Competition policy and economic growth : An empirical analysis on MENA countries with special reference to Egypt / Marwa Mamdouh Sayed Mostafa Gomaa ; Supervised Ahmed Ghoneim , Thomas Eger

Thesis (Ph.D.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Economics and Political Science - Department of Economics

The underlying study revisits the puzzling relation between competition and economic growth, focusing on how the country's level of technological advancement can influence the examined relationship. In this context, the study undertakes an extended theoretical and empirical analysis in order to derive policy implications regarding the appropriate design and implementation of a comprehensive competition enforcement system. In particular, the current work focuses on evaluating competition policy in Egypt and explores the necessary reforms needed in this area. The study examines as well the role of technological gap between observed country and technology frontier country in shaping the impact of competition on economic growth using panel data estimation for 115 countries over the period (1995-2010) and controlling for MENA countries in the sample. The importance of the underlying analysis stems from the need for a well-designed and effectively enforced competition policy that can enhance consumer welfare, address problems of inflation and unemployment, secure equity and promote social justice; especially with Egypt's movement forward democracy and development post 2011 revolution. The significance of competition policy for Egypt is also ascertained by the empirical findings of the study which reveal that Egypt is one of those economies positioned to benefit from opening domestic markets and allowing greater trade freedom owing to the relatively low intensity of prevailing competition and the abundant absorptive capacity in the Egyptian economy

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