Competition Law Gone Global: Introducing the Comparative Competition Law and Enforcement Datasets

Abstract

Competition law has proliferated around the world. Due to data limitations, however, there is little systematic information about the substance and enforcement of these laws. In this paper, we address that problem by introducing two new datasets on competition law regimes around the world. First, we introduce the Comparative Competition Law Dataset, which codes competition laws in 130 jurisdictions between 1889 to 2010. Second, we introduce the Comparative Competition Enforcement Dataset, which provides data on competition agencies' resources and activities in 100 jurisdictions between 1990 and 2010. These datasets offer the most comprehensive picture of competition law yet assembled and provide a new foundation for empirical research on the legal regimes used to regulate markets. * This research is part of a tremendous data gathering effort that has left us indebted to many. We are particularly grateful to the over 100 national competition enforcement agencies that shared data with us as well as to the UNCTAD, the ICN and the ECN for facilitating this effort among their members. Several competition law professionals, students, and colleagues around the world provided invaluable help in this process. The final datasets reflect the outstanding work of over 100 Columbia Law School and the University of Chicago Law School students who helped us retrieve, review, and process the data used in this study over the course of five years and more than 10,000 hours.