Call for contributors: "Quantitative effects of anti-competitive business practices on developing countries and their development prospects"

Call for contributors:

"Quantitative effects of anti-competitive business practices on developing countries and their development prospects"

UNCTAD is in the process of preparing the pre-conferences for the forthcoming UNCTAD XII Conference taking place in Accra, Ghana, in April 2008.

In this context UNCTAD is seeking contributions from experts and scholars to form part of an edited collection of essays specifically examining the topics mentioned below. The proposed research will fall within the broad theme of "Quantitative effects of anti-competitive business practices on developing countries and their development prospects". In exploring the nature of the impact of anti-competitive business practices, the emphasis will be on empirical research which will (i) measure the impact of restrictive business practices, (ii) estimate their effect on the development prospects for developing countries.

Research themes:

Anti-competitive practices and their adverse effects on competition law enforcement in Regulated Sectors
- How does restrictive business practices affect the access to these services within Utility sectors and can consumers really benefit from these in spite of concentration or monopolization?
- How has the introduction of competition law in the regulated sectors benefited the consumers?

Anti-competitive practices and their adverse effects on consumer welfare
- The interface between competition and consumer laws and policies.
- What are the estimated costs for end consumers originating from cartelization and how can these be measured?
- The conflicts between the attainment of competitive markets and consumer interests.
- What has been the level of participation of a typical consumer in developing country vis-a vis his relationship with the market economic system?

The role of competition law and policy in alleviating poverty in developing countries
- Do anti-competitive practices have a negative impact in achieving the aim of poverty reduction in developing countries?
-How has the adoption of competition law contributed in alleviating poverty?
- The need for developing countries to prioritise either the competition policy or poverty alleviation reforms

- How and to what extent competition law enhanced the social-economic benefits i.e. rising the level of employment in a country?

The contribution of competition policy in enhancing innovation and technological development
- Demonstrate how competition law enforcement has contributed to the enhancement of technological development.

Competition and its impact on the small-scale sector
- Does anti-competitive behaviour limit the individual's right of doing business and to what extent does it affect entrepreneurship and enterprise development in developing countries?
- How competitive is the small scale sector in the face of numerous multi-national corporations in the developing countries?
- Can the competition law be said to be an appropriate legislation for the small scale sector development?


Methodological approach:
The project envisages a qualitative and where possible quantitative impact analysis, supported by decisions taken by competition authorities or sectoral studies. The study will identify criteria to evaluate the impact of anti-competitive practices in developing countries as well as applied economic theory for the evaluation of the sectoral case studies. For instance, to develop quantitative or quatitative criteria to estimate the costs resulting from restrictive business practices on the society, its consumers and its impediment for economic development.

Application procedures and deadlines:
Qualified persons interested in contributing to this project should submit in electronic format:

- A first draft covering a topic relevant for the overall theme of 15000 words inclusive of footnotes.

- Short CV
Deadline for submission: Strictly 31 January 2008

Researchers (external consultants) based in developing countries, ideally affiliated with some institutions that could form the basis of a longstanding research partnership with UNCTAD are particularly encouraged to apply.

Selected candidates will receive a full description of the project with mid-term and final deadlines, financial compensation (around 3000 USD), and other relevant information.

To apply and for further details please contact Mr. George Lipimile or Mr.Novaes Fonseca via e-mail george.lipimile@unctad.org or vitor.novaes.fonseca@unctad.org


If you cannot contribute, please feel free to inform other qualified experts of this notice.
If the topic of your preference has not been included in the themes, you can seek authorisation to come up with a topic of your choice.