Cartelization, Antitrust and Globalization in the US and Europe

Cartelization, Antitrust and Globalization in the US and Europe PDF

Author: Mark S. LeClair

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2012-07-26

Total Pages: 197

ISBN-13: 1136940774

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The uncovering of a great number of cartels in the industrialised world has left an unfortunate, yet significant, mark on global economic developments in recent years. Globalization has forced firms into more direct competition; the result has been global price-fixing. This situation has greatly challenged antitrust authorities. Taking a broad yet detailed approach, this work sets a practical explanation of the history of cartels and antitrust law in a sound theoretical framework, as well as providing suggestions as to how potential reforms of antitrust laws could improve the situation going forward. The book includes a comprehensive analysis of the motivations behind and perceived necessity for organisations to enter into cartels, and the success or otherwise of legislatures’ attempts to both uncover and prevent such cartels from taking place. A total of 24 price-fixing conspiracies uncovered in the US and Europe are examined as part of the analysis to demonstrate the globalization of collusion.

Competition Law and Economics

Competition Law and Economics PDF

Author: Abel Moreira Mateus

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Published: 2010-01-01

Total Pages: 457

ISBN-13: 1849807035

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Mateus and Moreira present a formidable review of pressing issues in competition law and economics. Top officials, judges and experts from Europe and North America offer their insights into analytical issues, practical problems for companies, enforcers and complainants and on the state of trans-Atlantic divergence and convergence. The discussion on national champions and state aid is prescient. Throughout, the analysis is acute, cutting edge, and deep. Officials, counsel and scholars will draw from this fabulous book for years to come. Philip Marsden, British Institute of International and Comparative Law, London, UK Competition policy is at a crossroads on both sides of the Atlantic. In this insightful book, judges, enforcers and academics in law and economics look at the consensus built so far and clarify controversies surrounding the issue. There is broad consensus on the fight against cartels, with some countries criminalizing this type of agreement. However there is also wide debate on the questions of monopolization and abuse of dominant position, vividly highlighted by the recent Microsoft case. Furthermore, there are today diverging views on the interplay of business strategies and the control of market power on both a national and international scale. The book discusses the perennial issue in Europe of the conflicts between competition and industrial policies, once again bringing the theme of national champions to the fore. The contributing authors provide opinion on the efforts which have been made towards modernization in both the USA and the EU. Featuring new contributions by leading scholars and practitioners in antitrust, this book will be a great resource for antitrust enforcers, competition lawyers and practitioners and competition economists, as well as scholars and graduate students in antitrust and competition law.

The Internationalisation of Antitrust Policy

The Internationalisation of Antitrust Policy PDF

Author: Maher M. Dabbah

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2003-10-30

Total Pages: 350

ISBN-13: 1139438506

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The internationalisation of antitrust policy is a topic of great contemporary significance and debate. Dr Dabbah provides an inquiry that is at once clearly stated, original and empirical, setting out the relevant issues in the context of law, economics and politics. He draws on the decisional practice of antitrust authorities, actions and statements of political bodies, as well as the decisions of law courts. Providing a detailed examination of the experiences of the European Community and the United States, Dr Dabbah includes a comprehensive examination of central concepts and ideas related to antitrust law and practice. The book concludes by looking forward to potential developments in the landscape and suggests an approach to the internationalisation of antitrust policy. This will be of interest to antitrust officials, as well as international organisations, members of the business community, academics, researchers and policy-makers who are involved in antitrust law and policy.

Regulating Cartels in Europe

Regulating Cartels in Europe PDF

Author: Christopher Harding

Publisher:

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 439

ISBN-13: 0199551480

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One of the most contentious and high-profile aspects of EU competition law and policy has been the regulation of those serious competition or antitrust violations now often referred to as 'hard core cartels'. Such cartel activity typically involves large and powerful corporate producers and traders operating across Europe and beyond, and comprise practices such as price fixing, bid rigging, market sharing, and limiting production in order to ensure 'market stability' and maintain and increase profits. There is little disagreement now, in terms of competition theory and policy at both international and national levels, regarding the damaging effect of such trading practices on public and consumer interests, and such cartels have been subject to increasing condemnation in the legal process of regulating and protecting competition. Regulating Cartels in Europe provides critical evaluation of the way in which European-level regulation has evolved to deal with the activities of such anti-competitive business cartels. They trace the historical development of cartel regulation in Europe, comparing the more pragmatic and empirical approached favored in Europe with the more dogmatic and uncompromising American policy on cartels. In particular, the work considers critically the move towards the use of fully fledged criminal proceedings in this area of legal control, examining evolving aspects of enforcement policy such as the use of leniency programs and the deployment of a range of criminal law and other sanctions. This new edition of the work covers emerging themes and arguments in the discipline, including the judicial review of decisions against cartels, the criminological and legal basis of the criminalization of cartel conduct, and the range and effectiveness of sanctions used in response to cartel activity.

International Competition Policy

International Competition Policy PDF

Author: Michael A. Utton

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 168

ISBN-13:

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The book begins by setting out the principles of competition and trade policies, and then goes on to address the impact of market globalisation on what are usually thought of as traditional antitrust concerns. These include the analysis of the difficulties arising from collusion and other restrictive practices, government sponsored 'voluntary co-operation', vertical restrictions and market access, pricing strategies of dominant firms and international mergers, all illustrated with a number of prominent case studies. The author concludes with an illuminating discussion on the feasibility of international co-operation on competition policy, the faltering progress that has been made so far and the prospects for future advances.

Fighting Cross-Border Cartels

Fighting Cross-Border Cartels PDF

Author: Pierre Horna

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2020-03-19

Total Pages: 441

ISBN-13: 1509933697

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This book is the first detailed treatment of the approaches taken to enforce competition laws against cross-border cartels (CBCs) from the perspective of young and small competition authorities (more than 70% of the total number of authorities worldwide). No other legal or inter-disciplinary scholarship exists in the market that deals with the issue of a taxonomy of CBCs combined with young/small competition authorities' problems. The book looks at the extent of the harms caused by CBCs and issues associated with tackling them at a transnational level. It explains why past solutions to problems with cooperation have failed and proposes novel ideas on how to improve cooperation and coordination in certain types of CBC investigations (transnational and regional CBCs). The proposals are based on primary-source information and observations made by the author as part of his work in the UN, and interviews with leading enforcers from young, small, old and large jurisdictions. Young/small competition authorities, competition lawyers and economists, scholars and students within the fields of competition law and international law, and those interested in international cooperation and coordination in the area of cartel enforcement in emerging markets will greatly benefit from this book. It is clearly structured and extensively referenced, providing a valuable guide to the topic.

Hard Core Cartels Recent progress and challenges ahead

Hard Core Cartels Recent progress and challenges ahead PDF

Author: OECD

Publisher: OECD Publishing

Published: 2003-05-27

Total Pages: 64

ISBN-13: 926410125X

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This book reviews progress in the fight against hard core cartels. It quantifies the harm caused by cartels and identifies improved methods of investigation. It also examines progress in strengthening sanctions against businesses and individuals.

Parental Liability in EU Competition Law

Parental Liability in EU Competition Law PDF

Author: Peter Whelan

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2023-08-25

Total Pages: 625

ISBN-13: 0198844832

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In enforcing EU competition law, the Commission employs a unique doctrine of parental antitrust liability: it imposes fines on the parent company of an infringing subsidiary in cases where the parent exercises decisive influence over the subsidiary's commercial policy. Critics of this contentious aspect of EU competition law believe that the doctrine is unfair, ineffective, obscure, disproportionate, contrary to due process, and based upon a dubious, if not extremely flimsy, justificatory foundation. Such criticism raises serious and unanswered questions about the legitimacy of the Commission's efforts to enforce competition law. Parental Liability in EU Competition Law: A Legitimacy-Focused Approach is the first monograph to be dedicated to this controversial topic. Written by Professor Peter Whelan, the book contends that, although the general concept of parental liability can be justified in principle, the current EU-level doctrine of parental antitrust liability in fact suffers from a distinct and problematic lack of legitimacy. More specifically, the said doctrine displays significant deficiencies with respect to effectiveness, fairness, and legality. Given this undesirable state of affairs, Parental Liability in EU Competition Law offers a fully-rationalised, reformulated approach to parental antitrust liability for EU competition law violations that is built around the notion of parental fault. That approach provides a solid normative account of how to impose parental antitrust liability in a manner that is theoretically robust, effective in practice, fair in substance, and legally sound.

The International Aluminium Cartel

The International Aluminium Cartel PDF

Author: Marco Bertilorenzi

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-09-16

Total Pages: 390

ISBN-13: 1317804848

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Aluminium was one of most cartelised industries in the international economic panorama of the 20th century. Born following the discovery of electrolytic smelting process in 1886, this industry, even in its infancy, established a cartel which characterised its history until nearly 1980. Managers of the aluminium industry from various historical eras and countries shared the same vision about the development of their industry: to keep prices as stable as possible in order to encourage expansions and to provide return on investments. Price instability, which characterised the trade of other commodities, was unknown to the aluminium industry. This book neither argues that cartels are fundamentally evil, nor attempts to demonstrate that cartels are optimal business organisations. It instead provides an in-depth and frank analysis of the internal working of industrial organisations and of the interplay between cartels and political powers and institutions. The International Aluminium Cartel offers explanations for the construction and collapse of cartels, descriptions of their operations, and an historical interpretation of their experiences. Incorporating information gleaned from a unique collection of private and public archives from several countries, this unique study will appeal to a wide variety of readers, including academics interested in industrial and business history.