Multifunctional Competition Authorities in World Practice: Benefits and Risks

The paper systematizes the main arguments "for" and "against" a multifunctional antimonopoly authority based on an analysis of foreign practices and identifies the main risks that may arise due to the choice in favor of the multifunctional model that was made in Russia.In the case of OECD countries, it has been demonstrated that in recent years the trend towards multifunctional antitrust agencies has also prevailed in developed countries, but in a number of countries, on the contrary, there is a trend towards specialization. Given these findings, in Russia one can expect to see some positive consequences of expanding the functions of the FAS Russia, which arise from internalizing of the externalities that various economic policies have on competition, saving resources, the growth of competencies and the reputation strengthening of the agency. However, in order to achieve these effects it will be necessary to overcome a number of problems typical of multifunctional antimonopoly authorities: an insufficient exchange of information, an incorrect prioritization of tasks and a loss of focus on protecting competition, as well as a loss of independence due to the increase in the number of stakeholders.