Autore: Boehnlein, Barbara
Titolo: The soda-ash market in Europe: collusive and competitive equilibria with and without foreign entry
Periodico: European University Institute of Badia Fiesolana (Fi). Department of Economics - Working papers
Anno: 1994 - Fascicolo: 42 - Pagina iniziale: 1 - Pagina finale: 27

In a recent decision of the Commission of the European Community (EC), the two main producers of soda-ash in Europe, ICI and Solvay, were accused of having engaged in a concerted practice from the early 1970s until the time of the Commission’s decision. This article argues that the degree of information provided by the Commission leaves room to alternatively interpret the firms’ behavior as competitive. Indeed, it is shown that the Commission did not have all information necessary to determine whether the firms collude or compete in the soda-ash market. In applying the indistinguishability theorem, I stress the difficulty to draw correct inferences on firm behavior when some relevant information is lacking. I found that the degree of information provided by the Commission in its final report is not sufficient to determine whether the two firms played a collusive or a competitive game.




Testo completo: http://hdl.handle.net/1814/521

Esportazione dati in Refworks (solo per utenti abilitati)