Breaking Down Barriers : Unlocking Africa's Potential through Vigorous Competition Policy
This report shows how competition policy can help African countries boost inclusive and sustainable development. Prepared by the World Bank Group (WBG) in partnership with the African Competition Forum, the study reviews the implementation of compe...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Nairobi, Kenya
2016
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2016/06/26539089/breaking-down-barriers-unlocking-africas-potential-through-vigorous-competition-policy http://hdl.handle.net/10986/24688 |
| Summary: | This report shows how competition policy
can help African countries boost inclusive and sustainable
development. Prepared by the World Bank Group (WBG) in
partnership with the African Competition Forum, the study
reviews the implementation of competition frameworks in
Africa and examines competition issues that affect market
performance in three important sectors for Africa's
competitiveness: cement, fertilizers, and telecoms. It uses
the WBG's Markets and Competition Policy Assessment
Tool to identify how competition rule and their enforcement
could be made more effective, and to highlight economic and
regulatory characteristics of cement, fertilizers and
telecoms markets that dampen competition and increase the
risk of anticompetitive business practices. Conservative
estimates put forward by this report suggest that addressing
weak competition in principle staple foods across three
countries would have the effect of lifting around 500,000
people above the poverty line by lowering consumer prices.
Fundamental market reforms to increase competition in key
input services would also boost economic growth. For
example, professional services reforms would deliver an
additional 0.16–0.43 percent of additional annual gross
domestic product growth. While the benefits of competition
are clearly observable in Africa, considerable effort is
still required to ensure effective implementation of
competition laws and incorporation of competition principles
in government policies. |
|---|