16-June-2009
English, , 16,051kb
The financial sector is vulnerable to systemic loss of trust. The current crisis resulted from failures in financial market regulation, not failure of competition. Competition and stability can co-exist in the financial sector: more competitive market structures promote stability by reducing the number of banks that are “too big to fail”. Competition helps make the financial sector efficient and ensure that rescue and stimulus
15-June-2009
English, , 1,634kb
Gasoline retailing has changed dramatically over the last 25 years. While refiners often still have extensive networks of gasoline retailers, there is also a large independent sector in many countries. A study of the effects of entry by large general retailers finds benefits to consumers. There has been a vigorous debate about whether vertical separation between gasoline stations and upstream entities should be required. It appears
2-April-2009
English, , 267kb
The OECD has been developing a response to the crisis that is holistic, looking atfinancial market issues, and the wide variety of factors that led to damaging incentive structures, as well as the requirements for broader macro and fiscal policies. The crisis has led to a variety of emergency financial measures such as loans, guarantees, and nationalisations. For financial markets, the focus is on exit strategies that are consistent
2-April-2009
English, , 313kb
The financial crisis that started in the summer of 2007 is shaking the world’s economic system. It started in the financial sector, but is now having an important impact on the real economy. This paper discusses the role of competition policy in times of systemic financial crises, focusing mainly on the financial sector but also looks at the applicability of competition policy to the real sector.
14-January-2008
English, , 3,146kb
This roundtable examined the links between competition policy and energy security, with a focus on natural gas. The discussion began by addressing the questions of the meaning and importance of energy security; and the determinants of energy security, particularly as they relate to competition policy. It continued in dealing with gas supply, transportation, and distribution, addressing five aspects that relate to different aspects
7-December-2007
English, , 2,648kb
Competition can improve the functioning of the retail banking sector without harming prudential regulation. Customer mobility and choice are essential to stimulate banking competition; credit ratings and easy, low-cost transaction costs for switching are crucial for promoting customer mobility.
21-November-2007
English, , 3,242kb
Regulation of the legal professions, including self-regulation, typically involves many restrictions on entry and professional conduct. Certain restrictions may be a remedy to market failures and may also be based on distributional or paternalistic motives. But other restrictions can be based on rent-seeking and achieve cartel-like effects. The major policy challenge is to identify and remove the restrictions which are unnecessary or
4-June-2007
English, , 159kb
Governments have long been engaged in providing goods or services to their citizens that could, in some form, be provided by the private sector. The trend over the past few decades, however, has been to transfer these functions, and the state-owned assets used to provide them, to private hands. The most common method, and the one usually preferred, is privatisation, or outright sale or transfer of ownership of the relevant assets to
6-March-2006
English, , 2,525kb
This roundtable addressed how to define entry barriers, whether a precise definition is really required, how various types of barriers affect the likelihood, timing, and extent of entry, and how competition agencies assess entry conditions.
16-June-2005
English, , 125kb
The Guiding Principles for Regulatory Quality and Performance provide guidance for government action to ensure that regulations, and government asset management, in regulated sectors are of high quality and appropriately promote competition and markets. They were adopted by the OECD Council in April 2005. Several policy committees, including the Competition Committee’s Working Party on Competition and Regulation, participated in their