The Economics of National Competition Policy

Over the past two decades, governments worldwide have introduced policies aimed at promoting competition and changing regulations in industries such as telecommunications, energy, transport and water. In Australia, these reforms are often traced back to the 1993 Hilmer Report. This article uses the Australian experience to consider the economic basis for these policy changes. In particular, it considers why the reforms have focused on increasing competition and it critically analyses the success and failure of the Australian reforms.