Cartels Revisited. An Overview on Fresh Questions, New Methods, and Surprising Results

The common agreement of the advantages of competition is usually supplemented by a similar one on the destructive characteristic of cartels. Starting from this verdict the contribution looks into various assumptions ?and finds considerable practical evidence contradicting the verdict. While there surely are many negative examples, there are as many other ones. In a first systematic overview the contribution presents cases, where historical evidence contradicts the traditional negative perception. A second systematic overview suggests fields of future research which would considerably enlarge our practical knowledge of cartelization. Cartels and m&a (mergers & acquisitions) are the two possibilities of external growth of enterprise. While competitive behaviour can be monitored in the case of cartels, merged enterprise cannot. A fresh view on state-controlled cooperative behaviour may in the end open new possibilities for economic decision making with the aim to enhance competition.