Globalization and EU Competition Policy

Competition policy―encompassing cartels, monopolies, mergers and state aid―is a hallmark of the European Union (EU). In recent decades, the EU’s competition policy has evolved under pressures from globalization. The EU in turn has been a key actor driving the globalization of the world economy through its increasingly active competition policy. This volume identifies and explores the major transformations that EU competition policy has undergone in the last decade in response to various pressures related to globalization, in particular, economic interdependence, the proliferation of national and regional competition regimes, and the financial and economic crisis. The individual chapters, written by specialists of EU competition policy from both sides of the Atlantic and from the perspectives of political science, management and public policy, investigate how the EU has responded to these challenges in each area of competition policy, and demonstrate that it has, on balance, been quite successful in responding to them, with some exceptions in the areas of state aid and mergers.

This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of European Integration.

Umut Aydin is an Assistant Professor at Instituto de Ciencia Política, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Her research interests include government-business relations, competition and industrial policies, and the international diffusion of regulatory policies. She has published articles on industrial policies and subsidies, EU competition policy, and international cooperation on competition policy.

Kenneth P. Thomas is Professor of Political Science at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. His interests focus on the control of competition for investment, subsidies, and multinational corporations. His current research focuses on local subsidy policy, investment incentives in southern Africa, and bilateral investment treaties.