Competition Law is Limiting Economic Growth Globally: What Governments need to do about It. And The UK Government’s Strategic Steer To the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
Abstract
This paper provides a review of the current draft of the United Kingdom (UK) Government’s “Strategic Steer to the Competition and Markets Authority” (the Steer). The Steer notes that it seeks to set out “how the government expects the CMA to support and contribute to the overriding national priority of this government – economic growth”. I conclude that at the moment the current draft steer tends to focus largely on procedural issues including transparency and timeliness, and vague notions such as proportionality, rather than the more substantive, fundamental and important issues relating to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) that have the greatest effect on UK economic growth.
In particular I identify and discuss in detail sixteen issues that seem to be the source of problems for the CMA and that cause adverse consequences for economic growth and need to be addressed by the steer. These include the following: The CMA’s Objective and Statutory Duty; Future Customer’s and Economic Growth ; The Government’s Economic Growth Mission; The Nature, Role and Limits of Competition; The Role and Importance of Property Rights; The Role and Limits of Competition Law and Policy; The Counterfactual (or Benchmark); The Dangers of the Idealised Competitive Market Nirvana Fallacy; The “Intrinsic Features” Exception; The Evidence and the Burden and Standard of proof; The risks and costs of regulatory failure; Market Definition; Market Power; Abuse of Market Power; Evidence of Harm; and Remedies.
I discuss each of these sixteen points in turn and in detail and indicate the specific steer that is needed in each case if the Government wishes to increase economic growth. I note that I believe the conclusions I draw are likely to be applicable to Governments and Competition law and policy worldwide.
Read the full piece at SSRN.