Threats to Enactment
Ruchika Mohanty
POLITICS TRIUMPHS ECONOMICS? POLITICAL ECONOMY AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF COMPETITION LAW AND ECONOMI by Pradeep S. Mehta Academic Foundation, 2010, 468 pp., 1195
April 2010, volume 34, No 4

A quick look at the Global Competitiveness Report published by the World Economic Forum every year throws up no major surprises—the countries classified as developed economies float up to the top of the rankings and the developing economies settle down at the bottom. What is surprising then is the fact that although there is a large body of work—both theoretical and empirical—on competition law and economic regulations focusing on developed economies there is very little research for developing economies. With Politics Triumphs Economics? the editors Pradeep S. Mehta and Simon J. Evenett have taken the first step in filling the vacuum. Mehta, a policy adviser in areas of consumerism, competition policy, trade and economics, is also the founder Secretary General of the Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS). Simon J. Evenett on the other hand is a Professor of International Trade and Economic Development at the University of St. Gallen.

Coming from varied backgrounds the editors of the book have succeeded in bringing together the three distinct but related lines the enquiry usually taken on the subject—policy, economics and law. The book is a compilation of papers that recognize that the evolution of regulatory systems in developing countries is in some ways unique and requires dedicated research. The focus of this volume is on the threats posed by political factors to enactment and implementation of regulation laws.

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