Developing Countries and International Competition Law and Policy

Abstract:     
The breakdown in the negotiations for the adoption of multilateral competition rules through the WTO in 2003 is most commonly attributed to the opposition voiced by developing and least-developed countries who were suspicious of attempts to facilitate market access and permit possible interference with their domestic industrial policy. It is not always evident however that such a regime would have been counter to their interests. Greater efforts to co-ordinate the detection and elimination of global cartels, for example, would have been highly beneficial to developing countries where these cartels have a disproportionate impact. This paper will examine some of these issues within the context of the utility of global and domestic competition law and policy for developing and least-developed countries. While developing countries may have been right to question the overall benefits of a multilateral scheme, the enactment of a domestic competition law, which is mindful of the contextual issues at stake in these economies, may make an important contribution to economic development.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 37

Keywords: Competition Law, multilateral competition rules, developing countries, economic development

working papers series