Competition Law and Policy and the Millennium Development Goals

1
Competition Law and Policy and the Millennium
Development Goals

• Simon J. Evenett, www.evenett.com

2
Promoting CLP The Limited Appeal of Efficiency

• Efficiencythe preferred metric of much of the
  CLP community.
• Pros and Cons.
• Efficiency is often rejected for other
  pro-development objectives.
• Why?
• For What?
• By Whom?
• The implied challenge for promoting CLP.

3
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

• Leading high profile alternative metric to
  efficiency.
• Endorsed by Heads of States at the UN in the
  Millennium Declaration, September 2000.
• 8 Goals, 18 Targets, and gt40 Indicators.
• Not legally binding, yet very influential.
• Questions for CLP.

4
Analysis of MDG-related documents

• Assembled the largest possible collection of
  electronically-available MDG-related documents
  (1231 in total).
• Searched for 8 types of statement linking
  competition to development-related factors.
• 48 competition-related search terms used.
• 1577 competition-related statements found.
• Is this a lot or a little?

5
Documented linkages between Competition and the
MDGs

• Of the 1577 competition-related statements, 876
  could be linked to at least one MDG target.
• The average number of linkages per such statement
  was 1.5.
• The positive effect of competition on technology
  transfer, poverty alleviation, and hunger account
  for 60 of all documented linkages.
• Only a quarter of linkages refer to the impact of
  competition on the 7 health, medicine, and
  education-related MDGs.

6
The Challenge Going Forward

• Why is CLP seen as contributing little to so many
  developmental objectives?
• What risks does this outcome entail?
• Should CLP contribute more to these matters?
• If so, what steps should be taken?
• What are the implications for national measures,
  TA/CB programmes, and international initiatives
  on CLP?
• Do such steps pass the MDG test?