Competition & Market Studies in Latin America

Chile Colombia Costa Rica

Mexico Panama Peru

Understanding market studies…

Market studies are an important tool for competition authorities. They complete and integrate their enforcement powers

They are a common component of the work portfolio of most competition authorities

And help to address concerns about the functioning of markets that seem not to arise from competition law violations

OECD Project This report is result of a year-long project to provide support to Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama and Peru in their use of market studies as an important competition tool.

Objective: Run an in-depth analysis of methodologies in

place

Analyse best practices in OECD countries

Provide the six countries with recommendations on how to improve their current legal framework and practices

OECD Project

9 agencies responsible for undertaking market studies in the 6 countries were identified and information was collected

OECD Project In-depth

analysis of information

received from 9 agencies

Study of the institutional /

legal set-up and good practices

adopted in experienced

OECD jurisdictions

Recommendations on how the use of

market studies could be

strengthened

Areas for Improvements… The OECD identified 7 areas where improvements could be made:

1. Powers to undertake market studies

2. Powers to compel information

3. Resources

4. Selecting and prioritising markets

5. Informing stakeholders

6. Designing recommendations

7. Ex-post assessments of the impact

Governments should grant their competition authorities express legal power to undertake market studies and issue recommendations

1. Powers to undertake market studies …

Only some of the nine authorities assessed have express legal powers to undertake market studies

As a result, some authorities perform them under their general competition powers

This leaves room for confusion and legal uncertainty

Recommendation:

2. Powers to Compel Information …

Only a few authorities have express powers to compel information to conduct market studies and to impose sanctions when these requests are not complied with

Not all authorities have in place rules and procedures against the public disclosure of confidential information collected for the purpose of market studies.

Governments should grant their competition authorities express legal powers to compel the provision of the information from private firms

and public bodies for the specific purpose of conducting market studies

Recommendations:

Governments should grant their competition authorities express powers to impose adequate sanctions if compulsory information requests are

not complied with

All authorities should have in place rules and procedures against public disclosure of confidential and sensitive information provided by market

players and government authorities as part of a market study

All authorities should ensure stakeholders are appropriately informed about these rules and procedures to encourage co-operation with the

gathering of information

All countries should commit enough financial and human resources to allow their competition

authorities to regularly undertake market studies

3. Resources…

Some authorities have very limited resources for undertaking market studies

Recommendation:

All authorities should have and regularly use a clear set of criteria for setting priorities among the problematic markets identified for studies

4. Selecting and Prioritising Markets …

All authorities rely on specific criteria for selecting the markets to study and for prioritising amongst them

But not all of them use these criteria in a systematic way, especially for prioritising

Recommendation:

All authorities should publish guidelines to inform stakeholders about market studies All authorities should publish a press notice when they launch a new study, indicating: • the market(s) studied • the concerns that have led to the study • the possible outcomes • possibly a timetable and a point of contact for comments or

information

5. Informing Stakeholders … No agency has guidelines on market studies to inform

stakeholders on what these are, what their outcome could be and how they are undertaken

No agency publishes a notice to inform stakeholders every time it launches a new study

Recommendations:

All authorities should involve stakeholders in the design of the recommendations All authorities should evaluate the expected cost and benefits of recommendations before proposing them

6. Designing Recommendations No agency regularly consults stakeholders

when designing their recommendations

No agency systematically evaluates the expected costs and benefits of each recommendation before proposing them

Recommendations:

Governments should commit to publicly respond to recommendations directed at them arising from market studies Their response should clearly state whether and when they intend to adopt them or, if they do not, explain the reasons for not adopting them

6. Commitment by Government In none of the six countries, governments

usually respond to the recommendations directed to them as a result of market studies to explain if and why they will/will not adopt them

Recommendation:

All authorities, as their recommendations begin to be implemented, should endeavour to perform the ex-post assessment of the actual impact of the

recommendations emerged from some of their market studies

7. Ex-post Assessments The nine authorities very rarely perform ex-

post assessments of the actual impact of the recommendations adopted as a result of market studies are done

Recommendation:

Download the report at http://www.oecd.org/daf/competition/competition-and-market-

studies-in-latin-america-2015.htm

More about the project: http://www.oecd.org/daf/competition/promoting-competition-

market-studies-in-latin-america.htm

Promoting Market Studies in Latin America Launch and regional event

Santiago, Chile 18/03/2015

The Report was officially launched in Santiago, Chile on 18 March 2015 during a two-day regional conference to

promote the use of market studies by competition authorities in Latin America.

Chilean Minister of Economy, Luis Felipe Céspedes, senior competition officials and ambassadors from both

OECD and non-OECD countries attended the event.

The OECD Competition division would like to thank the UK Foreign Commonwealth Office for financing the project, as well as the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean,

the Chilean government and the World Bank Group for contributing to the organisation of the regional event.