| Abstract: | Intervention by pressure groups overshadows the discussion of the extension and revision of legislation in the field of competition. The result is increasing codification of political interpretations of the rules underlying a market oriented economy. This tendency is not only illustrated by the draft law on the monitoring of prices but also by the one on consumer protection. In both cases, two guiding principles are at stake, namely the strengthening of rules of competition and the improvement of the position of consumers. The article emphasizes the economic implications of these two principles and shows how difficult it is to reconcile them in the new law. Measures designed to provide more transparent market structures may have adverse effects. Measures designed to reinforce the position of consumers create imperfect conditions on the demand side. In both cases it is unclear how their explicit and social costs will be divided between producers and consumers and what will be their impact on prices. |
