The Creative Regulation Process of the Mexican Competition Commission

Abstract

This article analyses how regulatory objectives are achieved by the Mexican Federal Competition Commission. An emphasis is laid on the analysis of the environmental and institutional settings and the implications they have in its enforcement process and regulatory activity. The analysis includes the issue of regulatory decision making, the stage of intervention, regulatory rules and different styles of enforcement in regulatory agencies in their relevance for regulatory enforcement. The article draws on the existing enforcement literature, especially the responsive regulation model and the regulatory space and dispersed regulatory action paradigms and reflects on similarities and differences in this specified case of a Mexican agency. While identifying a range of characteristics of the agency’s enforcement process, it also finds that there is a lack of studies of certain of the main characteristics identified. These differentiating characteristics are studied and analysed; its causes are explored in relation to the specific environment of a developing civil law background and other environmental features that directly affect the possibility of achieving competition regulatory objectives. The article analyses the agency’s experience through time and space with special attention to the study of how it has been trying to adapt to a scenario that looks adverse to its objectives. The identification is made of an original style of enforcement which is characterised as “Creative Regulation” as a result of its adaptation process and the agency’s drive to achieve certain objectives. This article has been shortlisted for the 1st World Competition Young Writers Award.