We analyze how the size of a cartel affects the possibility to sustain a collusive agreement. We develop a multi-period oligopoly model with homogeneous, quantity-setting firms, a subset of which are assumed to collude, while the remaining (fringe) firms choose their output levels noncooperatively. We show that, in our model, collusion is easier to sustain the larger the cartel is. The implications of this result on the incentives of firms to participate in a cartel are analyzed. We obtain that a firm is only willing to collude when otherwise collusion cannot be sustained.
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Volume (Year): 32 (2008) Issue (Month): 3 (September) Pages: 325-338 Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML
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Find related papers by JEL classification: L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets L41 - Industrial Organization - - Antitrust Issues and Policies - - - Monopolization; Horizontal Anticompetitive Practices D43 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure and Pricing - - - Oligopoly and Other Forms of Market Imperfection
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