In a Bertrand-oligopoly experiment, firms choose whether or not to engage in cartel-like communication and, if so, they … may get fined by a cartel authority. We find that four-firm industries form cartels more often than duopolies because they …

on firms' price setting behavior in a 2x2 factorial design experiment with and without communication and under present … which correlate with market outcomes and communication's effectiveness. The results have implications for antitrust policy …

to form cartels in Cournot markets. As in previous experiments, markets become very competitive when individualized … information is available and participants cannot communicate. In contrast, when communication is possible, results reverse …: Markets become less competitive and cartels become more stable when individualized information is available. We also observe …

The article seeks to fill the gap between tacit and explicit collusion in a setting where firms observe only their own … output levels and a common price, which includes a stochastic component. Without communication, firms fail to discriminate … between random shocks and marginal deviations, which constrains the scope for collusion. By eliminating uncertainty about what …