The Free Rider Rationale and Vertical Restraints Analysis Reconsidered

My assignment is to discuss some of the recent economic research on vertical restraints and, in particular, to examine what economists have been saying about the free rider rationale for vertical restraints. I will focus my remarks on those vertical restraints that are generally referred to as intrabrand restraints, where the immediate purpose and effect of the restraint is to insulate the dealer or distributor of a particular brand from intrabrand competition, at least to some degree. prominent examples include exclusive territories, location and customer clauses, and resale price maintenance