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This dissertation consists of three essays in empirical industrial organization. In the first essay, I develop a method of estimating the bargaining power allocation between upstream manufacturers and downstream retailers using limited data. Retailers and manufacturers engage in pairwise Nash bargaining sessions to set wholesale prices, and then retailers set retail prices to maximize their profits. By solving the model using backward induction, I compute marginal costs as functions of bargaining power parameters and choose the parameter that produces marginal costs that best fit the variation of input costs to identify the bargaining power allocation. Using retail market-level data in the yogurt industry, I find that retailers have higher bargaining power and charge higher markups than manufacturers. Additionally, higher retailer bargaining power allows them to negotiate lower wholesale prices, which leads to lower retail prices. Consumers and retailers benefit from higher retailer bargaining power, while manufacturers suffer losses. In the second essay, I simulate vertical mergers using the results in the first essay. Vertical mergers promote efficiency by eliminating double marginalization and lowering upstream rival wholesale prices, but harm welfare by increasing downstream rival costs and introducing upward pricing pressure on retail prices. To compare the relative magnitude of various effects and evaluate their overall impact on the market equilibrium profit and welfare, I simulate vertical mergers between firms of various sizes and compute the change in prices, markups, firm profits, and consumer welfare. The overall consumer welfare increases after a merger, but consumers purchasing nonvertically integrated brands are worse off. In the third essay, I study how consumers learn the healthfulness of ready-to-eat cereals from the introduction of front-of-package nutrition labels and how they make purchase decisions accordingly. I first examine consumers’ purchasing decisions in a static setting and then allow consumers to gradually learn from the FOP labels. In each shopping trip, consumers update their information on the healthfulness of cereals based on FOP labels, and they consider the perceived information when they make purchasing decisions. I find that consumers learn slowly after the introduction of FOP labels, and they prefer cereals with high healthfulness.

O Direito Antitruste experimenta hoje uma verdadeira era dourada na qual a cooperação internacional entre os órgãos de defesa da concorrência e a aplicação de suas leis alcançaram níveis jamais vistos. Como efeito colateral do fenômeno globalização, o qual marcou as últimas décadas pela expansão da economia de mercado, veio a internacionalização dos acordos entre concorrentes com vistas a limitar a concorrência. Os chamados cartéis, antes nacionais, passam a ter a dimensão dessa nova dinâmica da economia, a mundial. E os danos ao mercado, antes limitados a um território, passam a poder atingir dezenas de jurisdições. A partir desse introito, o objetivo dessa dissertação é oferecer ao leitor um quadro compreensivo da evolução da atuação das autoridades antitruste brasileiras na cooperação internacional de combate aos cartéis transnacionais, em termos normativos e na utilização na prática, considerando, sobretudo, o contexto do recente recrudescimento do instrumental persecutório das autoridades brasileiras de defesa da concorrência no combate às práticas anticompetitivas. Por meio de uma análise comparativa entre os acordos internacionais de cooperação mais sofisticados e os instrumentos cooperacionais existentes no Brasil à luz da sua florescente experiência, a dissertação procura identificar os elementos necessários para o aprofundamento da técnica cooperativa brasileira de combate aos cartéis transnacionais. Ou seja, intenta trazer elementos para a reflexão dos mecanismos cooperativos brasileiros para um combate mais efetivo à mais danosa infração à livre concorrência. Para tal análise comparativa, o centenário direito antitruste estadunidense é paradigma de direito estrangeiro, em especial porque alia a longa experiência jurídica nessa matéria a mecanismos bastante inovadores em relação ao sistema jurídico nacional. O presente trabalho tem também por escopo tratar dos principais temas que permeiam a discussão da cooperação internacional entre as agências de defesa da concorrência, passando pelo estudo dos conceitos de cooperação jurídica internacional; princípios do direito internacional público que regem a competência internacional dos Estados, incluindo a delimitação do escopo da cooperação em sede da aplicação extraterritorial do direito antitruste, noções de direito concorrencial, os instrumentos e mecanismos de cooperação internacional existentes, as melhores práticas, entre outros. Os desdobramentos das questões analisadas nesta reflexão se expressam em problemas jurídicos tanto de caráter geral quanto de ordem específica. De forma geral, impõe-se uma avaliação recapitulativa e analítica da natureza jurídica dos acordos de cooperação assinados pelo Brasil, de suas características e de sua utilização. Também se pretende avaliar o tratamento normativo dado aos cartéis e à questão da incidência extraterritorial da legislação antitruste brasileira e da legislação comparada, bem como do entendimento da jurisprudência (especialmente do CADE) sobre os principais temas que permeiam a pesquisa. No âmbito dos objetivos específicos, é necessário responder às seguintes perguntas: como a cooperação entre as agências de defesa da concorrência pode efetivamente auxiliar na aplicação de suas leis?; quais os limites e obstáculos dessa cooperação?; quais os tipos de cooperação disponíveis e quais deles fariam sentido para o Brasil na persecução de cartéis internacionais?; como o Brasil pode aperfeiçoar seu modelo jurídico-institucional de cooperação? / The Antitrust Law faces today a true golden age in which international cooperation among antitrust authorities and its enforcement have reached levels never seen before. As a side effect of the \"globalization\", the phenomenon that marked the past few decades by the world expansion of the economy, it came along the internationalization of agreements among competitors to restrain competition. Prior to that, the so-called cartels had then a national dimension, but along with the globalization, they now operate at a worldwide scale in this new dynamic of the world economy. And, the damages to the market, which was before limited to a single territory, now, reach dozens of jurisdictions. With that preamble into consideration, the goal of the present dissertation is offering the reader a comprehensive picture of the evolution of the Brazilian antitrust authorities on international cooperation in the fight of transnational cartels, both, in normative terms and in practice. That picture is especially important in light of the context of the recently enhanced Brazilian authorities instrumental competition in combating anti-competitive practices. Through a comparative assessment between the more sophisticated cooperation international agreements and the Brazilian cooperational instruments, the dissertation attempts to identify the essentials for the improvement of the Brazilian cooperative techniques in combating transnational cartels. That is, it brings elements to the reflection of the Brazilian cooperative mechanisms for a more effective combat of such damaging infringement to free competition. For the elaboration of said comparative assessment, the centennial USA antitrust law is the foreign law paradigm chosen, in particular because it combines the long legal experience in the matter and fairly innovative mechanisms in relation to the Brazilian legal system. The present work also deals with the most relevant themes that permeate the discussion of international cooperation among antitrust agencies, such as, the study of concepts of international legal cooperation; the public international law principles which govern the international jurisdiction of the States, including the extraterritorial application of antitrust law, relevant notions of competition law, international instruments and existing mechanisms for cooperation, best practices, among others. The unfolding of these relevant matters which are examined in the herewith reflection are expressed in legal problems of both general and specific orders. Generally, the work presents a summary and an analytical assessment of the legal nature of the cooperation agreements signed by Brazil, its characteristics, and its use. The work also aims at evaluating the regulatory treatment given to cartels and at addressing the question of the extraterritorial application of the Brazilian antitrust legislation and of comparative law, as well as at understanding the national case law (especially of CADE) on the main matters. With the specific objectives in mind, the present work deems necessary to respond to the following questions: How cooperation among the antitrust agencies can effectively enforce competition laws? What are the limits and obstacles of this cooperation? What types of cooperation are available and which ones make sense for Brazil in the prosecution of international cartels? How can Brazil enhance its legal and institutional model of cooperation?

When the European Commission ultimately blocked the merger between American giant General Electrics and Honeywell in July 2001, this decision triggered a firestorm of criticism. Not only had the Commission just stopped a purely American transaction for the first time since the enactment of European Merger Regulation, but it also contradicted its American Counterpart, the US Department of Justice: The Americans had cleared the deal several months earlier. / In spite of constant cooperative efforts during the investigation, the two antitrust agencies could not reach a common position. When scholars and officials tried to find reasons for the divergence between the American and European decisions, they often criticized the Commission's general approach of focusing on competitors rather than on consumers. They further claimed that the Commission had used dubious economic models to block the merger. / This thesis tries to reinstate the reputation of the European Commission as a professional antitrust institution. The criticisms often left the impression that the Task Force of the Directorate-General for Competition of the European Commission constituted a politically-orientated, rather than economic and legally-orientated, organ. It will be shown that this is actually not the case. / After having analyzed the Commission's decision in detail, and revealing both the strengths and weaknesses of its findings, the thesis will demonstrate that most of the criticisms have to be rejected, and that the Commission had a legal and economic basis in blocking the GE-Honeywell merger.

Written for the Institute of Air and Space Law. Title from title page of PDF (viewed 2010/04/14). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1975. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 497-516).

This thesis examines the effectiveness of the competition regime in Hong Kong (HK), which is one of the few remaining developed economies to yet implement a competition law. In its search for the optimal dynamics of the regime, the thesis offers a tripartite examination on its objectives, institutions and scope of application, and how these three distinct internal dimensions individually and jointly influence the effectiveness of the regime. Furthermore, a critical review is offered on two significant external factors, land hegemony and the political regime, both of which exert a strong force on the competition regime. This interdisciplinary research project encompasses legal, political, economic, and market-contextualized analysis. Given that HK has a new competition regime, and is an international financial, communication, and transportation centre, it is appropriate and apposite to evaluate it by international standards. The thesis begins with an examination of three internal dimensions. As a preliminary, it considers the extent to which HK benefits from a free economy with a sound competitive environment. It then moves on to investigate the first dimension, which is that of the objectives of the competition law in terms of its clarity, prioritization and consistency. Following this, the thesis investigates the second dimension, the institutions of the Competition Commission and the Competition Tribunal, by asking how the structure shapes the substance of enforcement. It explores the limitations and virtues of major institutional models and which model is the most appropriate for HK. In its third dimension, the thesis questions the adequacy of the scope of competition law, with a focus on the near blanket exclusion of public entities. Commentary is offered on how to achieve a level playing field between private and public sectors. Following the evaluation of the three internal dimensions, the thesis focuses on their correlations. The discussion reviews the challenges and puts forward a wide range of measures to manage them. Finally, the thesis explores the significance of two external powers, land hegemony and political regime, and suggests several long-term solutions which the author believes would lead to the steady optimization of the competition regime.

O Direito Antitruste experimenta hoje uma verdadeira era dourada na qual a cooperação internacional entre os órgãos de defesa da concorrência e a aplicação de suas leis alcançaram níveis jamais vistos. Como efeito colateral do fenômeno globalização, o qual marcou as últimas décadas pela expansão da economia de mercado, veio a internacionalização dos acordos entre concorrentes com vistas a limitar a concorrência. Os chamados cartéis, antes nacionais, passam a ter a dimensão dessa nova dinâmica da economia, a mundial. E os danos ao mercado, antes limitados a um território, passam a poder atingir dezenas de jurisdições. A partir desse introito, o objetivo dessa dissertação é oferecer ao leitor um quadro compreensivo da evolução da atuação das autoridades antitruste brasileiras na cooperação internacional de combate aos cartéis transnacionais, em termos normativos e na utilização na prática, considerando, sobretudo, o contexto do recente recrudescimento do instrumental persecutório das autoridades brasileiras de defesa da concorrência no combate às práticas anticompetitivas. Por meio de uma análise comparativa entre os acordos internacionais de cooperação mais sofisticados e os instrumentos cooperacionais existentes no Brasil à luz da sua florescente experiência, a dissertação procura identificar os elementos necessários para o aprofundamento da técnica cooperativa brasileira de combate aos cartéis transnacionais. Ou seja, intenta trazer elementos para a reflexão dos mecanismos cooperativos brasileiros para um combate mais efetivo à mais danosa infração à livre concorrência. Para tal análise comparativa, o centenário direito antitruste estadunidense é paradigma de direito estrangeiro, em especial porque alia a longa experiência jurídica nessa matéria a mecanismos bastante inovadores em relação ao sistema jurídico nacional. O presente trabalho tem também por escopo tratar dos principais temas que permeiam a discussão da cooperação internacional entre as agências de defesa da concorrência, passando pelo estudo dos conceitos de cooperação jurídica internacional; princípios do direito internacional público que regem a competência internacional dos Estados, incluindo a delimitação do escopo da cooperação em sede da aplicação extraterritorial do direito antitruste, noções de direito concorrencial, os instrumentos e mecanismos de cooperação internacional existentes, as melhores práticas, entre outros. Os desdobramentos das questões analisadas nesta reflexão se expressam em problemas jurídicos tanto de caráter geral quanto de ordem específica. De forma geral, impõe-se uma avaliação recapitulativa e analítica da natureza jurídica dos acordos de cooperação assinados pelo Brasil, de suas características e de sua utilização. Também se pretende avaliar o tratamento normativo dado aos cartéis e à questão da incidência extraterritorial da legislação antitruste brasileira e da legislação comparada, bem como do entendimento da jurisprudência (especialmente do CADE) sobre os principais temas que permeiam a pesquisa. No âmbito dos objetivos específicos, é necessário responder às seguintes perguntas: como a cooperação entre as agências de defesa da concorrência pode efetivamente auxiliar na aplicação de suas leis?; quais os limites e obstáculos dessa cooperação?; quais os tipos de cooperação disponíveis e quais deles fariam sentido para o Brasil na persecução de cartéis internacionais?; como o Brasil pode aperfeiçoar seu modelo jurídico-institucional de cooperação? / The Antitrust Law faces today a true golden age in which international cooperation among antitrust authorities and its enforcement have reached levels never seen before. As a side effect of the \"globalization\", the phenomenon that marked the past few decades by the world expansion of the economy, it came along the internationalization of agreements among competitors to restrain competition. Prior to that, the so-called cartels had then a national dimension, but along with the globalization, they now operate at a worldwide scale in this new dynamic of the world economy. And, the damages to the market, which was before limited to a single territory, now, reach dozens of jurisdictions. With that preamble into consideration, the goal of the present dissertation is offering the reader a comprehensive picture of the evolution of the Brazilian antitrust authorities on international cooperation in the fight of transnational cartels, both, in normative terms and in practice. That picture is especially important in light of the context of the recently enhanced Brazilian authorities instrumental competition in combating anti-competitive practices. Through a comparative assessment between the more sophisticated cooperation international agreements and the Brazilian cooperational instruments, the dissertation attempts to identify the essentials for the improvement of the Brazilian cooperative techniques in combating transnational cartels. That is, it brings elements to the reflection of the Brazilian cooperative mechanisms for a more effective combat of such damaging infringement to free competition. For the elaboration of said comparative assessment, the centennial USA antitrust law is the foreign law paradigm chosen, in particular because it combines the long legal experience in the matter and fairly innovative mechanisms in relation to the Brazilian legal system. The present work also deals with the most relevant themes that permeate the discussion of international cooperation among antitrust agencies, such as, the study of concepts of international legal cooperation; the public international law principles which govern the international jurisdiction of the States, including the extraterritorial application of antitrust law, relevant notions of competition law, international instruments and existing mechanisms for cooperation, best practices, among others. The unfolding of these relevant matters which are examined in the herewith reflection are expressed in legal problems of both general and specific orders. Generally, the work presents a summary and an analytical assessment of the legal nature of the cooperation agreements signed by Brazil, its characteristics, and its use. The work also aims at evaluating the regulatory treatment given to cartels and at addressing the question of the extraterritorial application of the Brazilian antitrust legislation and of comparative law, as well as at understanding the national case law (especially of CADE) on the main matters. With the specific objectives in mind, the present work deems necessary to respond to the following questions: How cooperation among the antitrust agencies can effectively enforce competition laws? What are the limits and obstacles of this cooperation? What types of cooperation are available and which ones make sense for Brazil in the prosecution of international cartels? How can Brazil enhance its legal and institutional model of cooperation?

The general problem to be dealt with in this thesis is that of determining whether the antitrust laws of the state of Texas fulfill their aim of maintaining competition through the prosecution of conspiracies in restraint of trade. The specific problem is the determination of the effect of the antitrust laws on the dairy industry in Texas.