Everyone recognizes that competition is the process by which companies are induced to offer consumers the lowest prices and introduce innovations to earn higher profits. Antitrust enforcement should focus on real competition problems, on behaviour that has actual or likely restrictive effects on the market, and which harms consumers; it should be aimed at protecting competition and not competitors. A real revolution in the application of European competition law took place with the modernization package implemented in the last few years, involving the now-decentralized application of Articles 81 and 82 EC, new merger regulations, and the ongoing review of guidelines for the prosecution of abuses of a dominant position.This book presents the proceedings of the First Lisbon Competition Law and Economics under the auspices of the Portuguese Competition Authority. It was a ground-breaking event in which leading European judges and competition enforcers, as well as some of the leading world economists and law professors on competition issues, took a critical look at the instruments of competition policy conceived to implement EC Regulation 1/2003, with a broader focus on modernization in the EU and in the USA. In wide-ranging discussions they evaluated theories of harm to competition for the most frequently-occurring types of abusive behaviour, and developed guidelines for a competition policy that offers both an economically sound framework and a workable and operational tool for making rules that can be enforced effectively and with a reasonable degree of predictability.Among the many issues arising in the proceedings recorded in this book are the following: special powers of investigation; leniency programs and individual sanctions; the problem of forum shopping in the present merger regulation system; the impact of regulations and competition on economic growth; competition and regulatory costs; judicial review of the European Commission merger decisions; consumer welfare effects of mergers; who should apply competition law to utilities; and the link between competition and innovation and the development of a country. The book will be of immeasurable value to judges, academics, and economic and law practitioners active in competition policy and enforcement, as well as to officials of European national competition authorities. Equally interested will be students of law and economics concerned with competition issues, and non-governmental organizations dealing with consumer protection and private enforcement of competition law. By giving ample evidence of the impact of competition and efficient regulation on economic growth, this far-reaching book will help elucidate the main current topics in need of further reform and underline the importance of competition policy in modern market economies.

Competition law and policy is a topical and relevant field of research which has been analysed from both global and national perspectives. This authoritative research review is the first of its kind to bring together seminal works from leading scholars in economic development and in competition law. This encompasses the most up-to-date and rigorous methodologies of empirical and technical analysis, with a specific focus on the problem of developing countries. This research review discusses the theoretical and political foundations of competition policies versus industrial policies and the raging debate between market-based versus interventionist industrialization policies as well as including the most relevant literature on competition law and enforcement in developing countries, including a cross section and case study perspective.

Competition policy is at a crossroads on both sides of the Atlantic. In this insightful book, judges, enforcers and academics in law and economics look at the consensus built so far and clarify controversies surrounding the issue.There is broad consensus on the fight against cartels, with some countries criminalizing this type of agreement. However there is also wide debate on the questions of monopolization and abuse of dominant position, vividly highlighted by the recent Microsoft case. Furthermore, there are today diverging views on the interplay of business strategies and the control of market power on both a national and international scale. The book discusses the perennial issue in Europe of the conflicts between competition and industrial policies, once again bringing the theme of national champions to the fore. The contributing authors provide opinion on the efforts which have been made towards modernization in both the USA and the EU.Featuring new contributions by leading scholars and practitioners in antitrust, this book will be a great resource for antitrust enforcers, competition lawyers and practitioners and competition economists, as well as scholars and graduate students in antitrust and competition law.