7th Biennial Newsletter #2/September, 2021
Keeping up with your excitement, we avidly bring to you our 7th Biennial Newsletter, the second in series for the conference. This newsletter is to inform all about the developments as we go onto the D-Day of the event. Also have a look on relevant articles attached in foot notes for each of the session.

Mark your calendars and do join us for the virtual conference!
DAY 1 - Tuesday, November 16, 2021
The inaugural session on 'Diminishing Multilateralism and Economic Recovery'[1] will witness the presence of some eminent personalities from all over the globe, chaired by Mr. Nitin Desai, former Under Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations. One can also hear Prof. Frederic Jenny, Chairman, OECD Competition Law and Policy Committee and Chairman, International Advisory Board of CUTS Centre for Competition, Investment and Economic Regulation, Ms. Isabelle Durant, Acting Secretary-General, UNCTAD, Dr. Rathin Roy, Managing Director – Research and Policy, Overseas Development Institute (ODI), London and Mr. Ashok Kumar Gupta*, Chairman, Competition Commission of India speaking about the chances of revival of multilateralism and reforms required to attain economic resilience.
 
The first panel discussion of the day Growing Market Power Concentration – Role of Competition and Regulation[2] would revolve around market power concentration and its side effects on small businesses, thus widening the gap of economic inequality. The session will be chaired by Prof. Allan Fels, Professorial Fellow, University of Melbourne creating a discourse around the role of competition and the approach to be adopted to level the playing field for all. There will be other intelligent voices gracing us with their presence like Prof. Nicolas Petit, Professor of Law, European Univerdity Institute (EUI), Dr. Sothi Rachagan, former Vice Chancellor, Nilai University, Malayasia, Mr. Daniel Schwarz, Ex-IMF Counsel, Mr. Thula Kaira, former CEO, Competition Authority of Botswana and Zambia Competition Commission and Ms. Lynn Robertson, Competition Expert, OECD, suggesting the ways forward towards inclusivity and resilience.

The next session on ‘Equitable Access to COVID-19 Healthcare’[3] brings to you a unique set of experts from the field of medical sciences, competition and international affairs. Experts like Dr. Mohan Kumar, Chairman, Research and Information Systems for Developing Countries (RIS), Prof. Bernard Hoekman, Director, European University Institute (EUI), Dr. Ellen ’t Hoen, Director, Medicines Law & Policy, Prof. Alexey Ivanov, Director, HSE-Skolkovo Institute for Law and Development, International BRICS Competition Law and Policy Centre and Mr. Amadou Ceesay, Executive Secretary, Gambia Competition and Consumer Protection Commission will bring different perspectives and insights to the table from their fields and respective regions. Talking and discussing about building back after the Covid-19 crisis, with the equitable access to healthcare impacted by the number of factors, the session will be moderated by Mr. Hardin Ratshisusu, Deputy Commissioner, Competition Commission of South Africa.
 
Further readings:
[1] The Economic and Financial Crisis, Regulation and Competition, Frederic Jenny
https://www.scienzegiuridiche.uniroma1.it/sites/default/files/docenti/dalberti/jenny-economic-crisis.pdf
The ‘Third’ UN: Imagining Post-COVID-19 Multilateralism, Tatiana Carayannis and Thomas G. Wesis
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1758-5899.12919
[2] Rising Market Power – A threat to the Recovery? Daniel Schwarz, Romain Duval, et al.
https://blogs.imf.org/2021/03/15/rising-market-power-a-threat-to-the-recovery/
Increased corporate concentration and the influence of market power, Barclays
https://www.investmentbank.barclays.com/content/dam/barclaysmicrosites/ibpublic/documents/our-insights/MarketPower/Barclays-ImpactSeries5-MarketPower_final_2.4MB.pdf

 
[3] Export Restrictions: A Negative-Sum Policy Response to the COVID-19 crisis, Bernard Hoekman, et al.
https://ideas.repec.org/p/rsc/rsceui/2020-23.html
Health equity and COVID-19: global perspectives, International Journal for Equity in Health
https://equityhealthj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12939-020-01218-z
DAY 2 – Wednesday, November 17, 2021
Moving to the second day of the conference, the third panel session, ‘E-commerce as a Vehicle for Inclusive Global Economy’[4] will embrace the presence of speakers such as Dr. Shamika Sirimanne, Director, Division on Technology and Logistics, UNCTAD, Dr. Peter Mwencha, Assistant Professor, American International Univeristy, Kuwait, Ms. Vedika Mittal, Senior Resident Fellow, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, Dr. Geeta Gouri, former Member, Competition Commission of India, Mr. Chetan Krishnaswamy, Vice President, Public Policy India, Amazon, Mr. Jay Gullish, Senior Digital Policy Director, USIBC and Dr. Katharine Kemp*, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law and Justice, UNSW Syndey. The session will be chaired by Ms. Mia Mikic, Advisor at Large, ARTNeT and ex-UNESCAP, furthering dialogue on the growth of e-commerce all over the world, contours of inclusive e-commerce ecosystem and concerns around competition and regulation, in the backdrop of the sector being essential to row the global economy out of the crisis.
 
The last panel discussion of the conference is on ‘Creating More Income Opportunities and Jobs’[5] which will cover the adverse impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on jobs and income opportunities, pushing millions into poverty whilst increasing inequality around the globe. The session will have some sharp intellectual minds on the table, including Mr. Arun Maira, former Member, Planning Commission of India, Mr. Kelvin Sergeant, Sustainable Enterprise Development Specialist, DWT, South Asia and Country Office, India, International Labour Organization, Dr. Sumit Majumdar, Professor, The University of Texas, Mr. Samar Verma, Program Officer, The Ford Foundation, Mr. Phil Evans, former Inquiry Chair, Competition and Markets Authority, UK and Dr. Radhicka Kapoor, Fellow, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER).
 
The valedictory session of 7th CUTS-CIRC Biennial Conference on Competition, Regulation and Development will throw light on ‘The Emerging Roadmap for a Resilient and Inclusive Economy’ with keynote speakers like Prof. Simon Evenett, Professor, University of St. Gallen, Mr. Pascal Lamy, former Director General, WTO, Mr. Allan Asher, Chair and Managing Consultant, Foundation for Effective Markets & Governance (FEMAG) Australia, Dr. Ioannis Lianos, President, Hellenic Competition Commission, Prof. William Kovacic, Professor, Law and Policy, George Washington University, Ms. Teresa Moreira, Head, Competition and Consumer Policies Branch, UNCTAD and Dr. Arvind Mayaram, former Finance Secretary of India among others.
 
Further readings:
[4] E-Commerce A Trade Opportunity For Recovery In Times Of Global Crisis, Castillo Salazar Valeria Valentina and Medina Cornejo Jose Angel
https://www.unescap.org/sites/default/files/161%20Final-Team%20Valeria%20Castillo-Venezuela.pdf
Inclusive Growth and E-commerce: China’s Experience, AliResearch
https://unctad.org/system/files/non-official-document/dtl_eWeek2017c11-aliresearch_en.pdf
 
[5] Impact of Industry 4.0 and Digitization on Labor Market for 2030, Gábor Szabó-Szentgróti, et al.
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/14/7703
New markets and New Jobs in the Digital Economy, OECD
https://www.oecd.org/digital/ministerial/meeting/New-Markets-and-New-Jobs-discussion-paper.pdf
CONSUMER UNITY & TRUST SOCIETY 

Jaipur • New Delhi • Chittorgarh • Kolkata • Hanoi • Nairobi • Lusaka • Accra • Geneva • Washington DC

www.cuts-international.org

Copyright © 2021 CUTS International, All rights reserved.