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This book demonstrates the importance of true and fair competition to sustainable development and an effective marketplace, touching on issues of globalization, consumer welfare, cartels and monopolies, and trade liberalization.

Susan Joekes and Phil Evans IDRC 2008 ISBN 978-1-55250-402-4 e-ISBN 978-1-55250-405-5 104 pp. The growth of international trade and investment and the spread of bilateral and multilateral trade agreements have resulted in increasing economic integration, affecting almost all nations of the world. This has brought about many changes in the economies of developing countries, including a move away from state-controlled enterprise. However, it has also made developing countries more vulnerable to new and potentially harmful types of anticompetitive business practices. This book demonstrates the importance of true and fair competition to sustainable development and an effective marketplace, touching on issues of globalization, consumer welfare, cartels and monopolies, and trade liberalization. It provides an introduction to competition, and competition law and policy in developing countries. It focuses on the practical problems faced in developing countries and the steps that have been and can be taken to overcome those problems. It is about anticompetitive practices as they occur in developing countries and the policies that governments and citizens can promote and practice to limit the impact of such practices. The book will be of particular interest to consumer’s groups and NGOs, as well as to government officials, legislators, trade negotiators, and the judiciary. Educators, students, development professionals, and business groups will also find the book useful. For more analysis, discussion, and case material, visit the companion website, www.idrc.ca/in_focus_competition, which is included with the book, on CD. THE AUTHORS Susan Joekes is Senior Program Specialist in IDRC’s Globalization, Growth, and Poverty program, currently working out of IDRC’s Cairo office. Before joining IDRC, she was a Fellow and Member of the Globalization Team at the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex. She has also worked with UNCTAD, the International Center for Research on Women, and the World Bank. Phil Evans is Head of Consumer Policy and a Director at FIPRA, a specialist public affairs firm. Before joining FIPRA, Phil spent 10 years as Principal Policy advisor at the UK Consumers' Association, where he was responsible for dealing with competition policy investigations and submissions and for developing its trade policy.

Associated links

• http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-122751-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html