About the Shirley Playfair Lecture Series
The Shirley Playfair Lecture series is the FTC’s annual public lecture which focuses on Competition Law and Policy; and at the same time honours the life and work of the late Mrs. Shirley Playfair, the first Chairperson of the Fair Trading Commission. She was a passionate advocate for the proper functioning of markets, and she worked assiduously in creating the foundation and structure for the enforcement of competition law in Jamaica.
Mrs. Shirley Playfair
The first lecture was held in 2000. Through the annual lecture, the FTC engages the public on current issues relating to various aspects of competition policy, the functioning of markets and their impact on consumers, market participants and the economy. Essentially, the focus of the lecture is building a competition culture in Jamaica, where competition principles become the foundation for economic development.
Each year the FTC seeks to highlight some aspect of competition law and uses the Shirley Playfair lecture as a medium through which to educate the Jamaican stakeholders – policymakers, the legal fraternity, the business community, and the Jamaican consumers.
What does the FTC hope to achieve from the lecture series?
This lecture seeks to provide information and simulate a discussion among the speakers, policymakers, the business community, competition law practitioners, consumer protection advocates, academia, and the legal fraternity.
Target attendees:
The target audience is policymakers (representatives of Government Ministries and Agencies), the business community, media, consumer groups and individual consumers.
PAST LECTURES
| Year | Topic | Focus/ Presenter(s) |
| 2022 | Navigating the impact of supply chain disruptions: a business sector perspective | Presenter: Mr. John Mahfood, President, Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association
Clicking here to watch the 20th Shirley Playfair Lecture. |
| 2021 | Integrating Competition Law and Consumer Protection Law: Optimizing Consumer Welfare | Presenter: Mr. Stephen Calkins, Law Professor, Wayne State University, USA.
Mr. Calkins served as a member of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission of Ireland, member of The Competition Authority of Ireland and director of its Mergers Division. |
| 2020 | Protecting Competitive Markets and Consumer Welfare During and Post COVID-19 Pandemic
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The role of competition authorities in protecting competitive markets and consumer welfare amidst the pandemic and the resulting market transformation.
Presenters:
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| 2017 | The Quest for Growth: Competition and Industrial Policies: Complementary or Estranged Bedfellows | The underlying relationships of economic policy and some of the tensions inherent in competition and industrial policies.
Presenter: Dr. Peter-John Gordon, Lecturer, University of the West Indies and former Chairman and Commissioner at the FTC |
| 2015 | Competition in the Telecommunications Sector – Beyond 2015 “Transforming Jamaica Digitally: from Flintstones to Jetsons”
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Annual Latin American and the Caribbean Competition Forum hosted by Jamaica Fair Trading Commission in collaboration with the World Bank Group.
FTC Competition Day Presenters:
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| 2014 | Competing in the Hub | The concept of a logistic hub, its effects on competition locally and globally, and its anticipated benefits to Jamaica.
Presenter: Dr. Fritz Pinnock, Executive Director of Caribbean Maritime Institute. |
| 2013 | Emerging Business Strategies & Implications for Competition | The economic concept of vertical integration with the use of examples of both local and international industries.
Presenter: Mr. Brian Pengelley, President of the Jamaica Manufacturers Association. |
| 2012 | Prospects for Competition in the Electricity Sector: from generation to distribution | The need for increased competition in the electricity sector and factors that can influence greater competition and lower prices
Presenter: Professor Evan Duggan, University of the West Indies. |
| 2011 | Coordinating to Compete: Limitations of Motor Vehicle Insurance Market | (a) Plight of the industry as it relates to losses in underwriting
(b) Role on the FSC with respect to regulating the industry Presenters:
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| 2010 | Competition and Regulation in the Banking Sector | (a)The need for growth of the economy, as the ultimate and only solution to our economic dilemma
(b) Financial services sector and the commercial banks’ critical role in our economy (c) Regulation of financial services that will impact upon the pricing strategy of banks Presenters:
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| 2009 | The Relevance of Competition Law in Good and not so Good Times | (a) Benefits to our country for supporting local manufacturing enterprises and the challenges being faced by manufacturers
(b) The benefits of enforcing Competition Law irrespective of the economic climate Presenters:
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| 2008 | Adopting Merger Control Laws: Lessons Learned of Patience and Humility | The many important factors that ought to be considered when implementing merger review laws in a developing country such as Jamaica
Presenter: Mr. Joseph G. Krauss, Attorney-at-Law |
| 2007 | Enhancing Competition Law Enforcement through Regional Trade Agreements | Relationship between member countries and its regional competition authority and legislative framework for the region
Presenter: Dr. Michal S. Gal, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Haifa University, Israel |
| 2006 | Enforcement of Competition Law in Regulated Sectors | A look at several enforcement tools used by the US FTC in its investigation and assessment processes
Presenter: Commissioner William Kovacic, United States Federal Trade Commission |
| 2005 | Competition as a Tool for Development; and
Energy and Water Policies, and the Implications for Competition |
Panel discussion on several areas of competition policy, featuring sectors of interest
Presenters:
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| 2004 | Antitrust lessons learned from the Microsoft “wars” | A description of the Microsoft case and implications arising there from
Presenter: Dr. Bill Bishop, Chairman of Lexecon Limited; and Professor of the Economics of Competition Law at the College of Europe, Bruges |
| 2003 | Competition and Regulatory Policies in the WTO: Implications of a Multilateral Competition Policy Framework | A policy overview within the WTO context
Presenter: Dr. James Mathis, Lecturer at the Amsterdam Law School and Instructor of the Department of International Law, University of Amsterdam |
| 2002 | The Tension between Competition Law and Trade Law – are there any winners? | The relationship between Competition Law and Trade Law
Presenter: Mr. Thomas B. Leary, retired Commissioner of the United States Federal Trade Commission |
| 2001 | The Role of a Competition Agency in a Small Developing Nation | Effecting change in a growing economy using competition policy tools
Presenter: Mrs. Beatriz Boza-Dibos, past President of the National Institute for the Defence of Competition and the Protection of Intellectual Property (INDECOPI), the Peruvian Competition Agency |
| 2000 | Market Definition, Dominance and Abuse of Dominance | Sensitizing the local judiciary as to issues related to market definition
Presenter: Professor Patrick McNutt, former Partner and head of Competition and Regulatory Affairs Indecon Consultants, Dublin, Ireland; and former head of the Jersey Competition Authority |
The Lecture has always been held in a theatre-style face-to-face format and the audience usually numbers one hundred and twenty (120) persons, which includes high ranking Staff of Government Ministries and agencies, members of the business community, academics, the judiciary, the legal fraternity, lecturers at the University of the West Indies, the University of Technology, and journalists.