concorrência

Concorrência is a term used in Portuguese to describe the state or condition of competition among economic agents, as well as a specific procedure in public procurement. In economics, concorrência refers to a market environment in which buyers and sellers freely interact, influencing prices and quantities through supply and demand. Competitive pressures encourage efficiency, innovation and lower prices. Market structures are often categorized as perfect competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly and monopoly; only in perfect competition do many small players freely enter, sell homogeneous products, and be unable to influence price.

Competition policy seeks to preserve or restore competitive conditions and prevent practices that undermine it, such as cartels, price fixing, abuse of dominance, or anti-competitive mergers. Regulators may block deals, impose remedies, and monitor markets to protect consumer welfare and market dynamism.

Unfair competition, or concorrência desleal, covers acts by which one business harms others or misleads consumers, including trademark infringement, false advertising, imitation of distinctive brands, or bait-and-switch tactics.

In the public sector, concorrência is a formal bidding procedure used to select contractors for public works and services. It requires broad participation, transparency, and equal treatment of bidders, contrasting with other modalities like tomada de preço or pregão in varying national contexts.

Some countries regulate both meanings, with antitrust authorities and procurement agencies playing central roles in maintaining fair competition.