This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

Product Market Competition and Economic Performance in the United States

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Hannes Suppanz
Michael Wise
Michael Kiley ()

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

Abstract

Regulatory reform efforts in a broad range of industries have resulted in increased importance of competitive forces as a means to allocate resources and improve economic efficiency. A number of indicators suggest that such forces have been stronger in the United States than in most other OECD countries for some time. This has contributed to sizeable productivity gains and good economic performance over the past decade or so. Nonetheless, despite the generally pro-competitive thrust of policies, a number of challenges remain. Although there are few sectors of the economy from which competition policy and law are completely excluded, given the high risk of sanctions and damages for violation, many anomalous exemptions and special regimes have found their way into US legislation. Contrary to other OECD countries, government related firms are exempted from competition enforcement. Intellectual property rights create special challenges for competition policy and some problems have followed their strengthening over the past two decades, such as the soaring cost of patent litigation. The generally favourable experience with deregulation created pressures for liberalisation in network industries, where the United States has rather been a laggard, at least in the electricity sector. Reforms in the 1990s have entailed some positive results but also some setbacks, reflecting both the difficulties in ensuring competition in such industries and policy mistakes.

Concurrence sur les marchés de produits et performance économique aux États-Unis
La réforme des réglementations régissant un large éventail de secteurs d’activité a permis de laisser plus largement intervenir les forces de la concurrence dans l’affectation des ressources et l’amélioration de l’efficience économique. Si l’on en croit un certain nombre d’indicateurs, ces forces ont été pendant un certain temps plus importantes aux États-Unis que dans la plupart des autres pays de l’OCDE. Elles ont ainsi rendu possible une nette amélioration de la productivité et de bons résultats économiques depuis environ une décennie. Néanmoins, bien que l’action des pouvoirs publics favorise généralement le jeu de la concurrence, un certain nombre de problèmes subsistent. Rares sont les secteurs de l’économie d’où la politique et le droit de la concurrence soient totalement exclus, étant donné le risque élevé de sanctions et de dommages-intérêts en cas de violation, mais la législation des États-Unis prévoit bon nombre d’exemptions anormales et de régimes spéciaux. A la différence des autres pays de l’OCDE, les entreprises liées au secteur public ne sont pas tenues de respecter les règles de la concurrence. Les droits de propriété intellectuelle posent des défis particuliers à la politique de la concurrence, et certains problèmes sont apparus à la suite de leur renforcement ces vingt dernières années, notamment une forte hausse du coût des litiges en matière de brevets. Les résultats généralement satisfaisants de la déréglementation ont fait naître des pressions en vue d’obtenir la libéralisation des industries de réseau, secteur dans lequel les États-Unis sont plutôt à la traîne, du moins en ce qui concerne l’électricité. Les réformes opérées dans les années 90 ont produit certains résultats positifs mais ont connu aussi quelques échecs, la faute en incombant tout à la fois à la difficulté d’assurer la concurrence dans ce type de secteur et à des erreurs des autorités.

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help file. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://www.sourceoecd.org/10.1787/334545122257
File Format: text/html
File Function:
Download Restriction: no

Publisher Info
Paper provided by OECD Economics Department in its series OECD Economics Department Working Papers with number 398.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML, plain text, BibTeX, RIS (EndNote), ReDIF
Length:
Date of creation: 15 Jul 2004
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:398-en

Contact details of provider:
Postal: 2 rue Andre Pascal, 75775 Paris Cedex 16
Email:
Web page: http://www.oecd.org
More information through EDIRC

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: ().

Related research
Keywords: network industries réforme de la réglementation industrie de réseau regulatory reforms United States États-Unis competition law productivity and growth public procurement droit de la concurrence productivité et croissance marchés publics product market competition concurrence sur les marchés de produits intellectual property rights droit de propriété intellectuelle tort reform réforme de la responsabilité civile

Find related papers by JEL classification:
H57 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Procurement
K13 - Law and Economics - - Basic Areas of Law - - - Tort Law and Product Liability
K21 - Law and Economics - - Regulation and Business Law - - - Antitrust Law
K23 - Law and Economics - - Regulation and Business Law - - - Regulated Industries and Administrative Law
L4 - Industrial Organization - - Antitrust Issues and Policies
L5 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy
L94 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Electric Utilities
L96 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Telecommunications
L98 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Government Policy
O31 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Technological Change - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
O34 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Technological Change - - - Intellectual Property Rights
O38 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Technological Change - - - Government Policy
O4 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity
O51 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - U.S.; Canada

Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? Data contributors to RePEc receive monthly emails with details about downloads and abstract views of their works.

This page was last updated on 2008-11-17.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.