Markt und Wettbewerb sind in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland als ordnungspolitische Konzeption nicht konsequent verwirklicht worden. Schon das Gesetz gegen Wettbewerbsbeschränkungen stellte sieben Wirtschaftsbereiche (darunter die Landwirtschaft, den Steinkohlenbergbau, die Eisenschaffende...

An antitrust authority deters collusion using fines and a leniency program. Unlike in most of the earlier literature, our firms have imperfect cumulative evidence of the collusion. That is, cartel conviction is not automatic if one firm reports: reporting makes conviction only more likely, the...

In an oligopoly, prior to competing in the market, firms have an opportunity to form pair-wisecollaborative links with other firms. These pair-wise links involve a commitment of resources andlead to lower costs of production of the collaborating firms. The collection of pair-wise linksdefines a...

This paper develops an economic argument relating auctions to high marketprices. At the core of the argument is the claim that market competition andbidding in an auction should be analyzed as part of one game, where the pricingstrategies in the market subgame depend on the bidding strategies...

An increase in cartel discovery probability due to irregular price movements that result from cartel defection is shown to increase cartel stability as short-run defection profits are less likely to be earned.

Das Bundeskartellamt hat sich im Juni 2011 mit Marktinformationssystemen auf dem Rohmilchmarkt beschäftigt und die Auffassung vertreten, dass auf diesem Markt eine zu hohe Markttransparenz herrsche. Dies reduziere den für einen funktionierenden Markt erforderlichen Geheimwettbewerb. Dem...

Patent holders attempt to mitigate the loss of monopoly power by authorizing generic entry prior to patent expiry (early entry). Off-patent competition may be adversely affected if early entry substantially lowers the attractiveness of subsequent generic entry. This study assesses the impact of...

This paper examines how quality incentives are related to the interoperability of competing platforms. Platforms choose whether to operate standardised or exclusively, prior to quality and subsequent price competition. We find that platforms choose a common standard if they can coordinate their...

Government firms and authorities often sell services in the free market via affiliated consulting firms (CFs). In this study, I analyze whether these agents have an unfair competitive edge compared to private CFs. The theoretical analysis shows that private and state-owned CFs operate under...