Private Sector Development, Privatization, and Industrial Policy

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Antitrust and Digital Platforms: An Analysis of Global Patterns and Approaches by Competition Authorities

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-09-27) World Bank

The pace at which markets are evolving, thanks to the accelerated adoption of digital technologies, poses important challenges to competition law and its enforcement. This work aims to support this process by building an understanding of the experiences of competition authorities in deciding on competition enforcement cases in the digital economy. This note analyzes the global digital antitrust database of the markets, competition, and technology unit (the MCT DAD or the database) and provides a summary of key patterns and trends in antitrust in the digital economy (and specifically in relation to digital platforms firms). This database aims to be a holistic source of information on abuse of dominance, anticompetitive agreements, and merger cases involving digital platforms, which have been finalized by antitrust authorities worldwide. It also identifies some risks to competition arising from various digital platform business models in different sectors and generates learnings for antitrust authorities globally on the approach to assessing such cases. The analysis contributes to the discussion and learning on competition assessments in the digital economy. The data also show how different sectors may be prone to different types of anticompetitive behavior, depending on the typical business models of digital platforms. Antitrust authorities in less developed countries should be encouraged to participate more actively in the debate on data protection and privacy as a dimension of competition. Finally, authorities should continue to strive to make their decisions public and provide clarity about the factors justifying their decisions.
Industrial Policy Effects and the Case for Competition

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-09-24) Pop, Georgiana ; Connon, Davida

It is conventional wisdom that industrial policies can be at odds with competitive markets. This note examines the historical basis for industrial policy and empirical effects. Although the direct effects of industrial policy are mixed, the indirect effects often involve market distortions. By contrast, the literature is broadly united on the benefits of competition for productivity and innovation. This review finds that the most successful industrial policies reinforce competition, suggesting that competition policy and certain types of industrial policy can be crafted as complements.
Thailand Manufacturing Firm Productivity Report

(World Bank, Bangkok, 2020-06-17) World Bank

Thailand is an enduring development success story. Between the late 1960s and mid-1990s, strong and sustained economic growth propelled the country from low-income to upper-middle-income status. To achieve high-income status by 2037, the authorities will need to draw on the experiences of other upper-middle-income countries that have successfully completed the transition, as well as those that continue to struggle. The Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has severely impacted growth in Thailand, with the economy expected to contract in 2020 amid heightened uncertainty surrounding the path of the pandemic. This report focuses on the manufacturing sector builds on a framework that emphasizes the microeconomic and macroeconomic linkages of the sources of productivity growth. In line with this framework, Chapter 1 begins with an overview of Thailand’s productivity dynamics at the macroeconomic level and identifies the causes of its slowing GDP growth rate.7 Chapter 2 analyzes the characteristics of Thai manufacturing firms and sub-sector productivity dynamics, revealing the drivers of firm productivity and distinguishing the relative contributions of within-firm effects, between-firm effects, and market dynamism. Chapter 3 evaluates the impact of competition on firm productivity by comparing market entry and exit indicators with price markups. Chapter 4 concludes with a set of policy recommendations designed to boost firm productivity in Thailand’s manufacturing sector.
Malaysia’s Experience with the Small and Medium Sized Enterprises Masterplan: Lessons Learned

(World Bank, Malaysia, 2020-02) World Bank Group

Productivity-enhancing measures play a pivotal role in Malaysia’s aspirations of becoming a high-income economy. Malaysia has enjoyed an impressive growth performance over the past few decades, with growth rates of at least 7 percent per year for more than 25 consecutive years. However, with the rise of other emerging economies, notably China and India, Malaysia has faced challenges in pivoting away from a ‘low-cost, high-volume’ strategy towards a ‘high-value’ one. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are a crucial component of Malaysia’s strategy to become a high-income nation. As SMEs account for all but 1.5 percent of firms and the bulk of production and employment, they are central to Malaysia’s objective of becoming a high-income economy. SMEs form the bedrock of the private sector and innovation and can contribute to growth by supplying multinationals or accessing international markets directly. Despite their critical importance, the share of Malaysian SMEs in GDP (32 percent) and total exports (16 percent) was far lower than competitors in 2010. At the time of preparation of the Masterplan, the export share was more than 20 percent lower than that in countries such as the Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan and even the US, and there was also scope for greater sectoral and geographical diversification. It was recognized that specific policies to enable favorable conditions for SMEs to flourish were needed so that they can easily expand into fast-growing markets and increase the production of knowledge- and innovation-based products and services.
Deep Versus Shallow PTAs: Rules Affecting Competition Dynamics–Antitrust, Competitive Neutrality, and Pro-Competition Economic Regulation

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-01) Martinez Licetti, Martha ; Miralles Murciego, Graciela ; De Aguiar Falco, Guilherme ; Ore Monago, Tilsa ; Ringeling, Camila

Even though many countries have opened to trade, markets in developing economies oftenunderperform due to anticompetitive behavior and restrictive regulatory frameworks by a fewdominant players. Effective competition policies offer a tool to complement and support governments’ efforts to reduce barriers to trade. Active competition among market players has the potential to mitigate vested interests and facilitate the opening of markets to trade and investment. Greater competition within national markets reinforces international competitiveness of potential exporters through increased incentives to foster productivity, innovation and efficiency. Additionally, international trade reinforces competition in national markets by increasing contestability, entry and rivalry through increased presence of foreign products, services and investments. Empirical evidence suggests, for example, that: (i) the elimination of entry barriers, increased rivalry and leveling the playing field in upstream sectors contribute to export competitiveness in downstream manufacturing sectors; (ii) pro-competition market regulation that reduces restrictions and promotes competition is an important determinant for trade; (iii) competition law enforcement can be traced to export performance and is complementary to trade reforms; and (iv) industries with more intense domestic competition will export more.