New Powers - New Vulnerabilities? A Critical Analysis of Market Inquiries Performed by Competition Authorities

Competition Law as Regulation, Di Porto and Drexl eds., Edward Elgar, 2013

20 Pages Posted: 7 Oct 2013

See all articles by Tamar Indig

Tamar Indig

University of Haifa

Michal Gal

University of Haifa - Faculty of Law

Date Written: October 6, 2013

Abstract

In the past two decades the number of jurisdictions which have empowered their Competition Authorities to engage in market inquiries (MIs) has grown substantially. Although jurisdictions differ in the scope and procedure adopted for such studies, they all share an important common trait: attempting to allocate the roots of limited competition in the studied market. Market studies differ from traditional competition law tools in their triggers, range, object, and the level of pro-activity of the Competition Authority. They are not triggered by a suspicion of anti-competitive conduct of specific firm(s), but rather allow the Authority to use a broad prism which focuses on a wider set of potential obstacles to competition, including the Authority's own past conduct, in order to find ways to enhance competition. MIs entail many advantages. Yet, bestowing this power upon a Competition Authority is not self-explanatory. Furthermore, it is far from costless. Beyond the direct costs imposed on both the Authority and market participants, MIs often carry less tangible price tags. They raise a host of constitutional, democratic and practical issues that have not been thoroughly studied as of yet, which are the focus of this paper. In so doing, the paper builds, inter alia, on the recent administrative law literature which focuses on multi-agency interactions. Accordingly, this paper seeks to provide a synergetic analysis of MIs for the benefit of policymakers.

Keywords: Market inquiries, market studies, competition law, antitrust, competition agencies

JEL Classification: K21, K23, L50

Suggested Citation

Indig, Tamar and Gal, Michal, New Powers - New Vulnerabilities? A Critical Analysis of Market Inquiries Performed by Competition Authorities (October 6, 2013). Competition Law as Regulation, Di Porto and Drexl eds., Edward Elgar, 2013 , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2333068

Tamar Indig

University of Haifa ( email )

Mount Carmel
Haifa, 31905
Israel

Michal Gal (Contact Author)

University of Haifa - Faculty of Law ( email )

Mount Carmel
Haifa, 31905
Israel

HOME PAGE: http://weblaw.haifa.ac.il/en/faculty/gal/pages/home.aspx

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