The use of policies for competition in the promotion of structural change in transforming economies

This article takes as its central theme the idea that competition policy is merely one among many policies which can and should be used to promote com petition in an economy. After having considered the importance of competiti on for any healthy economy, the article examines the inextricable links bet ween competition and transition, in particular marketisation and liberalisa tion, and discusses in detail the scope for the use of various policies for competition in the transformation process. Within this discussion, particu lar attention is paid To the importance of the legal and institutional fram ework, the process of privatisation, macroeconomic stability, ease of entry , supply side policies, the role of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME s), and trade policy in contributing to the development of a market economy . The article concludes by noting the extreme care that must be taken not o nly in the content of such policies but also in their implementation, somet hing which is easily demonstrated by the experience of developed capitalist economies in the West.