COMPETITION POLICY AND ITS IMPORTANCE FOR THE ECONOMY

Yıl 2017, Cilt: 4 Sayı: 1, 418 - 421, 30.06.2017

Nika Asanidze

https://doi.org/10.17261/Pressacademia.2017.562

Öz

The article
analyzes and discusses topics such as competitition and it’s importance for
markets. Competition is a cornerstone of our economic and social order. The
fact that competition leads to the best overall economic results is now
undisputed in most economies around the world. Effective competition encourages
businesses to push forward. They must make an effort to win customers. As a
consequence, consumers can benefit directly from better quality at lower
prices. Competition Agencies increased the effectiveness of their cartel
prosecution efforts, for example by establishing specialized anti-cartel
divisions, revising their leniency programme and lauchinannonymous
whistle-blowing system. High-level fines can only gave a deterrent effect if
the cartel members have reason to expect that their cartel activities will be
uncovered. The leniency programme as one of the sources available for  uncovering anti-competitive agreements this
also has a strong deterrent effect. Cartel members must expect at all time that
one of them might have reported the illegal agreements to the competition
authorities. The prosecution of illegal hardcore cartels^[1] is of
key relevance for effective competition protection and, as such, has a direct
positive effect in the economy and costumers. Cartels cause great harm to the
economy because they lead to higher prices, lower product quality and less
innovation. This harm can only be prevented if cartels are effectively
prosecuted. Also, anti-competitive agreements lead to excessive prices coupled
with inferior product quality. At the same time the elimination of competition
undermines the innovative power of businesses.Cartels thus hurt the economy as
a whole and the consumer in particular. The motivation to study competition
policy and its importance for economy is step to introduce more economic possibilities
and partnerships in our developing world.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Competition policy, economic order, social order

Kaynakça

• OECD, Guide for helping competition authorities assess the expected impact of their activities, April 2014 (available at: www.oecd.org/competition/guide-impact-assessment-competition-activities.htm)
• The ECN Leniency Programme is available here: http://ec.europa.eu/competition/ecn/mlp_revised_2012_en.pdf https://www.westeastinstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Giorgi-Benashvili-Nika-Asanidze.pdf Connor, John M., Global Price Fixing, Berlin 2008, p. 338.
• Cf. Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 of 16 December 2002 on the implementation of the rules on competition laid down in Articles 81 and 82 of the Treaty, Official Journal L 1/1 of 4 January 2003.
• Competition and growth: how can government policy help?’ - http://www.oft.gov.uk/news-and-updates/speeches/2011/1511
• Laitenberger, Ulrich and Smuda, Florian (2015): Estimating Consumer Damages in Cartel Cases, Journal of Competition Law & Economics 11 (4), 955–973.
• Nickell (1996), ‘ Competition and Corporate Performance’, Journal of Political Economy OECD (2007a), ‘Competition Assessment Toolkit’, www.oecd.org/dataoecd/15/59/39679833.pdf