Research Handbook on Competition Law and Development

The Research Handbook on Competition Law and Development offers a comprehensive reassessment of the role of competition law in the Global South. Drawing on contributions from leading scholars and practitioners across four continents, the volume argues that competition law is flexible enough to be shaped by local political economy, development priorities, and institutional realities rather than follow templates imported from more developed jurisdictions. The Research Handbook is organized around three interconnected themes. The first concerns foundational questions: how competition policy relates to innovation, inclusive growth, industrial policy, sustainability, and democracy. The second addresses substantive law, examining how frameworks for cartels, dominance, mergers, and digital markets require adaptation to serve development objectives in contexts ranging from South Africa and Brazil to India and Southeast Asia. The third focuses on enforcement, confronting the practical challenges of institutional independence, resource constraints, priority-setting, South-South cooperation, and the power asymmetries embedded in international convergence processes such as the ICN. Ultimately, the Research Handbook rejects the push toward harmonisation and universalisation, insisting instead that effective competition law in the Global South must be context-specific, inclusive, and oriented toward structural transformation. This book is an essential reference for scholars and students of competition law, law and development, and comparative economic regulation, as well as policymakers and practitioners navigating the intersection of market governance and development strategy.