Adrienne Maduro completed her internship as an analyst at Economic Bureau Amsterdam with a report on the application of the New Competition Tool (NCT) in small market economies, such as Curaçao and Aruba.

The report examines how limited competition law enforcement in small Caribbean economies constrains regulators’ ability to address structural competition problems, particularly in highly concentrated sectors. The NCT would enable regulators to tackle structural competition problems in markets without the need for an infringement by a market participant.

The main conclusions and recommendations in the report are:

• Introduce the NCT to enable competition authorities to conduct market investigations and impose market-wide remedies.

• Prioritise NCT interventions in sectors such as telecommunications and banking, where economies of scale, switching costs, and oligopolistic market structures hinder effective competition.

• Focus enforcement on lowering barriers to entry and protecting new entrants, thereby delivering tangible benefits for consumers.

• Implement the NCT through amendments to the existing Competition Ordinances, accompanied by procedural safeguards to prevent regulatory overreach.

The full report is available below.