Der Einzelhandel in der Bandbreite seiner heutigen Erscheinungsformen hat auf der Angebotsseite sowie auf der Nachfrageseite in den zurückliegenden Jahrzehnten einen gravierenden Wandel vollzogen. Dabei ist eine generalisierende Beurteilung sehr schwierig, liegen doch zwischen SB-Warenhäusern,...

We construct a model to show that outsourcing of a crucial input can occur even though it can be produced in-house at a lower cost. There are two firms producing differentiated goods and competing in prices, and only one of them possesses input production technology which is superior to that of...

Japan showed strong economic recovery from the crisis. Executive Directors welcomed the development and stressed the need for a strong monetary framework, well-designed fiscal consolidation, and structural reforms. Directors agreed that the Bank of Japan’s monetary framework is well...

This paper describes the main theoretical concepts of the competition, which is thought to be the fundamental social process in the economy. The protection of competition (or the competition policy) is the one of the most important parts of economic policy, because the competition ensures the...

In competition law, the problem of the optimal design of institutional and procedural rules concerns assessment processes of the pro- and anticompetitiveness of business behaviors. This is well recognized in the discussion about the relative merits of different assessment principles such as the...

Leniency clauses, offering cartelists legal immunity if they blow the whistle on each other, is a recent anti-trust innovation. The authorities wish to thwart cartels and promote competition. This effect is not evident, however; whistle-blowing may enforce trust and collusion by providing a tool...

Leniency clauses, offering cartelists legal immunity if they blow the whistle on each other, is a recent anti-trust innovation. The authorities wish to thwart cartels and promote competition. This effect is not evident, however; whistle-blowing may enforce trust and collusion by providing a tool...

The classical price competition model (named after Bertrand), prescribes that in equilibrium prices are equal to marginal costs. Moreover, prices do not depend on the number of competitors. Since this outcome is not in line with real-life observations, it is known as the "Bertrand Paradox". Many...