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Is OPEC a Cartel? Evidence from Cointegration and Causality Tests

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  • Salih Gurcan Gulen

    (Boston College)

Abstract

The energy shocks of the 1970's had significant effects on the global economy. Were they engineered by an effective cartel of OPEC members acting to share the market by controlling output and influencing market prices? If OPEC was an effective cartel sharing the market among its members, there would be a long-run relationship between each member's individual production and total OPEC output. One would also expect OPEC's production to significantly affect the market price of oil as the organization is often accused of curbing production in order to raise prices. These implications of cartel behavior are tested via cointegration and causality tests. The likely effects of regime changes are dealt with using techniques developed by Perron (1989). There is evidence of output coordination among some members of the organization, especially in the output rationing era (1982-93). This is also the only period in which the causality from OPEC production to the price of oil is statistically significant. Overall, the evidence suggests that OPEC did act as a cartel in the 1980's in order to maintain prices, while it simply took advantage of market conditions in the 1970's and did not have to restrain output.

Suggested Citation

  • Salih Gurcan Gulen, 1996. "Is OPEC a Cartel? Evidence from Cointegration and Causality Tests," Boston College Working Papers in Economics 318., Boston College Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:boc:bocoec:318
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Ji, Qiang & Guo, Jian-Feng, 2015. "Oil price volatility and oil-related events: An Internet concern study perspective," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 256-264.
    2. Melanie Parravano & Luis Enrique Pedauga, 2008. "Oil market dynamics: A Markow chain analysis," Economía, Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales (IIES). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales. Universidad de Los Andes. Mérida, Venezuela, vol. 33(25), pages 87-115, january-j.
    3. Reynolds, Douglas B. & Pippenger, Michael K., 2010. "OPEC and Venezuelan oil production: Evidence against a cartel hypothesis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(10), pages 6045-6055, October.
    4. Berg, Elin & Kverndokk, Snorre & Rosendahl, Knut Einar, 1998. "Gains from cartelisation in the oil market," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(9), pages 725-727, August.
    5. Bandyopadhyay, Kaushik Ranjan, 2009. "Does OPEC act as a Residual Producer?," MPRA Paper 25841, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2010.
    6. Deb, Rahul & Fenske, James, 2009. "A Nonparametric Test of Strategic Behavior in the Cournot Model," MPRA Paper 16560, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Rolf Golombek & Alfonso A. Irarrazabal & Lin Ma, 2013. "OPEC's Market Power: An Empirical Dominant Firm Model for the Oil Market," CESifo Working Paper Series 4512, CESifo Group Munich.
    8. repec:eee:eneeco:v:66:y:2017:i:c:p:238-246 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Yang, Zili, 2008. "How Does ANWR Exploration Affect OPEC Behavior --A Simulation Study of an Open-loop Cournot-Nash Game," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 321-332, March.
    10. Dibooglu, Sel & AlGudhea, Salim N., 2007. "All time cheaters versus cheaters in distress: An examination of cheating and oil prices in OPEC," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 292-310, September.
    11. Kaufmann, Robert K. & Bradford, Andrew & Belanger, Laura H. & Mclaughlin, John P. & Miki, Yosuke, 2008. "Determinants of OPEC production: Implications for OPEC behavior," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 333-351, March.
    12. Celso Brunetti, Bahattin Buyuksahin, Michel A. Robe, and Kirsten R. Soneson, 2013. "OPEC "Fair Price" Pronouncements and the Market Price of Crude Oil," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 4).
    13. Colgan, Jeff D., 2014. "The Emperor Has No Clothes: The Limits of OPEC in the Global Oil Market," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 68(03), pages 599-632, June.
    14. repec:eee:enepol:v:108:y:2017:i:c:p:512-523 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Kamiar Mohaddes, 2013. "Econometric modelling of world oil supplies: terminal price and the time to depletion," OPEC Energy Review, Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, vol. 37(2), pages 162-193, June.
    16. Reynolds, Douglas B., 1999. "Modeling OPEC behavior: theories of risk aversion for oil producer decisions," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 27(15), pages 901-912, December.
    17. Loutia, Amine & Mellios, Constantin & Andriosopoulos, Kostas, 2016. "Do OPEC announcements influence oil prices?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 262-272.
    18. Kisswani, Khalid M., 2016. "Does OPEC act as a cartel? Empirical investigation of coordination behavior," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 171-180.
    19. repec:cam:camdae:1307 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Cologni, Alessandro & Manera, Matteo, 2014. "On the economic determinants of oil production," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 68-79.
    21. Lin, Boqiang & Omoju, Oluwasola E. & Okonkwo, Jennifer U., 2015. "Will disruptions in OPEC oil supply have permanent impact on the global oil market?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 1312-1321.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    OPEC; oil prices; cointegration; causality tests;

    JEL classification:

    • E65 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Studies of Particular Policy Episodes
    • E30 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - General (includes Measurement and Data)
    • F42 - International Economics - - Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance - - - International Policy Coordination and Transmission

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