Corporate Influence in Competition Policymaking
Overview of Secretariat Note
Misha Kaur and Richard May
OECD Competition Division
What you can find in the Short Note
1. Introduction
2. Legitimate corporate engagement in policymaking vs undue corporate influence
3. Corporate engagement mechanisms in competition policymaking
4. Responses to safeguard against undue corporate influence
5. Concluding remarks and questions
Defining corporate influence is challenging
• Legitimate corporate engagement in policymaking is important and beneficial.
• Yet, there can exist the risk of undue influence, leading to potential harms.
• It can be challenging to make this distinction. Some factors include:
Mechanisms and risks of undue influence
Lobbying
Research & training
Key mechanisms
Financing
warrants attention
Revolving door
Public perception
Consultations & expert advice
Three areas where competition authorities may be more vulnerable to undue influence:
Key inputs
• Legislative and regulatory frameworks
Key inputs
• Enforcement policy
users / ecosystems
• Public perception and policy discourse
What responses can authorities use?
Transparency & disclosure
Institutional safeguards & measures
Prohibitions & restrictions
Some questions still remain
• Can empirical research shed further light on these issues?
• Optimal balance between transparency responses and legitimate confidentiality concerns?
• How should competition authorities approach academics, conferences and training?
• Collaboration with other agencies to enhance resilience, and promote and incentivise strong corporate compliance?
• Role for international organisations or international standards?
