The Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Competition Law and Policy (IGE), in its fourteenth session held in July 2014 requested the UNCTAD secretariat to prepare a background note on "the role of competition policy in promoting sustainable and inclusive growth" for the Seventh United Nations Conference to Review All Aspects of the Set on Competition Principles to be held in July 2015.
Competition enhances efficiency, promotes innovation and leads to wider product choice and better quality, thereby improving consumer welfare. Competition policy may play a significant role in achieving sustainable and inclusive growth and development. This note looks into how competition policy and law could foster such goals.
Competition policy, if appropriately designed and effectively implemented according to the economic, social and environmental circumstances in a country, is expected to complement other government policies in achieving sustainable and inclusive growth and development. For this purpose, prioritization of those sectors that are most crucial to the people and economy of a country is important. Exemption of certain agreements and practices in agriculture, such as farmers' cooperatives, may improve smallholder producers' efficiency and income, thereby enhancing their standards of living. Another significant factor in policy design is to consider both free and fair competition as two pillars of competition policy. Effective competition law enforcement and advocacy play a key role in realizing sustainable and inclusive development through the elimination and deterrence of anticompetitive practices. Further, applying exemptions to business agreements that promote economic progress, environmental protection and green technologies and products from competition law enforcement are necessary to advancing sustainable development goals.
In order to exchange ideas and experiences on how competition policy and law can be best employed to achieve sustainable and inclusive development, Member states may wish to discuss the following issues raised in the secretariat report:
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Should competition laws integrate objectives to achieve sustainable and inclusive growth and development?
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How can competition policy and law be designed and implemented in a way that promotes sustainable and inclusive growth and development?
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What kind of provisions need to be incorporated in competition laws to address the abuse of buyer power, to ensure fair competition?
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What mechanisms can be put in place to deal with the abuse of bargaining power in order to promote fair competition in the market?
