IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/pra/mprapa/37295.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Arm's Length Principle and Tacit Collusion

Author

Listed:
  • Choe, Chongwoo
  • Matsushima, Noriaki

Abstract

The arm's length principle states that the transfer price between two associated enterprises should be the price that would be paid for similar goods in similar circumstances by unrelated parties dealing at arm's length with each other. This paper examines the effect of the arm's length principle on dynamic competition in imperfectly competitive markets. It is shown that the arm's length principle renders tacit collusion more stable. This is true whether firms have exclusive dealings with unrelated parties or compete for the demand from unrelated parties.

Suggested Citation

  • Choe, Chongwoo & Matsushima, Noriaki, 2011. "The Arm's Length Principle and Tacit Collusion," MPRA Paper 37295, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 12 Mar 2012.
  • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:37295
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/37295/2/MPRA_paper_37295.pdf
    File Function: original version
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tim Baldenius & Stefan Reichelstein, 2006. "External and Internal Pricing in Multidivisional Firms," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(1), pages 1-28, March.
    2. Kristian Behrens & Susana Peralt & Pierre M. Picard, 2014. "Transfer Pricing Rules, OECD Guidelines, and Market Distortions," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 16(4), pages 650-680, August.
    3. James W. Friedman, 1971. "A Non-cooperative Equilibrium for Supergames," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 38(1), pages 1-12.
    4. Christian Keuschnigg & Michael P. Devereux, 2009. "The Distorting Arm's Length Principle," University of St. Gallen Department of Economics working paper series 2009 2009-20, Department of Economics, University of St. Gallen.
    5. Lambertini, Luca & Poddar, Sougata & Sasaki, Dan, 1998. "Standardization and the stability of collusion," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 58(3), pages 303-310, March.
    6. Anil Arya & Brian Mittendorf & Dae-Hee Yoon, 2008. "Friction in Related-Party Trade When a Rival Is Also a Customer," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 54(11), pages 1850-1860, November.
    7. Fudenberg, Drew & Tirole, Jean, 1984. "The Fat-Cat Effect, the Puppy-Dog Ploy, and the Lean and Hungry Look," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 74(2), pages 361-366, May.
    8. Charles E. Hyde & Chongwoo Choe, 2005. "Keeping Two Sets of Books: The Relationship Between Tax and Incentive Transfer Prices," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(1), pages 165-186, March.
    9. Gordon, Roger H & Wilson, John Douglas, 1986. "An Examination of Multijurisdictional Corporate Income Taxation under Formula Apportionment," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 54(6), pages 1357-1373, November.
    10. Deneckere, R., 1983. "Duopoly supergames with product differentiation," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 11(1-2), pages 37-42.
    11. Elitzur, Ramy & Mintz, Jack, 1996. "Transfer pricing rules and corporate tax competition," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(3), pages 401-422, June.
    12. Michael Alles & Srikant Datar, 1998. "Strategic Transfer Pricing," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 44(4), pages 451-461, April.
    13. Bernheim, B. Douglas & Peleg, Bezalel & Whinston, Michael D., 1987. "Coalition-Proof Nash Equilibria I. Concepts," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 1-12, June.
    14. Laixun Zhao, 2000. "Decentralization and Transfer Pricing Under Oligopoly," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 67(2), pages 414-426, July.
    15. Anil Arya & Brian Mittendorf, 2008. "Pricing Internal Trade to Get a Leg up on External Rivals," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 17(3), pages 709-731, September.
    16. Holmstrom, Bengt & Tirole, Jean, 1991. "Transfer Pricing and Organizational Form," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 7(2), pages 201-228, Fall.
    17. Abreu, Dilip, 1988. "On the Theory of Infinitely Repeated Games with Discounting," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 56(2), pages 383-396, March.
    18. Mikhael Shor & Hui Chen, 2009. "Decentralization, Transfer Pricing, and Tacit Collusion," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(2), pages 581-604, June.
    19. Goolsbee, Austan & Maydew, Edward L., 2000. "Coveting thy neighbor's manufacturing: the dilemma of state income apportionment," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(1), pages 125-143, January.
    20. Chang, Myong-Hun, 1991. "The effects of product differentiation on collusive pricing," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 453-469, September.
    21. Kant, Chander, 1990. "Multinational firms and government revenues," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(2), pages 135-147, July.
    22. Giovanni Maggi, 1999. "The Role of Multilateral Institutions in International Trade Cooperation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(1), pages 190-214, March.
    23. V. G. Narayanan & Michael Smith, 2000. "Impact of Competition and Taxes on Responsibility Center Organization and Transfer Prices," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(3), pages 497-529, September.
    24. Chongwoo Choe & Charles E. Hyde, 2007. "Multinational Transfer Pricing, Tax Arbitrage and the Arm's Length Principle," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 83(263), pages 398-404, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Kendall, Graham & Lenten, Liam J.A., 2017. "When sports rules go awry," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 257(2), pages 377-394.
    2. Hiroshi Mukunoki & Hirofumi Okoshi, 2021. "Tariff elimination versus tax avoidance: free trade agreements and transfer pricing," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 28(5), pages 1188-1210, October.
    3. Hamamura, Jumpei & Kurita, Kenichi, 2021. "Does stigma against tax avoidance improve social welfare?," MPRA Paper 107173, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Lemus, Ana B. & Moreno, Diego, 2020. "Strategic incentives for keeping one set of books under the Arm’s Length Principle," Mathematical Social Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 78-90.
    5. Hayato Kato & Hirofumi Okoshi, 2022. "Economic Integration And Agglomeration Of Multinational Production With Transfer Pricing," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 63(3), pages 1325-1355, August.
    6. Hayato Kato & Hirofumi Okoshi, 2019. "Production location of multinational firms under transfer pricing: the impact of the arm’s length principle," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 26(4), pages 835-871, August.
    7. MUKUNOKI Hiroshi & OKOSHI Hirofumi, 2022. "Antidumping on Tax-induced Dumping," Discussion papers 22063, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    8. Lemus Torres, Ana Belén, 2011. "Strategic incentives for kepping one set of books under the Arm's Length Principle," UC3M Working papers. Economics we1135, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. Departamento de Economía.
    9. OKOSHI Hirofumi, 2024. "Negotiation for Transfer Prices under the Arm's Length Principle," Discussion papers 24026, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    10. Mai, Nhat Chi, 2020. "The Effects Of The Base Erosion And Profit Shifting (Beps) Action 13 On Transfer Pricing Practices: A Comparative Empirical Study Of New Zealand And Vietnam," OSF Preprints gq27c, Center for Open Science.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chongwoo Choe & Noriaki Matsushima, 2012. "The Arm’s Length Principle and Tacit Collusion," Monash Economics Working Papers 02-12, Monash University, Department of Economics.
    2. repec:otg:wpaper:1403 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Jung, Se-Youn & Huh, Woonghee Tim & Park, Kun Soo, 2022. "Impact of the arm’s length regulation on a supply chain with asymmetric retailers," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 300(3), pages 865-883.
    4. Kenji Matsui, 2012. "Auditing internal transfer prices in multinationals under monopolistic competition," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 19(6), pages 800-818, December.
    5. Martini, Jan Thomas & Niemann, Rainer & Simons, Dirk, 2007. "Transfer pricing or formula apportionment? Tax-induced distortions of multinationals' investment and production decisions," arqus Discussion Papers in Quantitative Tax Research 27, arqus - Arbeitskreis Quantitative Steuerlehre.
    6. Luca Lambertini, 2000. "Technology and Cartel Stability under Vertical Differentiation," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 1(4), pages 421-442, November.
    7. Lambertini, Luca & Poddar, Sougata & Sasaki, Dan, 2002. "Research joint ventures, product differentiation, and price collusion," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 20(6), pages 829-854, June.
    8. Jan Thomas Martini & Rainer Niemann & Dirk Simons, 2007. "Transfer Pricing or Formula Apportionment? Tax-Induced Distortions of Multinationals’ Investment and Production Decisions," CESifo Working Paper Series 2020, CESifo.
    9. Charles E. Hyde, 2001. "Multinationals And The Relationship Between Strategic And Tax Transfer Prices," Department of Economics - Working Papers Series 822, The University of Melbourne.
    10. Clemens Löffler & Thomas Pfeiffer & Ulf Schiller & Joachim Wagner, 2011. "Zentralisierung, Transferpreise und spezifische Investitionen: Ein selektiver Verfahrensvergleich," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 63(63), pages 1-33, January.
    11. Kristian Behrens & Susana Peralt & Pierre M. Picard, 2014. "Transfer Pricing Rules, OECD Guidelines, and Market Distortions," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 16(4), pages 650-680, August.
    12. Haraguchi, Junichi & Matsumura, Toshihiro, 2018. "Government-leading welfare-improving collusion," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 363-370.
    13. Frank Verboben, 1997. "Localized Competition, Multimarket Operation and Collusive Behavior," CIG Working Papers FS IV 97-03, Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin (WZB), Research Unit: Competition and Innovation (CIG).
    14. Raphael Thomadsen & Ki-Eun Rhee, 2007. "Costly Collusion in Differentiated Industries," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 26(5), pages 660-665, 09-10.
    15. Leonardo Madio & Aldo Pignataro, 2022. "Collusion sustainability with a capacity constrained firm," "Marco Fanno" Working Papers 0295, Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche "Marco Fanno".
    16. Lemus, Ana B. & Moreno, Diego, 2020. "Strategic incentives for keeping one set of books under the Arm’s Length Principle," Mathematical Social Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 78-90.
    17. Lambertini, L. & Sasaki, D., 1999. "A Cost-Side Analysis on Collusive Sustainability," Department of Economics - Working Papers Series 710, The University of Melbourne.
    18. Alonso-Pauli, Eduard & Bru, Lluís, 2018. "Strategic delegation in procurement," MPRA Paper 84293, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. Lambertini, Luca & Trombetta, Marco, 2002. "Delegation and firms' ability to collude," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 47(4), pages 359-373, April.
    20. Hackner, Jonas, 1996. "Optimal symmetric punishments in a Bertrand differentiated products duopoly," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 14(5), pages 611-630, July.
    21. Leonardo Madio & Aldo Pignataro, 2022. "Collusion Sustainability with a Capacity Constrained Firm," CESifo Working Paper Series 10170, CESifo.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Transfer price; arm's length principle; tacit collusion; stability of collusion;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting
    • 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, Pricing, and Design - - - Oligopoly and Other Forms of Market Imperfection

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:37295. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Joachim Winter (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/vfmunde.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.