International Competition Network and the World Bank Group Launch 2019/20 Competition Advocacy Contest

The International Competition Network (ICN) and the World Bank Group (WBG) have announced the launch of the 2019/20Competition Advocacy Contest. The general topic of the Contest is ‘Competition as a tool to reap the benefits and mitigate the costs of the new economy: jobs, industry and data.’  The ICN and the WBG are looking for success stories from competition agencies, other government bodies or non-governmental organisations that demonstrate the tangible results of competition advocacy under four thematic areas. 

Under Theme One entitled‘Unleashing competition for more and better jobs’  posits that globalisation and technological change have been labelled as contributors to the recent fall in the labour share of income and concerns regarding the capacity of economies to generate jobs which has led to public demands for reviewing market-based policies. In this context, competition authorities may be called to consider in their enforcement and advocacy actions objectives such as the protection of labour income or labour-intensive sectors. This presents an opportunity for competition agencies to show how competition can open markets, stimulate growth and create more and higher productivity jobs.

The second theme ‘Aligning industrial policies with competition principles’recognises that competition authorities are often confronted with government plans or initiatives to boost the competitiveness of a sector by creating national champions, granting state aid, reinforcing the presence of state-owned enterprises, and protecting nascent or strategic industries. In a context where policymakers may regard competition rules as an obstacle to the implementation of industrial policies, competition authorities face the challenges of advocating the complementary role of these two tools, demonstrating how competition principles can increase the effectiveness of such policies. 

Theme Three on ‘Promoting pro-competition data regulation’prompts authorities to demonstrate how competition advocacy can help policy makers define principles to inform data regulation and identify how to ensure that markets that rely on data remain contestable. This is because data has become a strategic variable in the digital economy, particularly when used as a key input for market participation, innovation and expansion. “New rules related to the use of data need to account for not only the concerns related to consumer protection and data privacy but also the need to provide access and interoperability between market players. In this context, competition advocacy can help policy makers define principles to inform data regulation and identify how to ensure that markets that rely on data remain contestable,” notes the ICN and the World Bank.

The fourth Theme; ‘Boosting policy effectiveness through better coordination between enforcement and advocacy’highlights how competition law enforcement and advocacy have a critical and mutually reinforcing role in achieving pro-competitive market outcomes. Competition agencies may launch enforcement actions following an advocacy initiative if it was not enough to overcome market failures.  At the same time, competition agencies may expand the impact of their enforcement actions by proposing pro-active advocacy initiatives.  

The deadline for submissions is 20th December 2019. The contest is open to all competition agencies and all public bodies and non-governmental organisations promoting competition policy. Joint submissions from ICN members with other governmental bodies as well as non-governmental organisations are welcome. Stories submitted to previous editions of the contest that were not awarded are eligible for resubmission, and there is no limit in the number of stories that each applicant can submit. 

For further information and to apply please visit the following web-page: 

https://www.worldbank.org/en/events/2019/11/11/2019-2020-competition-advocacy-contest