On endogenous cartel size under tacit collusion

We analyze how the size of a cartel affects the possibility to sustain a collusive agreement. We develop a multi-period oligopoly model with homogeneous, quantity-setting firms, a subset of which are assumed to collude, while the remaining (fringe) firms choose their output levels noncooperatively....

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autor: Marc Escrihuela-Villar
Tipo de documento: artigo
Estado:Versão publicada
Data de publicação:2008
País:México
Recursos:Universidad de Guanajuato
Repositório:Redalyc-UG
OAI Identifier:oai:redalyc.org:17332303
Acesso em linha:https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=17332303
Access Level:Acceso aberto
Palavra-chave:Economía y Finanzas
Collusion
partial cartels
trigger strategies
optimal punishment
Descrição
Resumo:We analyze how the size of a cartel affects the possibility to sustain a collusive agreement. We develop a multi-period oligopoly model with homogeneous, quantity-setting firms, a subset of which are assumed to collude, while the remaining (fringe) firms choose their output levels noncooperatively. We show that, in our model, collusion is easier to sustain the larger the cartel is. The implications of this result on the incentives of firms to participate in a cartel are analyzed. We obtain that a firm is only willing to collude when otherwise collusion cannot be sustained.