From 22-24 February, Ania Thiemann, one of the directors of the OECD's Competition Division, held twelve meetings. here with public institutions and business interest groups. The meetings discussed the impact of laws, regulations and other government directives on competition and the economy. Particular attention was paid to how so-called competition assessment could be used to reduce the barriers to competition that can arise from the framework established by the government for the business sector.
The Competition Authority invited Aniu to the country and organised the meetings in cooperation with the relevant ministries, institutions and stakeholders. Around 120 people from some 30 organisations (ministries, public institutions and interest groups) attended the twelve meetings.
For many years, the OECD has pointed out the importance for a country's economy of considering the impact of laws, regulations and government decisions on competition. In this regard, the OECD has developed a procedure for so-called competition assessment (Competition Assessment Toolkit). Governments can use it to promote competition or to limit the barriers to competition that may arise from laws, regulations and government directives. This procedure, among other things, reduces unnecessary regulatory burden on business, as such a burden typically involves barriers to competition.
In recent years, Ania Thiemann has assisted national governments in adopting competition assessment methodologies and has led reviews of specific markets in individual member states. In such reviews, the OECD methodology is applied to identify competitive barriers arising from existing laws and regulations, assess their impact on the economy of the respective country, and propose reforms.
Most OECD member countries apply competition assessment when preparing new laws and regulations. Several countries have also successfully reviewed existing regulations. The most well-known is an initiative undertaken by the Australian government, with the aim of reducing regulatory burden and increasing competition. Following the initiative, productivity in Australia has remained consistently well above the OECD average.
Ania is familiar with the country, as at the beginning of December 2015 the Competition Authority held a public meeting with her on the same subject. The conversation was then continued, shedding further light on possible ways to strengthen the country's economy through improved public sector framework.ra.
The Competition Authority extends its best thanks to those who organised the meetings and took part.
Here Some of the slides on which Ania based her presentation can be accessed.
