Competition policy - a set of measures of the government, aimed at the prevention, control and suppression of monopolistic activity, providing all enterprises a level playing field and to avoid unfair competition.
The main measures of antitrust policy:
1. Measures for the correction of conduct that prohibits anti-competitive actions. Anti-competitive effects: the agreement on price-fixing and market-sharing, agreements of exclusive supply or distribution of goods, which are imposed on the dominant company to its partners, dumping, busting competition.
2. Structural policy in the structural changes of the industry. For example, the division of a large company for a number of small independent firms, banning the merger of two large firms, getting pregnant with a dominant position in the market.
The most typical actions of monopolies who meet the definition of restrictive practices are:
1) monopolization of the market - this is when some company control over a larger share of the market;
2) price-fixing - when the industry by colluding concerted decision on the level of prices and production;
3) the merger - as a result of vertical or horizontal mergers newly organized company restricts competition in the industry;
4) re directorates - when leaders of the two or more companies are the same people that can carry the same price policy;
5) price discrimination - producers can sell their products to different groups of customers at different prices. The law requires them to sell everything in the same price, if the price difference is not due to differences in production costs.
The implementation of the competition law abroad in the administrative, judicial or mixed order. In the latter case, the decisions of administrative bodies can be appealed in the courts.
In the U.S., the main job of government control of monopolistic activity holds Antitrust Division of the Ministry of Justice, which has the authority to take legal action against those who violate the antitrust laws. In Germany, the state regulation of market relations, which leads to mitigate the adverse effects of excessive monopolization, do the so-called authorities Cartel. These bodies are the Federal Office for the cartels, the Federal Minister of Economics and the highest national lands. These adjacent Monopolies Commission, created to provide opinions on the concentration of enterprises in Germany.
In France, the monopolistic control over the activities assigned to the Competition Council. Ministry of Economy and the courts of general jurisdiction. The Competition Board is an independent administrative authority, the decisions of which the Minister of the economy cannot impose a "veto". He is an advisory function commissioned by various agencies and organizations, and in some cases self imposed sanctions. Important part of the control of monopolistic practices in France is to check the economic concentration in the market. At the initiative of the Minister of Economy of the Competition Council can be checked on the concentration of any project or any concentration of enterprises that can harm competition, in particular, the creation or strengthening of a dominant position in the market.
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In conducting antimonopoly policy in transition economies should be borne in mind that the structure of production in most of them specific. This is because the command economy was characterized by a high degree of monopolization. Therefore, competition policy must take into account features of the economic structure of these countries.
Developed countries (the UK, Germany, USA) played a significant role in the development and adoption of competition laws, training of relevant personnel, initial support antitrust authorities in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and the Baltic States. In these countries, at the initial stage of the transition have been taken antitrust laws, which generally follow the Western European model.
For countries with economies in transition in antitrust policy to promote competition are particularly relevant measures leading to the liberalization of the market: the reduction of customs duties, the abolition of import quotas, facilitating licensing procedures, stimulation of small and medium-sized businesses, the creation of a favorable investment climate for foreign investors, state support for import and export sectors.
In each economy there are markets where competition is not desirable or even possible. If production is accompanied by substantial economies of scale, so that the long-term costs always decrease with increase in the volume of production, in this case, better to have a single vendor than the entire industry, consisting of a set of firms. This is the only producer is called a natural monopoly.
Conditions of natural monopoly characteristic of the so-called public utilities, which include, in particular, the enterprise power, water, heat, gas, telephone, telegraph, and trunk oil pipelines, truck and bus traffic, etc. As a rule, they are high fixed costs. This allows for economies of scale, that is, lower costs per unit of output (middle) with the increase in production volumes. It is this that determines the efficiency of the concentration of production from a single manufacturer. The state protects the monopoly in this sector.
In Kazakhstan, the natural monopoly regulated by the Law "On Natural Monopolies" dated July 9, 1998. It defines the scope, actors, rights and obligations of natural monopolies, duties consumer services of natural monopolies and other legal and regulatory issues.
Such a practice of state regulation of natural monopolies is the case in countries that emerged after the collapse of the USSR, which makes the problem of the role and forms of state action.
Currently, it is government regulation - the alternative, which is the most widely held in the world. And the main task of the state is administrative methods to achieve the same results (in terms of contribution of these industries to the welfare of society and its individuals), which in other areas of the economy are achieved by the action of a competitive mechanism.
Basic rules of regulation of natural monopolies are:
- Prices should be as close to marginal cost;
- Profits should provide only the normal rate of return;
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- Production should be effective.
Kazakhstan is one of the first CIS country adopted the Law "On Competition and Restriction of Monopolistic Activities" in June 1991, economic conditions of that period did not only problematic to the success of the anti-monopoly measures, but generally lay the foundations of a normal market economy. Conducted in 1993-1994. Reorganization of ministries and agencies in the public companies in the form of holding companies, national and state joint-stock companies (NAC and SAC) increased production monopoly of organizational and administrative monopoly. Thus, the SJC "Astyk" monopolized the grain market the entire process chain from the field to the counter: it united in a single structure all the companies on the harvesting, storage and processing of grain products.
Formed to date market in Kazakhstan has certain specificity. Specialists believe that it can be called a large extent liberalized, but not competitive, because:
a) the number of available vendors, customers and resellers, well below the minimum, which prevents the possibility of monopolistic impact of any of them on the price level, commodity production and supply;
b) the total capacity of goods-producing and trading network does not provide the saturation of the market at the secondary level of effective demand.
c) has not yet formed a common market place, there are many local markets various product groups, limited local governments, informative, taxation, transportation, etc. conditions, the possibility of packaging, storage, delivery, and other constraints.
The system of antitrust economics includes the following elements:
The concept of monopoly, its qualitative and quantitative characteristics.
Types of monopolistic activities will be banned.
Definition of antitrust authorities, their tasks, functions and powers.
Penalties for violation of antitrust laws.
