International Cartel Stats: A Look at the Last 26 Years

Abstract

This article provides extracts and an interpretive discussion of the data in the private international cartels (PIC) data set. PIC is a large sample of legal-economic information on private international “hardcore” cartels. It summarizes selected cartel statistics from the July 2016 edition of PIC, i.e., cartels prosecuted over the past 26 years. In particular, I present aggregate statistics on numbers, affected sales, damages, corporate penalties, and individual fines and incarceration. Broad geographic differences are highlighted.

Keywords: Cartel, Price Fixing, Collusion, Penalties, Injuries, Antitrust

JEL Classification: K21, L13, L41, L44