Economic Essays on Australian and New Zealand Competition Law

In developing a clear analysis of the practical relations between economics and law, no jurisdictions have been more exemplary than Australia and New Zealand. And the fountainhead of this important work, it is now generally agreed, lies in the theory and practice of the economist Maureen Brunt. A member of the influential Australian Trade Practices Tribunal since its inception, as well as a lay member of the New Zealand High Court in numbers of competition cases, the author has expanded the field of competition law in fundamental ways that are only now becoming recognized for their great value by other jurisdictions, notably the European Community. As Valentine Korah says in her Foreword, it is unusual to find an economist who contributes to the fabric of the law itself as distinct from the policy objectives.

In this thirty year retrospective of her most important essays, lawyers and others occupied with competition issues will find a rich harvest of insights into the interdependence between law and economics, and the manner in which they should be blended in the courts. The contributions include the following:

the development of conceptual schemes that are both economically meaningful and legally operational; in-depth investigation of the core problems of market definition and market appraisal; development of a concept of competition as the inverse of market power; and techniques for making the best use of economists' expert evidence.

The essays appear here in the order in which they were first published, and thus represent a kind of historical progression, reflecting both developments in Australian and New Zealand law and in the depth and scope of the author's own thinking. It would be a mistake to see her work as limited by jurisdiction or cultural peculiarities. As more and more scholars and practitioners discover, there is here not only a contribution to the field of comparative law but also a rigorous delineation of the crucial intersecting patterns of law and economics that transcends all borders and attains a universal significance.

The book contains two entirely new chapters, one a lengthy introduction and updating, the other a pithy epilogue.