Public Attitudes on Cartels in China & Hong Kong
Survey results on public attitudes towards cartels in China and Hong Kong, highlighting differences in perception of collusion, views on punishments, and expectations of enforcement. Insights on education, advocacy, and comparison with other countries.
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Presentation Transcript
Public Attitudes to Cartels in China and in Hong Kong: A Survey by Sandra Marco Colino and Emanuela Lecchi Discussion by: Tom Ross Sauder School of Business University of British Columbia July 6, 2024
Motivation Citizens views on competition policy can be important, influencing laws enforcement resources case selection a culture that may determine standard business practice Understanding these views will help us determine enforcement priorities appreciate knowledge gaps and design education/advocacy programs 2
Education and Advocacy Critically important for new agencies enforcing new laws Need to educate: Businesses, business associations, consumer groups Other branches of government Need to develop detailed guidance on enforcement approaches Hong Kong has been exceptional at this with a number of ICN awards for its advocacy and education efforts 3
This paper A valuable contribution to a set of surveys done in a number of countries over the past several years e.g. Australia, Chile, France, Greece, the Netherlands, UK Provides survey results for Hong Kong and Mainland China, both jurisdictions operating with relatively new competition laws Focus here is on attitudes toward collusion Interesting comparisons between Hong Kong and Mainland China as well as between these two and the countries surveyed in other research 4
Selection of interesting results Mainland China: less likely to recognize a cartel and consider it bad (Hong Kong much more negative) Both (but especially HK): see price-fixing as dishonest but less blame-worthy than theft (more akin to fraud) Both: see punishment and compensation as important generally but Mainland China puts higher value on compensation, Hong Kong more on punishment Both: expect price-fixers will be caught Both like fines as punishment more than other countries less for naming and shaming Both approve of leniency policies 5
Final Thoughts Surveys like these can be difficult to compare across countries because of cultural differences that said, large differences between countries may be revealing Perhaps more value will come from repeated surveys to see how attitudes evolve with more experience in enforcement In time, would love to have the authors reflect on what their key take-aways for policy-makers might be Given support, stronger enforcement of cartel laws? More Hong Kong-style advocacy on the Mainland? Enhanced whistleblower programs? 6
