In this Paper we investigate the impact of vertical mergers on upstream firms’ ability to sustain collusion. We show in … a number of models that the net effect of vertical integration is to facilitate collusion. Several effects arise. When … upstream offers are secret, vertical mergers facilitate collusion through the operation of an outlets effect: cheating …

firms to collude. We analyse the scope for collusion with and without resale price maintenance (RPM) when retailers observe … collusion and it reduces total welfare whenever firms choose to adopt it. …

the sustainability of collusion when prices are assumed to be discrete rather than continuous. The sign of these effects …

show that any vertical merger facilitates upstream collusion, no matter how large (in terms of capacity or size of product … collusion than a similar merger with a smaller buyer. This formalizes the idea expressed in the U.S. and EU non …

collusion game. Consistent with the existing literature on communication and collusion, even minimal communication leads to a … short run increase in collusion. However, in a limited message-space treatment where subjects cannot communicate contingent … strategies, this initial burst of collusion rapidly collapses. When unlimited pre-game communication is allowed via a chat window …