This paper sheds new light on the role of communication for cartel formation. Using machine learning to evaluate free … cartel formation and indirect attempts to collude tacitly. We document that firms are less likely to communicate explicitly … sanctions on communication reinforces the direct cartel-deterring effect of sanctions as collusion is more difficult to reach …

innocuous communication and communication about a cartel, sanctioning only the latter. To this aim, we introduce a participant …

Antitrust enforcement makes it difficult to test theories of cartel formation because most attempts to form cartels are …

on average significantly lower in cartel years than in non-cartel years. …