The Impact of cartels on national economy and competitiveness: a Lithuanian case study
LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Prekybos teisė; Ekonomika; Valdymas; Commercial law Economics; Economics; Management science.
ENMany countries of the world recognise the pivotal role of competition in promoting productivity and innovation—the driving forces of economic growth and national competitiveness. Companies are encouraged to implement innovations and increase productivity, collaborate with scientific research institutions, and invest in scientific research and technological development in order to enhance competition in the market and make the competition policy efficient. That means that the competition policy, which protects, appreciates, and strengthens competition, promotes the country’s economic growth and directly contributes to its increased competitiveness. Besides, identification of competition as a value and establishment of the principle of fair competition on the strategic as well as operational level play an important role in the implementation of the Europe 2020 strategy and the progress strategies of Member States. [...] This monograph expresses the attempt of the authors not only to lessen, by methodological tools, the harm caused by cartels to the national economy and competitiveness but also to foster the culture of competition in the country and help the general public and economic subjects recognise competition as a value. Therefore, this monograph, reflecting the ambitious goals of the authors, together with the raising of awareness of the results of the assessment of cartel impact on the economy can be regarded as one of the means for preventing cartels.The insights, observations, and discussions of the authors and the results of the assessment of cartel impact on the country’s economy are reflected in ten chapters of the monograph. Chapter 1 contains an extensive introduction of the concept of cartels: presents the concept and a diversity of cartels and different attitudes to cartels in the theories of economic thought, defines the main features of cartels, analyses statistics in the European Union and in Lithuania, and identifies the basic features of cartels in Lithuania. Chapter 2 extensively discusses the peculiarities of cartel formation and operation in the market: identifies the reasons for cartel formation and the main principles, defines the structure of a cartel, analyses a cartel operation mechanism in the economic system of the market, covers the problem of cartel emergence in producer associations, and analyses cartel stability. Chapter 3 contains an in-depth analysis of cartel market features: identifies the relationship between business cycles and cartels, defines the main factors indicating higher risks of market exposure to cartelisation as compared to other markets, identifies economic factors evidencing cartel existence, identifies and describes cartel markets in Lithuania, and surveys the possibilities of cartel detection by economic methods. Chapter 4 comprehensively introduces legal regulation of cartels: identifies the reasons for and aims of regulation, reviews and compares regulation in the European Union and in Lithuania, analyses the cartel detection mechanism and preventive measures, identifies the main problems concerning the enforcement of competition policy in respect of cartels in Lithuania, and presents methods used in foreign countries to deal with them.Chapter 5 reveals the impact of cartels on the national economy and competitiveness: analyses the relationship between cartels and deadweight loss and thoroughly analyses cartel’s negative and positive impacts on the economy and competitiveness nationally and internationally. Chapter 6 makes an in-depth analysis of the economic efficiency of fines imposed on cartels: examines the impact of antitrust policy on cartels, presents an overview of the theoretical concept of optimal fines, and describes the compensatory, deterrent, and punitive character of fines. Chapter 7 thoroughly introduces the main methodological aspects of assessment of the impact of cartels on the national economy: identifies the main parties affected by cartels, reviews the possibilities of quantitative assessment of the impact of cartels, singles out the phases of harm assessment, presents an overview of the assessment of damage made by cartels, identifies practical difficulties in the impact assessment, and suggests how to increase its precision. Chapter 8 composes a model for an integrated assessment of a cartel’s impact on the national economy consisting of the models of cartel components (CartEc) and assessment stages (CartSt). Chapter 9 contains an empirical study on the model for an integrated assessment of a cartel’s impact on the economy on the example of three different cartels of Lithuania—Paper, Orthopaedic, and Milk— and identifies the main problems encountered during the empirical study. Chapter 10 contains recommended measures to neutralise the adverse impact of cartels on the national economy. Conclusions are submitted at the end of the monograph. [From the preface]
- Konkurenciniai pažeidimai: kartelių atvejai Lietuvoje ir Europos Sąjungoje / Sima Šarlauskaitė, Danielė Makulavičiūtė, Gabrielė Balkutė. Tiltas į ateitį. 2016, Nr. 1 (10), p. 307-311.
- Personal liability of managers of undertakings for infringements of competition law in the Republic of Lithuania: the sanctions regime from the perspective of the principle of legal certainty / by Raimundas Moisejevas, Justina Nasutavičienė and Andrius Puksas. Yearbook of Antitrust and Regulatory Studies 2022, 15, 25, p. 87-107.
