1 ST ANNUAL COMPETITION AND ECONOMIC REGULATION (ACER) WEEK, SOUTHERN AFRICA
Venue: Elephant Hills Resort Hotel, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
20 & 21 March 2015
The Zimbabwean Competition and Tariff Commission (CTC) and the University of Johannesburg’s Centre for Competition, Regulation and Economic Development (CCRED) are honoured to host the 1st Annual Competition and Economic Regulation (ACER) Week in Southern Africa. The ACER Week provides an opportunity to share lessons and developments in competition policy and economic regulation across the region as well as internationally. The week further aims to contribute to developing the capacity of competition authorities and economic regulators in the region.
Following registration on the evening of 16 March 2014 participants have a choice of one of three Short Learning Programmes (SLP) which will run from 17 to 19 March 2015 and are certified by the University of Johannesburg. Key facilitators include renowned international competition expert Professor Massimo Motta (ICREA Research Professor at Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Research Professor of the Barcelona Graduate School of Economics, and current Chief Competition Economist at DG Comp, European Commission), Professor Chiara Fumagalli (Avv. Giovanni Agnelli endowed Associate Professor in Economics at the University of Bocconi) and Professor Simon Roberts (Director of CCRED). Each SLP will be taught by means of lectures covering the applicable theoretical framework, applications of the theory in actual case decisions, and practical case studies taught in workshop sessions based on real world examples. This approach means course participants develop a working knowledge of regulatory and competition principles and techniques in practice. The case studies and case examples are drawn from the extensive research that CCRED has done in different countries in Southern and East Africa in the competition and regulation fields, as well as from international jurisdictions.
The Conference to be held on 20 and 21 March 2015 will offer an opportunity to share lessons and developments in competition and economic regulation internationally, with a special focus on Southern Africa, hosted in Zimbabwe, the current chair of SADC.
Keynote speakers, alongside heads of regional authorities, include Professor Massimo Motta, and Dr Javier Tapia (Judge at the Competition Tribunal of the Republic of Chile, member of the Centre for Regulation and Competition at Universidad de Chile, Faculty of Law).
CONFERENCE
The conference will focus on the following key themes:
Merger assessment guidelines and analysis in the region – key issues and their application in important markets such as retail, energy, telecoms
Institutional design – comparison of different frameworks and experiences in practice
Economic regulation for growth and increased economic participation
Cartel enforcement: Leniency and Penalty Determination
Understanding competition and regulation across borders
Critical review of precedent setting regulatory decisions and competition cases
Abuse of dominance and exclusionary practices in key markets
The target audience includes competition and regulatory authority practitioners, other government department staff, regional and international experts, academics in the competition and regulation field, as well as students.
More information on the conference, courses and speakers can be found here.