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Legal and illegal cartels in the European cement industry

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  • Fink, Nikolaus
  • Frübing, Stefan

Abstract

Due to being much better documented, legal cartels have recently attracted the interest of many researchers who aim to understand the functioning of illegal cartels in detail. This paper contributes to the question of what we can learn from legal cartels by taking a closer look at the cement industry which has a rich history of both legal and illegal cartels. We undertake a cross-country comparison for Austria, Germany, Poland and Norway, providing narrative evidence for many traits of the cases based on a variety of detailed sources. We identify similarities between legal and illegal cartels in aspects such as monitoring efforts, information exchange, the importance of industry associations and the role of capacities, whereas we also find substantial differences in the allocation of clients, reactions to deviations and pricing schedules.

Suggested Citation

  • Fink, Nikolaus & Frübing, Stefan, 2015. "Legal and illegal cartels in the European cement industry," ZEW Discussion Papers 15-066, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:zewdip:15066
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    3. Jean-Pierre Ponssard & Claude d'Aspremont & David Encaoua, 2000. "Competition policy and game theory: reflection based on the cement industry case," Post-Print hal-00365743, HAL.
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    6. Ari Hyytinen & Frode Steen & Otto Toivanen, 2019. "An Anatomy of Cartel Contracts," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 129(621), pages 2155-2191.
    7. Sylwester Bejger, 2011. "Polish cement industry cartel - preliminary examination of collusion existence," Business and Economic Horizons (BEH), Prague Development Center, vol. 4(1), pages 88-107, January.
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    9. Harrington, Joseph E. & Hüschelrath, Kai & Laitenberger, Ulrich & Smuda, Florian, 2015. "The discontent cartel member and cartel collapse: The case of the German cement cartel," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 106-119.
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    12. Nikolaus Fink & Philipp Schmidt-Dengler & Konrad Stahl & Christine Zulehner, 2017. "Registered cartels in Austria: an overview," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 44(3), pages 385-422, December.
    13. Bejger, Sylwester, 2011. "Polish cement industry cartel- preliminary examination of collusion existence," Business and Economic Horizons (BEH), Prague Development Center (PRADEC), vol. 4(1), pages 1-20, January.
    14. Hans W. Friederiszick & Lars-Hendrik Röller, 2010. "Quantification Of Harm In Damages Actions For Antitrust Infringements: Insights From German Cartel Cases," Journal of Competition Law and Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 6(3), pages 595-618.
    15. Norman,George & Thisse,Jacques-François (ed.), 2000. "Market Structure and Competition Policy," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521783330.
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    17. Norman, G, 1979. "Economies of Scale in the Cement Industry," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(4), pages 317-337, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Simon Roberts & Witness Simbanegavi & Thando Vilakazi, 2023. "Cementing regional integration or building walls? Competition, cartels and regional integration in the cement industry in Africa," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(2), pages 437-452, February.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    cartels; collusion; cement;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L41 - Industrial Organization - - Antitrust Issues and Policies - - - Monopolization; Horizontal Anticompetitive Practices
    • L43 - Industrial Organization - - Antitrust Issues and Policies - - - Legal Monopolies and Regulation or Deregulation
    • L61 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Manufacturing - - - Metals and Metal Products; Cement; Glass; Ceramics

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