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The EU Leniency Programme and Recidivism

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Abstract

The EU Leniency Programme aims to encourage the dissolution of existing cartels and the deterrence of future cartels, through self-reporting and/or significant cooperation by cartel members during an investigation. However, the European Commission guidelines are vague in terms of the factors that influence the granting and scale of leniency-related penalty reductions. In this paper, the empirical analysis of the penalty reductions that have been granted shows, as expected, that the first reporting or cooperating firms receive generous fine reductions. More importantly, there is some evidence that firms can “learn how to play the leniency game”, either learning how to cheat or how to report, as the reductions that are given to repeat (and multiple) offenders are substantially higher. These results have an ambiguous impact on firms’ incentives and major implications for policy making. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016

Suggested Citation

  • Catarina Marvão, 2016. "The EU Leniency Programme and Recidivism," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 48(1), pages 1-27, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:revind:v:48:y:2016:i:1:p:1-27
    DOI: 10.1007/s11151-015-9474-z
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    Cited by:

    1. Fotis, Panagiotis & Polemis, Michael, 2024. "On the effectiveness of Recidivism on Productivity Growth: Evidence from anti-cartel enforcement in the US," MPRA Paper 121386, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Hoang, Cung Truong & Hüschelrath, Kai & Laitenberger, Ulrich & Smuda, Florian, 2014. "Determinants of self-reporting under the European corporate leniency program," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 15-23.
    3. Auriol, Emmanuelle & Søreide, Tina, 2017. "An economic analysis of debarment," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 36-49.
    4. Yannis Katsoulacos & Evgenia Motchenkova & David Ulph, 2023. "Measuring the effectiveness of anti‐cartel interventions in the shadow of recidivism," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 44(4), pages 2393-2407, June.
    5. Robert M. Feinberg, 2016. "Cartel Stability: Determinants and International Evidence," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 48(4), pages 357-359, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Cartels; Competition policy; Leniency Programme ; Self-reporting; K21; K42; L4; L51;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • K21 - Law and Economics - - Regulation and Business Law - - - Antitrust Law
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
    • L40 - Industrial Organization - - Antitrust Issues and Policies - - - General
    • L51 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Economics of Regulation

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