Sectoral Regulation And Competition Policy: The U.K.'S Concurrency Arrangements—An Economic Perspective

This article discusses the U.K.'s concurrency arrangements under which sector regulators can apply aspects of competition law to their industries. It is frequently claimed that concurrency is a unique aspect of U.K. competition policy. However, this article argues that it arose during the 1980s as one aspect of an almost uniquely procompetitive regulatory framework for privatized telecommunications and other U.K. infrastructure industries. The article discusses the origins of these formal concurrency arrangements and their use in the U.K. since the 1980s. It also compares the U.K. with other EU and OECD countries over the role of ex post competition policy relative to ex ante regulation and the interactions between sector regulators and competition authorities. It emphasizes the role of “informal” concurrency as well as “formal” concurrency in the U.K. and other countries. The article concludes with a discussion of the likely prospects for the U.K. under the enhanced concurrency regime established in 2013 and makes some recommendations for the future. Developing and implementing effective methods to evaluate the net welfare benefits of the enhanced concurrency regime will be crucial both in their own right and in establishing a robust deterrence strategy against anticompetitive behavior in industries with sector regulators.