競争は発展や繁栄をもたらしますが、製造・生産者、販売者にかかる負担は時に不正をも生じさせます。「反トラスト法」「競争法」などの独占禁止法は実質的に競争を制限する価格カルテルや事業支配力の過度な集中、合併を規制、消費者の福利を保護するとともに、執行機関には自然な競争関係が損なわれることがないよう慎重な対応が求められます。米国とEUの事例を参考に、自由市場経済と政府介入の微妙な関係性や現代社会を形作る競争の力学について検討し、競争市場の利点と限界を考察します。
   

• Draws on real-life case studies to review US antitrust laws and EU competition laws
• Considers the main threats to competitive markets: cartels, monopolies, mergers, and international cooperation
• Lucidly explains the policy considerations which affect competition law enforcement
• Written by a leading expert in the field, the Director of the University of Oxford Centre for Competition Law and Policy

　　
Competition is responsible for much of the prosperity around us. Competitive markets deliver lower prices, better quality, abundance of choice, and increased innovation. But while competition benefits the consumers, it can prove challenging to producers and sellers, who need to constantly improve to stay in business. As a result, sellers may sometimes look for ways to dampen the competitive process.
　　　
Our antitrust and competition laws are designed to address these risks and safeguard consumer welfare. The competition enforcers have the task of unravelling price-fixing cartels, challenging powerful companies that abuse their power, and monitoring proposed merger transactions that could undermine effective competition. In doing so, competition enforcers have to carefully consider the level of intervention and ensure they do not distort the natural dynamics of competition.
　　　
Drawing on case studies from the US and the European Union, this Very Short Introduction explores the promise and limitations of competitive market dynamics. In examining the laws and the way they are enforced, Ariel Ezrachi considers the delicate relationship between a free market economy and government intervention, and the fascinating forces of competition that shape modern society.