in a new series on global competition law, critically assesses the importance of competition law, its development and modern practice, and the global limits that have emerged. This volume will be a key resource to both scholars and practitioners interested in antitrust, competition law, economics, business strategy, and administrative sciences.

ÔNearly every important country now has a competition law. It is vital to understand the institutions that drive the operation of these laws. This excellent volume provides case studies of some of the more substantial new competition authorities written by former or current top agency officials and academics closely connected with those institutions. The book highlights the fact that whilst these institutions have certain features in common, they are very much shaped by the history and circumstances of their own countries and cultures, and that any serious prescription for them needs to balance those factors against the general economic doctrines that lie behind competition law around the world. Without that understanding, regulators and those dealing with them are likely to face failure. The book points to ways of resolving those problems.Õ Ð Allan Fels, The Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG) This detailed book focuses on the development of competition law institutions and contains case studies that examine this against the backdrop of the debate around global convergence of competition law and the limits imposed by particular national circumstances. Five of the chapters examine the development of competition law regimes in a diverse range of countries: Mexico, Hungary, South Africa, Thailand (with comparative remarks on South Korea) and Zambia. The remaining chapters examine the role of multinational institutions, particularly the International Competition Network, and the practice of and potential for regional competition law arrangements. The majority of the authors are seasoned practitioners of competition law, all of whom acknowledge the importance of convergence, while simultaneously demonstrating the limits imposed by divergent national circumstances. This carefully edited collection is a companion volume to Enforcing Competition Rules in South Africa, an account of the development of competition law institutions in South Africa, authored by David Lewis and published by Edward Elgar. Building New Competition Law Regimes will be of particular benefit to scholars, teachers and practitioners of competition law. It will also be of interest to development studies scholars, teachers and practitioners and to specialists in the countries that are the subjects of the case studies.