Standards in competition policy have been the subject of much debate. Often these discussions focus on a jurisdiction’s legislative history and what this infers the prevailing standard to be. Rather than seeking to address the question of what standard should be applied in competition law enforcement. Iin June 2023, the OECD held a roundtable discussion on the advantages and disadvantages of the consumer welfare standard compared to alternative standards. This roundtable sought to understand the trade-offs that any particular standard requires and tried to tackle:
Key findings from the June 2023 discussion Participating delegations shared different views on the importance of standards, although it was widely accepted that they interact closely with the evidentiary threshold. There was no agreement on the most appropriate standard for competition law, although it was noted that the main alternatives appear to be a protecting competition standard or a broader standard incorporating a wide set of considerations. Different standards with a mix of attributes are in use across jurisdictions, and some jurisdictions operate under more than one standard. The discussion noted that standards need to take into account societal context, and that this context may lead to a different choice of standard, depending upon how a jurisdiction values different attributes.
2024 OECD COMPETITION OPEN DAY EXPLORES THE CONSUMER WELFARE STANDARD IN ENFORCEMENT DECISIONS The topic will again be explored again on 6 March 2024 during the 2024 OECD Competition Open Day, an event open to the public. Learn more about it and register now to attend in person or online!
See the full list of best practice roundtables on competition |
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JUNE 2023 SESSION INFORMATION AND MATERIALS |
Invited speakers
Anna Gerbrandy Bio Nicolas Petit Bio Carl Shapiro Bio |
Documents
OECD Background Note l Note de référence de l'OCDE Detailed Summary of the discussion EN | FR Executive Summary with key findings EN | FR
Contributions from participating delegations |
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Related material
The Goals of Competition Policy (2022) Competition policy: Time for a reset? (2020) Competition under fire (2019) |
See also
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Related Documents