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Penalties and the deterrence of unlawful collusion

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  • Harrington, Joseph E.

Abstract

This paper investigates the size of penalties required to deter cartel formation. Allowing the penalty to be increasing in duration within the infinitely repeated game framework, penalties do not need to be as severe as previous research would suggest.

Suggested Citation

  • Harrington, Joseph E., 2014. "Penalties and the deterrence of unlawful collusion," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 124(1), pages 33-36.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:124:y:2014:i:1:p:33-36
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2014.04.010
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Joseph E. Harrington, 2005. "Optimal Cartel Pricing In The Presence Of An Antitrust Authority," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 46(1), pages 145-169, February.
    2. Bryant, Peter G & Eckard, E Woodrow, Jr, 1991. "Price Fixing: The Probability of Getting Caught," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 73(3), pages 531-536, August.
    3. Emmanuel Combe & Constance Monnier & Renaud Legal, 2008. "Cartels: The Probability of Getting Caught in the European Union," Bruges European Economic Research Papers 12, European Economic Studies Department, College of Europe.
    4. Joseph E. Harrington, Jr., 2004. "Cartel Pricing Dynamics in the Presence of an Antitrust Authority," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 35(4), pages 651-673, Winter.
    5. Florian Smuda, 2014. "Cartel Overcharges And The Deterrent Effect Of Eu Competition Law," Journal of Competition Law and Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 10(1), pages 63-86.
    6. Marie-Laure Allain & Marcel Boyer & Rachidi Kotchoni & Jean-Pierre Ponssard, 2011. "The Determination of Optimal Fines in Cartel Cases The Myth of Underdeterrence," Working Papers hal-00631432, HAL.
    7. Yannis Katsoulacos & David Ulph, 2013. "Antitrust Penalties and the Implications of Empirical Evidence on Cartel Overcharges," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 123(11), pages 558-581, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Filomena Garcia & Jose Manuel Paz y Miño & Gustavo Torrens, 2024. "Nationalistic bias in collusion prosecution: the case for international antitrust agreements," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 126(3), pages 489-528, July.
    2. Marcel Boyer & Rachidi Kotchoni, 2015. "How Much Do Cartel Overcharge?," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 47(2), pages 119-153, September.
    3. Katsoulacos, Yannis & Motchenkova, Evgenia & Ulph, David, 2015. "Penalizing cartels: The case for basing penalties on price overcharge," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 70-80.
    4. Houba Harold & Motchenkova Evgenia & Wen Quan, 2015. "The Effects of Leniency on Cartel Pricing," The B.E. Journal of Theoretical Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 15(2), pages 351-389, July.
    5. Dahm, Matthias & González, Paula & Porteiro, Nicolás, 2018. "The enforcement of mandatory disclosure rules," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 21-32.
    6. Merino Troncoso, Carlos, 2020. "Estimación Máximo Verosímil y Bayesiana de la Probabilidad de Detección [Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian Estimation of Detection Probabilities]," MPRA Paper 110264, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Saglam, Ismail, 2023. "The Optimal Antitrust Policies for Vertical Price Restraints in a Non-Green Supply Chain," MPRA Paper 117587, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Ran Jing & Jiong Gong & Fang Yi, 2020. "Antitrust Fines: Experiences from China," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 57(1), pages 167-187, August.
    9. Emilie Dargaud & Armel Jacques, 2023. "Intermittent Collusive Agreements: Antitrust Policy and Business Cycles," Post-Print hal-04206725, HAL.
    10. Katsoulacos, Yannis & Motchenkova, Evgenia & Ulph, David, 2020. "Combining cartel penalties and private damage actions: The impact on cartel prices," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    11. Xiaowei Wang & Kunhui Ye & Taozhi Zhuang & Rui Liu, 2022. "The Influence of Collusive Information Dissemination on Bidder’s Collusive Willingness in Urban Construction Projects," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-14, April.
    12. Allain, Marie-Laure & Boyer, Marcel & Kotchoni, Rachidi & Ponssard, Jean-Pierre, 2015. "Are cartel fines optimal? Theory and evidence from the European Union," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 38-47.
    13. Yannis Katsoulacos & Evgenia Motchenkova & David Ulph, 2016. "Measuring the Effectiveness of Anti-Cartel Interventions: A Conceptual Framework," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 16-002/VII, Tinbergen Institute.
    14. repec:tin:wpaper:20150141 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Konstantinos Charistos, 2024. "Marker Systems in Leniency Policies," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 65(3), pages 745-757, November.
    16. Konstantinos Charistos, 2022. "Ringleader Discrimination in Leniency Policies," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 61(3), pages 297-315, November.
    17. Aditya Bhattacharjea & Oindrila De, 2021. "India’s Cartel Penalty Practices, Optimal Restitution and Deterrence," IEG Working Papers 424, Institute of Economic Growth.
    18. Marcel Boyer & Rachidi Kotchoni, 2015. "How Much Do Cartel Overcharge? (The "Working Paper" Version)," CIRANO Working Papers 2015s-37, CIRANO.
    19. González, Xulia & Moral, María J., 2019. "Effects of antitrust prosecution on retail fuel prices," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    20. Harrington, Joseph E., 2017. "The deterrence of collusion by a structural remedy," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 78-81.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Collusion; Antitrust; Crime;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L1 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance
    • L4 - Industrial Organization - - Antitrust Issues and Policies

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