Antitrust economic analysis in food marketing channels: a global perspective |
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Authors: | Ronald W Cotterill |
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Institution: | Food Marketing Policy Center, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269‐4021, USA. |
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Abstract: | Antitrust enforcement concerning monopolies, mergers, and cartels is converging across all market‐oriented economies in the world. This convergence is based upon neoclassical economic analysis of industrial organization. The role of empirical economic analysis, however, has not converged as rapidly as the conceptual model because different countries have different enforcement institutions and strategies. This article explains how antitrust enforcement has evolved over time from public agencies to a market for enforcement that admits private parties. Private party law suits, and especially class action law suits on behalf of groups such as farmers and consumers, is a mechanism for redressing the often superior legal and economic resources that defendant corporations have and public agencies do not have. Enforcement and the role of empirical analysis are compared in the United States and other countries. Examples of enforcement from different countries illustrate the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches. Finally, some insights explain how economists function in enforcement and the attributes required for success. |
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Keywords: | D40 K21 K42 L40 L41 Antitrust Enforcement Food marketing channels Empirical analysis |
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