This presentation summarises the results of an OECD project to promote competition and market studies in Latin America. The final report can be downloaded at http://www.oecd.org/daf/competition/competition-and-market-studies-in-latin-america-2015.htm

1. Competition &
Market
Studies in
Latin America
 Chile
 Colombia
 Costa Rica
 Mexico
 Panama
 Peru

2. Understanding market studies…
 Market studies are an important tool for
competition authorities. They complete
and integrate their enforcement powers
 They are a common component of the
work portfolio of most competition
authorities
 And help to address concerns about the
functioning of markets that seem not to
arise from competition law violations

3. OECD Project
This report is result of a year-long project to
provide support to Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica,
Mexico, Panama and Peru in their use of market
studies as an important competition tool.
Objective:
 Run an in-depth analysis of methodologies in
place
 Analyse best practices in OECD countries
 Provide the six countries with
recommendations on how to improve their
current legal framework and practices

4. OECD Project
 9 agencies responsible for undertaking
market studies in the 6 countries were
identified and information was collected

5. OECD Project
In-depth
analysis of
information
received from
9 agencies
Study of the
institutional /
legal set-up and
good practices
adopted in
experienced
OECD
jurisdictions
Recommendations
on how the use of
market studies
could be
strengthened

6. Areas for Improvements…
The OECD identified 7 areas where improvements
could be made:
1. Powers to undertake market studies
2. Powers to compel information
3. Resources
4. Selecting and prioritising markets
5. Informing stakeholders
6. Designing recommendations
7. Ex-post assessments of the impact

7. Governments should grant their competition
authorities express legal power to undertake
market studies and issue recommendations
1. Powers to undertake
market studies …
 Only some of the nine authorities assessed
have express legal powers to undertake market
studies
 As a result, some authorities perform them
under their general competition powers
 This leaves room for confusion and legal
uncertainty
Recommendation:

8. 2. Powers to Compel
Information …
 Only a few authorities have express
powers to compel information to conduct
market studies and to impose sanctions
when these requests are not complied
with
 Not all authorities have in place rules and
procedures against the public disclosure of
confidential information collected for the
purpose of market studies.

9. Governments should grant their competition authorities express legal
powers to compel the provision of the information from private firms
and public bodies for the specific purpose of conducting market studies
Recommendations:
Governments should grant their competition authorities express powers
to impose adequate sanctions if compulsory information requests are
not complied with
All authorities should have in place rules and procedures against public
disclosure of confidential and sensitive information provided by market
players and government authorities as part of a market study
All authorities should ensure stakeholders are appropriately informed
about these rules and procedures to encourage co-operation with the
gathering of information

10. All countries should commit enough financial
and human resources to allow their competition
authorities to regularly undertake market
studies
3. Resources…
 Some authorities have very limited
resources for undertaking market
studies
Recommendation:

11. All authorities should have and regularly use a
clear set of criteria for setting priorities among
the problematic markets identified for studies
4. Selecting and Prioritising
Markets …
 All authorities rely on specific criteria for
selecting the markets to study and for
prioritising amongst them
 But not all of them use these criteria in a
systematic way, especially for prioritising
Recommendation:

12. All authorities should publish guidelines to inform stakeholders about
market studies
All authorities should publish a press notice when they launch a new
study, indicating:
• the market(s) studied
• the concerns that have led to the study
• the possible outcomes
• possibly a timetable and a point of contact for comments or
information
5. Informing Stakeholders …
 No agency has guidelines on market studies to inform
stakeholders on what these are, what their outcome could be
and how they are undertaken
 No agency publishes a notice to inform stakeholders every
time it launches a new study
Recommendations:

13. All authorities should involve stakeholders in the
design of the recommendations
All authorities should evaluate the expected cost and
benefits of recommendations before proposing them
6. Designing Recommendations
 No agency regularly consults stakeholders
when designing their recommendations
 No agency systematically evaluates the
expected costs and benefits of each
recommendation before proposing them
Recommendations:

14. Governments should commit to publicly respond to
recommendations directed at them arising from
market studies
Their response should clearly state whether and when
they intend to adopt them or, if they do not, explain
the reasons for not adopting them
6. Commitment by Government
 In none of the six countries, governments
usually respond to the recommendations
directed to them as a result of market studies to
explain if and why they will/will not adopt
them
Recommendation:

15. All authorities, as their recommendations begin to be
implemented, should endeavour to perform the
ex-post assessment of the actual impact of the
recommendations emerged from some of their market
studies
7. Ex-post Assessments
 The nine authorities very rarely perform ex-
post assessments of the actual impact of the
recommendations adopted as a result of
market studies are done
Recommendation:

16. Download the report at
http://www.oecd.org/daf/competition/competition-and-market-
studies-in-latin-america-2015.htm
More about the project:
http://www.oecd.org/daf/competition/promoting-competition-
market-studies-in-latin-america.htm
Promoting Market Studies in Latin America
Launch and regional event
Santiago, Chile 18/03/2015
The Report was officially launched in Santiago, Chile on
18 March 2015 during a two-day regional conference to
promote the use of market studies by competition
authorities in Latin America.
Chilean Minister of Economy, Luis Felipe Céspedes,
senior competition officials and ambassadors from both
OECD and non-OECD countries attended the event.

17. The OECD Competition division would like to thank the UK
Foreign Commonwealth Office for financing the project, as well as
the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean,
the Chilean government and the World Bank Group for
contributing to the organisation of the regional event.