This paper analyzes the price trends of two main products for which the country’s commercial consumer pays more in comparison to those in the region. The findings indicate the presence of several market inefficiencies and price gouging practices.
In the case of cash registers, a market which was initially closed allowed the first two competitors to dominate, create a monopoly and gouge consumer prices. In the cement industry, the intervention of the institutions to protect the domestic producer resulted in the same outcome: the producer began to dominate the market and raised prices without improving quality.
Kosovo cannot prosper without a proper market economy. In turn, the market economy cannot be properly established without the regulation of the economic environment. The paper recommends that the authorities that monitor competition be given more clout and influence and that there be a mechanism to control and check market interventions from government institutions.
