ABSTRACT
An effective system designed to accommodate the concept of economic development and competition law requires a comprehensive assessment of the available resources in the country and the country's capacity to implement an economic development-driven competition legal framework. There is a critical point that warrants serious consideration when examining the interface between competition law and economic development. The influence of competition law on the economic development of a nation depends on the extent to which such an interface stimulates the desired economic development in the economy. The principal means by which governments can influence the pace and rate of economic development through maritime cabotage is by applying its legislative- and policy-making mechanism. Many Asian countries during the 1997/1998 Pacific-Asian crisis recorded remarkable feat of economic development primarily on the back of government regulation, influence and intervention. Government influence and intervention take different forms and can be applied at different stages of the economic development plan.
