The Study On The Application Of Consumer Welfare Standard In The Antitrust Review On China's Concentration Of Undertakings

Concentration of undertakings means that the merger between the operators,or to get the control right and influence from the other operators.Concentration of undertakings bring two consequences,which are the determinations of competition and the income of efficiency.In the process of trade-off between those two consequences,the anti-monopoly law enforcement agencies and judicial organs from various countries,face the problem of attribution in subject aspect of the income from competition and efficiency which produced by the concentration of undertakings.That is welfare standard problem,which is used to decide whether the concentration needs regulation.At present,in the economic theory and the national antitrust practice,three big welfare standards have formed.They are the total welfare standard,the consumer welfare standard and the balanced-weight standard.These different welfare standards provide different guiding principles for the centralized regulation of the operators in different countries,which leads to the difference of the practice regulation of the national operators.For our country,this emerging antitrust country,how to choose a suitable social welfare standard,and how to apply it,is a timely topic.This paper begins with the three major welfare standards,studying the definition,production and application of the three welfare standards.The total welfare standard is formed on the basis of the rational choice theory and the economics of efficiency from the Chicago School.Under the standard,the only aim of the antitrust regulation of the concentration is efficiency.As long as the efficiency increases,the overall welfare of the society increases,which means the concentration is legal.Total welfare standard is adopted in Canada,Australia,New Zealand and other places,but the standard of efficiency as the only aim,that sometimes will harm the competition and consumer interests.Consumer welfare standard is based on the post-Chicago school theory,which claims the consumer welfare is the ultimate goal of anti-monopoly law,and from the welfare transfer perspective to ensure that consumers benefits.Consumer welfare standard has independence,legitimacy and feasibility,currently used by the United States and the European Union.The balance weight standard is the original of the Canadian courts,which combines the advantages of the total welfare standard and the consumer welfare standard,but is too complex to be operable and iscurrently only used in Canada.At present,there are many problems in the antitrust review of the concentration of undertakings in China,which are the law is not detailed enough,and the law enforcement process is relatively rough.The problems are respectively in the aspects of the examination standard,the review procedure,the examination result and the examination organization.Specifically,the review criteria are not clear enough,the latter system is flawed;reviewers lack of professionalism,reporting standards are flawed,lack of openness and participation in the review process;review the results are not appropriate,review body position is not neutral.Under the conflicting objectives of diversified antitrust law,China should choose the consumer welfare standard under the social standard as the welfare analysis standard of the operator's concentration antitrust review.On this basis,the above-mentioned concentration of antitrust review of the operators,make recommendations: First,the review criteria,should develop a "merger guide",detailed review of centralized standards,while improving the exemption system;Review procedures to improve the level of law enforcement officers,improve the centralized reporting system operators,the establishment of information disclosure system,as well as increasing public participation,the introduction of consumer hearings;Third,the review results,to ensure the appropriateness of the review results Fourth,for the review body,it is recommended to introduce an independent third party as the operator of the centralized review of the decision-making,so that the Ministry of Commerce as a reviewer,to maintain a neutral position to ensure that the review of the review,the fairness of the results.