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Systematic bailout guarantees and tacit coordination

Author

Listed:
  • Bertsch, Christoph

    (Research Department, Central Bank of Sweden)

  • Calcagno, Claudio

    (Department of Economics, European University Institute)

  • Le Quement, Mark

    (Department of Economics, University of Bonn)

Abstract

Both the academic literature and the policy debate on systematic bailout guarantees and Government subsidies have ignored an important effect: in industries where firms may go out of business due to idiosyncratic shocks, Governments may increase the likelihood of (tacit) coordination if they set up schemes that rescue failing firms. In a repeated-game setting, we show that a systematic bailout regime increases the expected profits from coordination and simultaneously raises the probability that competitors will remain in business and will thus be able to ’punish’ firms that deviate from coordinated behaviour. These effects make tacit coordination easier to sustain and have a detrimental impact on welfare. While the key insight holds across any industry, we study this question with an application to the banking sector, in light of the recent financial crisis and the extensive use of bailout schemes.

Suggested Citation

  • Bertsch, Christoph & Calcagno, Claudio & Le Quement, Mark, 2014. "Systematic bailout guarantees and tacit coordination," Working Paper Series 289, Sveriges Riksbank (Central Bank of Sweden).
  • Handle: RePEc:hhs:rbnkwp:0289
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Koert Buiren & Daan in ‘t Veld & Janneke Voort, 2019. "State Aid and Competition: Application of a Social Welfare Criterion to State Aid," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 389-411, September.
    2. European Commission, Directorate-General for Competition (Brussels) (ed.), 2016. "Ex-post evaluation of the impact of restructuring aid decisions on the viability of aided (non-financial) firms: Final report," ZEW Expertises, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research, number 130514, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    competition policy; systematic bailout guarantees; collusion; banking; State aid 2;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D43 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Oligopoly and Other Forms of Market Imperfection
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • K21 - Law and Economics - - Regulation and Business Law - - - Antitrust Law
    • L41 - Industrial Organization - - Antitrust Issues and Policies - - - Monopolization; Horizontal Anticompetitive Practices

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