In 2015, the OECD Global Forum on Competition held a full-day discussion on serial offenders and why some industries seem prone to endemic collusion, with a focus on the following sectors: chemicals; construction services, including public tenders; cement and concrete; and food products.
Economic theory has developed well-established guidelines on the factors that are considered conducive to collusion and could therefore help explain endemic collusion. These factors include market concentration, high entry barriers, a high ratio of fixed costs to variable costs, market transparency and frequent interaction among competitors that facilitate information sharing. Repeated collusion by the same companies could also have other explanations, such as the interplay between firm-specific factors and sector-specific factors. For instance there could be hysteresis effects: once cartels do form (perhaps because of sectoral characteristics), collusion becomes more accepted in the sector, so that cartels become more likely to form again, even after antitrust action.
The session covered the (structural) characteristics of the four sectors and the reasons why (and if) serial collusion appears in these industries.
The session provided an opportunity to share experiences and discuss implications in terms of enforcement tools and priorities for competition authorities.
This page contains all related documentation.
