Competition Policy in a Globalised World: Analysing the Impact of Trade and Trade Agreements

Since the mid-1980s, competition policy - with a particular set of policy pillars - has spread rapidly around the world, especially among emerging and developing economies. Yet, in the absence of international rules, what has driven polities with different needs to introduce rather similar competition policies? Whilst previous studies have focused on domestic conditions, this paper analyses the role of international trade. It argues that polities without competition policies have faced formal and informal pressure from trade partners with such policies, with the latter aiming to ensure a level playing field. This proposition is assessed using event history analysis of the adoption of cartel prohibitions, abuse of dominance prohibitions, and merger control, controlling also for domestic political and economic factors.