VI. CONCLUSION
Competition law and competition institutions are one of the most important elements that helps promote economic development and equality in developing countries. This is because this particular law serves to dissipate "rents," ⁶⁴ which tend to accumulate among a privileged few in countries where the rule of law is weak and cronyism is widespread. The accumulation of rents can be particularly detrimental to developing countries that are undergoing rapid economic growth. The concentration of wealth can easily lead to widening income inequality, a major problem facing many developing countries that threatens the sustainability of economic growth. More importantly, concentration of wealth often leads to concentration of political power where money matters in political pursuits. This is likely to undermine the budding democracy found in many countries.

The experience of Thailand shows that once big businesses are able to take the political rein, they can easily entrench their monopoly strongholds by influencing government policy. At this point, where the law is captured by the state and big businesses, the chance of introducing competition in the domestic market would be bleak. It is therefore of utmost urgency that a developing country equip itself with a competition constituency that could counter the formidable (financial and political) strength of incumbent supplier/operators that would like to fend off competition in order to secure their own private interests.

The lesson learned in this paper is that an unenforced competition law can nevertheless yield valuable experiences and help build an effective competition constituency among NGOs, academics, and the media. Without the law, one can never come to learn and appreciate its importance when a competition-related case arises in the economy. As various non­government stakeholders become more informed and active in public affairs, it is only a matter of time before they will challenge an inert competition regime, either legally or through public pressures.

On a final note, foreign technical assistance can indeed help many developing countries to veer off this dangerous path. Foreign assistance programs, however, need to be targeted at the right activities and the right groups of people, subject to the political, legal, and social environments in each country. The most important thing is that the assistance does not end with the promulgation of the competition law itself, but that it extends into the community. Building a competition law and policy constituency among the various non-government stakeholders of the economy is the only way to ensure an effective and sustainable competition regime in a country like Thailand.

Footnotes

64. Rents in economics refer to profits or investment returns that are excessive compared to those available in a competitive market. See Armen Alchian, Rent, NEW PALGRAVE: A DICTIONARY OF THEORY AND DOCTRINE 141, 141-43 (J.Eatwell, M. Mitigate & P. Newman eds., 1987).