ABSTRACT
Chapter 1 provides an introduction to competition law and practice. Competition law will intervene in markets where there is ‘market failure’. This failure can occur through a number of market features or mechanisms, including monopoly, cartels or mergers. The concern about monopoly or market power is the unifying theme of most competition law. Neoclassical economic predictions of the consequences of monopoly inform this ‘pure competition’ objective. The concept that defines the contemporary competition policy orthodoxy is ‘consumer welfare’. Consumers benefit from efficient markets, but they also want innovation, choice, quality and safety. The chapter looks at several schools of economic thought which have had influence over competition law thinking throughout its development, noting that the development of US, EU and UK competition policy has been influenced by their very different political and social landscapes. Political goals and other policy objectives have influence over the development of competition law. Individual jurisdictions may therefore develop different approaches to market challenges. Competition policy is contested and contestable. The chapter concludes that Brexit may mean that the substance and enforcement of UK and EU competition law will not be as closely aligned as they have been for the last 20 years.
