The Interface between Competition and Consumer Policies

The Global Forum of the OECD Competition Committee debated the Interface between Competition and Consumer Policies in February 2008. The two policies share a common goal: the enhancement of consumer welfare. In this way they are highly complementary. Applied properly, they reinforce one another; Aside from their different approaches to markets, however, there are other differences between competition and consumer policies. These differences present both opportunities and challenges. Applied consistently, each policy ill each make the other more effective, especially in situations of evolving markets. The challenge comes in coordinating them, and in ensuring that they do not work at cross purposes. Institutional design is an important factor in providing effective public policy. With the increasing recognition of the importance of integrating competition policy and consumer policy, there is debate about how to design the most effective institutions for that purpose. Housing the two functions in a single agency offers several advantages, including more centralised control, operational efficiencies and cross-fertilisation between the two disciplines. There could be disadvantages as well, however.