A Critique of Partial Leniency for Cartels by the U.S. Department of Justice
58 Pages Posted: 6 Apr 2007 Last revised: 9 Jun 2008
Abstract
This paper models a key outcome of secret negotiations: partial-leniency fine discounts from plea bargaining in criminal price-fixing cases. Models tested explain up to 52% of variation in percentage discounts. A minor portion is explained by such defendants characteristics as the defendants rank in queue and delay in settling. Most variation is explained by cartel characteristics. International conspiracies, global cartels, and bid-rigging schemes are granted lower percentage than domestic price-fixing. Discounts were higher in the Bush II than in the Clinton administration. Participants in durable conspiracies are rewarded with larger discounts, but more severe treatment of recidivists cannot be detected.
Keywords: antitrust, cartel, price fixing, deterrence, penalties, fines, discounts, Department of Justice
JEL Classification: K21, K14, L41, L44, L65, L11, L13, N60
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?
Recommended Papers
-
Cartel Overcharges: Survey and Meta-Analysis
By John M. Connor and Yuliya Bolotova
-
Private International Cartels: Effectiveness, Welfare, and Anticartel Enforcement
-
Global Antitrust Prosecutions of Modern International Cartels
-
Global Antitrust Prosecutions of International Cartels: Focus on Asia
-
Effectiveness of Antitrust Sanctions on Modern International Cartels
-
Global Antitrust Prosecutions of Modern Interantional Cartels
-
By Margaret C. Levenstein, Valerie Y. Suslow, ...
-
How High Do Cartels Raise Prices? Implications for Reform of the Antitrust Sentencing Guidelines
By Robert H. Lande and John M. Connor