International experience in conducting effective economic expertise in the context of preventing monopolies and developing competition in Ukraine

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to generalize and compare international approaches to economic expertise in the field of competition protection, as well as to justify ways of their adaptation to prevent monopolies in our country. The object of the study is the practice of conducting economic expertise in the competition policy system, in particular during the analysis of mergers, acquisitions and anti-competitive behavior. The article reveals the international experience of conducting economic expertise in the field of competition protection and shows its practical value for preventing monopolies and developing competition in the country. It is determined that economic expertise should be the core of an antitrust decision, because it forms the theory of harm, ensures the selection of relevant data and allows you to verify the cause-and-effect relationship between the concentration or behavior of business entities and changes in prices, quality, choice, innovation, as well as barriers to entry to the market. It is proven that the combination of quantitative calculations, qualitative evidence and clear standards of evidence reduces the risk of regulatory errors and increases the resistance of decisions to judicial review. It is established that the implementation of best practices in national conditions requires the institutional capacity of economic units, access to data, transparent procedures, reproducible assessment models and communication of results in a form understandable to the court and market participants. As a result, it is substantiated that the systematic use of international approaches increases the quality of competition policy and makes state intervention more accurate and proportional to economic risks. It is also established that effective expertise requires regular training of experts, agreed methodological guidelines, quality control procedures, as well as data from markets, procurement and financial reporting, which allow you to quickly test hypotheses and draw conclusions useful for preventing violations.