Page 31 - Azerbaijan State University of Economics
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THE ROLE OF COMPETITION ADVOCACY IN TRANSITION AND DEVELOPING ECONOMIES
Key words: competition policy, competition advocacy, protection of
competition, competition agency.
JEL Classification Codes: D41
Introduction
Competition law generally aims at preventing private restrictive
business practices that significantly lessen competition, reduce consumer
welfare, and result in inefficient use of resources. However, competition
may be lessened significantly by various public policies and institutional
arrangements as well. Indeed, private restrictive business practices are
often facilitated by various government interventions in the marketplace.
Thus the mandate of the competition office extends beyond merely
enforcing the competition law. It must also participate more broadly in
the formulation of its country's economic policies, which may adversely
affect competitive market structure, business conduct, and economic
performance. It must assume the role of competition advocate, acting
proactively to bring about government policies that lower barriers to
entry, promote deregulation and trade liberalization, and otherwise
minimize unnecessary government intervention in the marketplace. The
relevance of the question of what is “unnecessary government
intervention” becomes in particular apparent in environmental policy,
which gains increasing importance in rapidly developing countries.
The role of competition advocacy
Through competition advocacy a competition agency can influence
government policies by proposing alternatives that would be less detri-
mental to economic efficiency and consumer welfare. It can serve as a
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