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

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)

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)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.”

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