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CHALLENGES OF A COMPETITION
REGIME IN A SMALL DEVELOPING
COUNTRY:
A BARBADOS CASE STUDY
Presented By:
Ms. Michelle Goddard
Chief Executive Officer
Fair Trading Commission
Competition Policy and Small
Economies
 Definitions of small
• Population
• GDP
• Concentration Ratios
economies
 Barbados
• 432 sq km
• 264,000 population
• GDP US$2,600.4 million
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Drivers of Competition Framework for
Barbados
Domestic Trade Reform Programme
Regional Agreements e.g. Caricom
Single Market and Economy, FTAA
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Fair Competition Act 2002-19
Comprehensive legislation including:

Anti-Competitive Agreements

Mergers

Abuse of Dominance

Interlocking Directorates
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Enforcement Challenges
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Institution Building – Fair Trading
Commission
Role and Functions



Utility Regulation
Consumer Protection
Fair Competition
Structure
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Part-time Commissioners
28 members of staff across functions
Significant Financial and Human Resources
Constraints
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Other Challenges
Limits of domestic regime and extra
territorial enforcement
Tension between promotion of domestic
rivalry and desire to achieve international
competitiveness – merger control
Cultural characteristics of small
economies
Promoting competition
advocacy
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Conclusion
“Can small developing countries with
significant resource constraints really
develop effective competition regimes?”
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