Lack of Political Will. Socio-economic dynamics and political environment may hinder the emergence and evolution of efficient competition law enforcement in a developing country. Competition law and policy has to be recognised to operate within the context of a broader palette of social and economic policy arrangements with the aim ultimately of serving a higher public policy objective. Accordingly, socio-economic dynamics and political priorities of governments may require compromises in the core purposes of competition policy which are often seen as promoting and protecting the competitive process and attaining greater economic efficiency.80 Accordingly, perception of the role 76 See, (Transparency International, 2013). Likewise, (World Bank, 2013) report confirms that the lower the income level of a country, the weaker is its control of corruption. 77 (Xxxxxxx, 2001), p. 288. A level of corruption, however, is suggested to be beneficial to economic growth. See (Xxxxxx & Xxxxxxxxx, 2006) – The latter paper examines data collected from over 100 free countries (i.e. countries in which people enjoy a defined degree of political rights and civil liberties). Xxxxxx and Xxxxxxxxx find that in the long run growth maximization occurs at a corruption level that is ‘significantly greater than zero’. 78The stronger position of vested interest groups in developing countries may be explained, in part, by the existence of often very close personal ties between business and political elites. 79 (CUTS, 2003), p. 69. 80 OECD’s findings on the perception of the core competition policy objectives by various OECD and non-OECD countries confirm the above statement. See (OECD, 2003a), pp. 9-10. of competition law and policy by developing country governments is vital to an effective administration and enforcement. As mentioned earlier, competition law enforcement is at a fairly primitive stage in many developing countries. While a great number of developing countries have already adopted a national competition law regime, and few are in the process of doing so (e.g. Ghana, Nigeria), the respective laws are often implemented only to a limited degree or completely disregarded. A key reason for weak implementation is low priority of competition policy as compared with more pressing development needs (such as ensuring access to basic nutrients and clean water) faced by poorer developing countries.81 In least developed countries and microstates, in particular, a national competition law regime may not be ...
