The growth of competition law in the global economy

This dissertation examines the growth of competition law around the world that has occurred from 1980 to 1996. First, a comprehensive list of all of the countries that have a competition law as of 1996 is presented. Second, a comparative study of the substantive provisions of these laws is provided. Finally, various hypotheses concerning the reasons for this recent growth in competition law are tested.;As of 1996, 70 countries had a competition law. Of these laws, 79% date from 1980 or since and 61% date from 1990 or since. The 70 countries that had a competition law account for 79% of world GDP and 86% of world trade.;The renewed interest in competition law is due to economic reforms that have occurred throughout the world in recent years. In Europe, most member states of the European Union (EU) have gradually harmonized their competition laws to more closely resemble that of the EU while many non-member states have enacted competition laws compatible to that of the EU in order to have access to its markets. In many developing countries around the world, governments have enacted competition laws as a means to retain some control over newly liberalized markets. In certain developed countries outside of Europe, competition laws have been enacted as part of an effort to reduce trade barriers and increase competition in domestic markets. In Asia, several countries have adopted competition laws in order to control high levels of cooperation and concentration which were previously encouraged and are now seen as an impediment to further growth.;The results of the empirical tests confirm that the renewed interest in competition law is associated with economic reform and increased economic development. The tests also suggest that, among aid recipients, it is those countries for which aid is relatively less important that have enacted a competition law. The tests further suggest that, contrary to economic theory, competition law is not being used as a substitute for import competition. Finally, the probability of a country having a competition law is positively associated with the size of a country's legal community.