Regional Cooperation and the Development of Competition Policy in Asia

1. Regional Cooperation and the Development of Competition Policy in Asia William E. Kovacic George Washington University CUTS International, Hanoi August 16-17, 2005

2. Theme • National Competition Systems in Asia Can Benefit From Regional Cooperation as a Complement to: • Purely national initiatives • Bilateral programs • Participation in large, multinational institutions (e.g., OECD, ICN)

3. Resources • Gavil, Kovacic & Baker, Antitrust Law in Perspective: Cases, Concepts and Problems in Competition Policy (2002) • Kovacic, Institutional Foundations for Economic Legal Reform, 77 Chicago-Kent Law Review 265 (2001) • wkovacic@law.gwu.edu

4. Overview • Rationales for Regional Measures • Notable Existing Initiatives • “Cooperation” Defined • Possible Focal Points for Regional Activities Involving New Competition Systems in Asia • Platforms for Cooperation

5. Why Use Regional Strategies? • Overcome Resource Constraints of Individual Emerging Market Economies • Example: Training personnel • Facilitate Absorption and Adaptation of Widely-Accepted Superior Methods • More attentive to local conditions • Potential for faster responsiveness

6. Notable Existing Examples • European Competition Network • Two Initiatives Involving Transition Economies: • Andean Community • Southern Europe (“Le Gare Group”)

7. Regional Cooperation: A Three-Level Framework • Heads of National Competition Agencies • Competition Agency Case Handlers • External Institutions, Including: • Universities and think tanks • Courts • Legal societies • Consumer groups

8. Regional Cooperation in Asia: Possible Focal Points • Training • Operations/Organizational Techniques • Substantive Guidelines/Standards • Intellectual Infrastructure • Legal Societies • Consumer Organizations

9. Training of Agency Personnel • Key Analytical Concepts • Investigational Methods • Instructional Approaches • Teaching materials • Case studies • Simulations

10. Operations and Organization • Organization of Operating Units • Decision Making Processes • Information Gathering • Information Management • Public Relations • Ethics and Conflicts of Interest • Performance Measurement/Evaluation

11. Discussion of Substantive Guidelines and Standards • Substantive Guidelines • Example: Market definition • Substantive Standards • Example: Remedies • Common Data Bases • Activities, cases, outcomes • Evaluation results

12. Intellectual Infrastructure • Competition Agency Research Agenda • Universities • Example: NUS Asian Law Institute • Think Tanks • Examples: CIEM and LPEM

13. Legal Societies • Development of Competition Policy Expertise in Private Bar • Law firms and inside counsel • Legal Societies as Information Collection and Distribution Networks • From competition agencies • To competition agencies

14. Consumer Organizations • Build Understanding of Competition Law • Tracking Cross-Border Phenomena • Consumer Organizations as Information Distribution Networks • From the competition agency • To the competition agency

15. Platforms for Cooperation: Possible Hubs • Existing Regional Institutions • Examples: ASEAN, APEC • New Competition Agency Networks • Universities and Think Tanks • Legal Societies • Consumer Organizations

16. Integration of Public and Private Networks: Means • Regular Programs of Interaction • Conferences • Seminars • Workshops • Note: These can develop, and often have emerged, from experiments with small-scale “prototypes.”

17. Concluding Thoughts • Regional Cooperation Can: • Help overcome resource constraints faced by individual jurisdictions • Accelerate learning and adoption of superior techniques • Spur understanding of competition law • Address important regional cross-border phenomena