Prioritization: Essential Navigation for Competition Agencies
William E. Kovacic
George Washington University
Roundtable on Case Prioritization and Prosecutorial Discretion
OECD Competition Committee
Paris, 25 June 2026
Prioritization Why Care?
Resources
• Kovacic, Deciding What to Do and How to Do It: Prioritization, Project Selection, and Competition Agency Effectiveness, 13 Competition Law Review 9 (2018)
• Kovacic, Great Antitrust Enforcers: Lessons from Regulators (2023)
The Vertical Enforcement Stack
• Goals
• Strategy
• Priorities
• Project Selection
• Project Delivery
• Assessment
•
Prioritization: Functions
Link Strategy to Project Selection
Setting direction of travel
• Guidance
To staff
To affected firms
• Transparency and Legitimacy
Prioritization
Who Should Do What?
Ideal
• Integrate Vertical Stack
• Possibilities
– Executive committee at agency level with input subordinate units
– Central policy team that makes recommendation to ExCom
– Delegate to major operating units
– Essential Element: Oversight by Agency Head or Governing Board