Competition and Development: The Power of Competitive Markets

The purpose of this short glossary is to help the casual reader focus on terms used in this book. Terms marked with * or ** have been drawn most significantly from the glossaries of the European Commission (2003) and OECD (Khemani and Shapiro, n.d.), respectively, although some have been abbreviated. Italicized terms are defined in the glossary of the European Commission (2003), and bold terms are defined elsewhere in this glossary.

Abuses of dominance*—Anticompetitive business practices (including improper exploitation of customers or exclusion of competitors) in which a firm in a dominant position may engage to maintain or increase its market power.

Anticompetitive agreements—A general classification of agreements between rival or potentially rival firms to limit competition. See cartels.

Anticompetitive conduct/practices—Any activity that is intended to limit competition or extract rent. The activity will involve an anticompetitive agreement, an abuse of dominance, or a merger.

Bid rigging*—A form of coordination between firms that interferes with a bidding process. For example, firms may agree on their bids in advance, deciding which will be the lowest bidder;

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