New Zealand’s productivity level remains markedly below the OECD frontier. Insufficient competition is an important contributor to this performance, as the relatively small number of competitors in New Zealand’s small market contributes to market concentration. Ensuring adequate competition policy settings is important for offsetting these geographic handicaps, foster innovation and support higher living standards. This paper reviews the competition landscape and the recent reforms in several concentrated markets and network sectors and provides recommendations for additional sectoral reforms or inquiries. It also provides recommendations for improving the overall regulatory landscape, including the prerogatives of the Commerce Commission and other government regulators and regulations on business entry and conduct. Finally, it addresses the question of competition enforcement in digital markets, where New Zealand faces some of the same challenges that other OECD economies have to tackle.
