Economic Collusion

By Prof. Joe Harrington, Department of Economics, Johns Hopkins University

 

Course description

This course examined the coordination by firms of their prices and quantities for the purpose of raising profit. Collusion encompasses both hard-core price-fixing cartels and tacit collusion.

 

The emphasis of the course were on developing theories of collusion towards understanding its implications for firm behavior. These theories are examined in light of actual collusive practices with the goal of constructing better theories and better policies. The lectures are organized according to the three primary tasks faced by a cartel: sustaining a collusive outcome, selecting a collusive outcome, and eluding detection.

 

Text Book

Literature used in the course comprised Massimo Motta, Competition Policy: Theory and Practice, Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press, 2004.