TY - JOUR AU - Jr., José Tavares de Araújo PY - 1996/11/01 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Contestability and economic integration in Western Hemisphere JF - Brazilian Journal of Political Economy JA - BJPE VL - 16 IS - 4 SE - DO - 10.1590/0101-31571996-0976 UR - https://centrodeeconomiapolitica.org.br/repojs/index.php/journal/article/view/2251 SP - 532-546 AB - <p>This paper discusses the harmonization of competition policies in the Western<br />Hemisphere. Using the theory of contestable markets, it presents an analytical framework<br />that shows the requirements for achieving coherence among the different policies that<br />affect the competition process. According to that theory, the normative parameters for<br />monitoring the conduct of the business community should be subordinated to some special<br />characteristics of each industry, namely, the ratio transaction costs/production costs, the<br />nature of entry barriers, and the interplay between existing technologies and the market size.<br />This approach would allow the immediate involvement of all 34 OAS member countries<br />in the effort toward the convergence of competition policies in the Western Hemisphere,<br />regardless of the status of national antitrust laws. Indeed, the only requirement for participating in that effort is a reliable data base that would describe the current conditions<br />of competition in each economy.</p><p><strong>JEL Classification: </strong>F15; L13.</p> ER -