The 1998 Competitiveness White Paper Competition 6.1 Competition is both a spur to the knowledge driven economy and a force for productivity improvement in general.
Companies are more mobile internationally.
Product cycles and product lives have been shortened. Meanwhile, developments in science and technology have increased the rate of technical advance. 6.2 The degree of competition of an economy depends on a whole range of factors determining how firms interact. Across the economy, competitive pressures depend on openness to foreign trade and investment, on the domestic regulatory environment, the extent to which markets are liberalised and the degree of protection against monopoly power. Larger countries tend to trade less as a proportion of output.