What is a cartel: types of cartel agreements. Types of associations of organizations

Cartel is a union of entrepreneurs based on a cartel agreement, which establishes mandatory conditions for all participants: volume of production, prices, market share, etc. Cartel participants retain their legal and economic independence and carry out their activities on the basis of a cartel agreement.

Cartel- an association, as a rule, of firms in the same industry that enter into an agreement among themselves concerning various parties commercial activities company - agreement on prices, sales markets, production and sales volumes, assortment, exchange of patents, terms of employment work force etc.

As for the organizational structure, cartels never have a clearly defined dominant link. Agreements are reached as a result of meetings and agreements between management production structures, maintaining their independence. Cartel-type macrostructures exist in all countries of the world. However, due to the development of antimonopoly (anti-cartel) legislation, the cartels that were formed at the beginning of the 20th century no longer remain. Nowadays, the agreement on the formation of a cartel is practically not formalized in writing. Cartel agreements often exist behind the scenes, in the form of secret articles supplementing any official text, or in the oral form of “gentlemen’s agreements”. Firms entering into a cartel agreement retain their legal, financial, production and commercial independence. It's about on the spread of a hidden form of cartels.

• the contractual nature of the association (a conspiracy of a group of producers with the aim of completely or partially eliminating competition between them and obtaining monopoly profits);
• preservation of the ownership rights of cartel participants to their enterprises and the economic, financial and legal independence this ensures;
• merger of a number of companies, usually from the same industry;
• joint activities for the sale of products, which can extend to a certain extent to their production;
• the presence of a system of enforcement, including identification of violations and sanctions against violators.

In accordance with antitrust laws in most countries, cartel agreements, with the exception of certain industries (primarily Agriculture), are prohibited and a permitting procedure for their activities is established if there is special conditions. As a rule, cartels associated with price fixing, market division and restriction of product output are prohibited by law. production capacity, i.e. those concerted measures that are intended to distort or restrict competition.

• cartels that have a small market share (for example, within European Union: if the market share covered by the agreement does not exceed 5% of the production of a certain product and the average annual turnover of the companies participating in the agreement does not exceed 200 million ECU);
• cartels whose activities are based on the development of a new market;
• cartels that benefit the economy of the entire country, such as promoting technological progress;
• "crisis" cartels that reduce, for example, excess production capacity.

In countries Western Europe, where there is special legislation dividing cartels into “desirable” and “harmful”, there are hundreds of officially registered cartel agreements, not counting those that exist without registration. Cartels are illegal in the United States. Their functions are performed by trade and industrial associations (unions of entrepreneurs), which carry out inter-firm regulation of the market on an industry scale.

In world practice, the following types of cartels are distinguished:

1. Money cartel, approving unified prices along with equal conditions deliveries and payments (horizontal price connections).

2. Share cartel:

• quota cartel (product cartel), allocating a quota to each participant for the sale of products in accordance with production capacity. Targeted regulation of supply through quotas allows cartels to control prices in the commodity market;
• a territorial cartel that allocates sales territories to each enterprise and excludes mutual competition.

3. Procurement cartel- monopoly agreement of several enterprises, firms, corporations on the purchase of raw materials and goods certain type, varieties, and so on in the interests of all cartel participants in order to bring down purchase prices.

4. Calculation cartel, the participants of which agree on the same structure and the same content of calculations.

5. Air conditioning cartel, which determines the conditions for the sale of goods.

6. Contingent cartel, establishing appropriate quotas (contingents) for its participants.

7. Crisis cartel, which is created during a persistent decline in demand (crisis cartel of structure) or a temporary reduction in sales (crisis cartel of market conditions) to limit competition. In conditions of decline in production, cartels of this type are able to plan their own actions.

8. Patent cartel, defining the directions for sharing (or non-use) of any technical invention.

9. Production cartel, establishing the volume (quotas) of production for each participant.

10. Regional cartel, defining sales areas.

11. Price cartel, which sets product prices for participants.

More perfect form The cartel includes not only the establishment of uniform prices and joint sales, but also the restriction of production through the assignment of output quotas to individual producers and coordinated regulation (i.e., the elimination of excess production capacity or its expansion).

There are a number of factors that determine efficiency of the cartel. First of all, this is participation in the considered organizational form of integration of the companies of the main manufacturers of these products and their agreement with the cartel’s policies. The refusal to participate in the cartel of some leading producers and the deception practiced by individual cartel members, together with the ability of the buyer to switch to substitute products, can undermine the cartel's control over the price of products.

The cartel model is an extreme case of cooperative oligopoly.

Cartel model- represents an extreme case of cooperative.

Cartel can be defined as formal organization sellers (manufacturers) in order to limit competitive forces in the market. The cartel assumes obvious conspiracy between sellers regarding:

• the principle of pricing;
• division of sales markets;
• production and sales quotas for participants;
• exchange of patents and other information of commercial interest.

Cartels can have both National character (i.e. to unite enterprises of one country), and international character (enterprise combination different countries, so called product associations exporters and producers of raw materials). Among the most well-known cartels of the second type are the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. In the domestic market in many countries, cartels are now illegal and, if formed, operate illegally.

primary goal The formation of a cartel consists in obtaining monopoly profits by its participants through collusion.

Let's consider the essence and consequences of the cartel's activities using a graphical model. Let us introduce several simplifying assumptions.

Two firms compete in the market (situation duopolies), market demand is constant and has the form linear function , firms produce homogeneous products and have same costs(MS1=MS2). Taking these assumptions into account, the cartel model can be presented as in Fig. 7.4.

If firms are in a state of rigidity, then the lowest possible price is equal to the competitive price (Рс) and is determined by the point of intersection of the demand curve D and the curve marginal cost MS. At a price of Rs, duopolists (like perfect competitors) will have zero economic profit in the long run.

If the firms in question form a cartel and limit their output to maximize total profits by volume Qm, then the optimal cartel price (monopoly price) will be Pm. This is the maximum possible price for a given market demand for the proposed volume, which provides the cartel participants with a monopoly profit.

Since the total profit of the enterprises united in the cartel is higher than initially, they are interested in such an agreement. However, after concluding a cartel agreement, any cartel faces internal and external problems.

First group of problems(internal) concerns the coordination of conflicting interests between cartel members (dividing the market, establishing a single price, etc.) and monitoring compliance with the agreement. The second group of problems (external) concerns the problem of competition with manufacturing firms that are not members of the cartel.

Let us consider these problems sequentially. When a cartel is organized, all participating firms bear the costs of concluding a transaction. There are a number of factors that make it difficult to conclude such agreements (they will be discussed below). However, in many markets, the potential profits of a cartel can be so significant that it encourages the conclusion of a cartel.

At the same time, as soon as a cartel agreement is reached and a monopoly price is established, each participant in the agreement is interested in hidden violation of the established rules of the game, because this increases his individual profit. In other words, the main difficulty of a cartel agreement is not in its conclusion, but in its implementation. If all cartel members violate established prices and quotas, this will lead to a decline in market price to a competitive level and, as a consequence, to the collapse of the cartel. The success of the cartel depends on the ability to detect and stop deception. That is why any cartel agreement necessarily provides for a number of measures to detect and prevent fraud between its participants.

• restriction of points of shipment of cartel products;
• working with a small number of large buyers;
• fines (the level of fines should be high enough to prevent fraud, and at the same time, low enough not to scare firms away from the cartel);
• production quota limitation;
• generation of income (which is distributed among all cartel members based on a specially developed formula);
• punishment in kind (when, in response to deception, cartel participants immediately increase their production volumes and reduce prices). This measure is considered effective if only the deception can be quickly detected. Otherwise, the violating company manages to make a significant profit before incurring the costs of punishment.

• external firms producing similar products;
• new products that are substitutes for cartel products.

In real oligopolistic markets, there is a whole complex of factors that prevent and favor the formation of a cartel.

Factors determining the effectiveness of the cartel:

• The effectiveness of those operating in the country.

In conditions where cartels are illegal, firms cannot enter into explicit agreements but are forced to negotiate secretly. This increases the risk of joining the cartel and the likelihood of a certain number of firms not joining the cartel. If cartels are legal and firms can meet openly and discuss mutual problems, the risk is reduced and the number of non-aligned firms is reduced to a minimum.

• Number of sellers and manufacturers of products.

The smaller the number of firms operating on the market, the easier it is for them to reach an agreement. And, conversely, as the number of oligopolists expands, the costs of forming a cartel increase, the likelihood that one or two firms will not join the agreement increases, and this reduces monopoly power the cartel being formed.

• Uniformity of products and comparability of costs.

If firms produce homogeneous products and their costs are identical, it is easier for them to accept an agreement to form a cartel. On the contrary, strong product differentiation and cost differences make it difficult to develop consistent solutions.

• Stability and predictability of demand.

Stability and predictability of demand makes it easier for firms to make cartel decisions. A significant and unpredictable change in demand volumes destabilizes the market situation and complicates negotiations.

• Relationships between cartel participants.

The more friendly and benevolent relations the company managers are in, the easier it is for them to come to an agreement. Conversely, disagreements between market participants make it difficult to reach an agreement (For example, due to political differences, an agreement was not concluded between South Africa and the USSR on the export of gold.)

The difficult economic situation often forces enterprises to merge into monopoly organizations, which can jointly regulate prices on the market and exercise control over the sale of goods.

Today there are many types of such monopolies, but previously the trust, cartel and syndicate were considered the most popular. What kind of associations are these? And how do they differ from each other?

What is a trust?

Origin of the term "trust" associated with English word trust, meaning "to trust, rely" . Such organizations became most widespread in the 19th century and meant a monopolistic association in which the participants did not have legal or commercial independence. After the merger, the companies fell under a single management concentrated in the hands of the main enterprise.

The legal and property interests of the companies in the trust were protected jointly, and the total profits were distributed in accordance with their shares. Trusts were the most common form of organization in the USSR, which ultimately led to over-monopolization and over-centralization of the Soviet economy.

Today there are no trusts in Russia, but their analogues are concerns and.

What is a cartel?

Concept "cartel"- is a derivative of Italian cartello(paper, card) or English cartel(form, written agreement).


Cartels are a monopoly in which each organization remains completely independent. As a rule, their creation is aimed at eliminating competition between firms and, on this basis, obtaining maximum profits.

There are several types of cartels, differing depending on the purpose of their formation. They can be created to control sales conditions, to set their own prices, to divide sales territories, or to establish their own share in certain areas of industry.

In many states, cartels are prohibited by law, but in some, on the contrary, they are used to restructure industrial sectors and reduce competition between small organizations. Nowadays, cartels are most often created in softer forms, such as licensing agreements or patent pools.

What is a syndicate?

Concept "syndicate" goes back to the French word syndicat, which translates as "trade union" .


As a monopolistic organization, syndicates are aimed at eliminating competitors and improving their own conditions trading activities. Participants lose commercial independence, but retain legal and production independence.

Syndicates were common in pre-revolutionary Russia and usually represented an amalgamation of trusts. Today, like cartels, they are prohibited by antitrust laws in most countries, but in some states they still exist.

A striking example of a modern syndicate is the international corporation De Beers, engaged in the mining and processing of diamonds. Currently, it controls only about 40% of the diamond market, although at the beginning of the 20th century it owned 95% of the global diamond industry.

What is the difference between a trust, cartel and syndicate?

The difference between monopolistic organizations lies, first of all, in the purposes of their creation. Cartels and trusts usually united companies that were directly involved in the manufacture of products. Their work was aimed at regulating production volumes in various industries and reducing production costs.


In contrast, syndicates were formed to increase income and were an association of sellers of one product, that is, syndicates operated in one industrial sector and used contractual price regulation in their work.

A cartel is an association of several firms operating in the same industry with the aim of regulating prices, terms of sale, spheres of influence, production volumes, use of patents, hiring of workers, and conditions of sale of goods. It can be classified as one of the simplest monopoly unions. The companies participating in the merger retain their legal, industrial, financial and commercial independence.

Agreement large quantity enterprises of the same industry - this is what, in essence, a cartel is. The definition of this concept was known several centuries ago. IN Western countries Such activity of companies is considered therefore antimonopoly legislation actively fights cartel participants, identifying illegal associations. But in some states such associations flourish and are even encouraged by the government in order to standardize materials, restructure industry and limit competition between small businesses.

In order to distribute profitably, raise prices for products, set a minimum wage level, entrepreneurs create a cartel. This agreement must be signed by as many participants as possible to eliminate possible competitors. Within cartels, large firms dictate their terms to smaller and more vulnerable ones and do not allow parties to the agreement to lower prices for goods.

In countries with market economy such associations exist in a hidden form, because they do not allow the emergence of such activities. There are import, export, domestic and international agreements. The simplest is the internal cartel. This is one industry within the country. International involves the joint activities of firms from different countries engaged in production. Import cartels are importers of foreign goods, and export cartels are associations of national exporting companies.

In order not to fall under the influence of antimonopoly legislation, such monopoly associations began to be called gentleman's agreements, conventions, rings or corners, but the essence remains the same. There are cartels in Russia in almost every industry, and this has a negative impact on pricing. Experts note that if there were no agreements between manufacturers, prices would have dropped by 2-2.5 times.

Most often, monopoly can be traced among oil companies, in the telecommunications market, among manufacturers of medicines, food, coal, etc. The government is doing everything possible to eliminate the cartels, but closing all the loopholes is very difficult and almost impossible. Therefore, the most effective method The fight against unscrupulous entrepreneurs is to encourage competition.

A cartel is a relatively short-lived association, because after some time conflicts begin between the participants and the balance is disrupted. The stability of the agreement depends on the possibility of including or eliminating outsiders and the absence of forces that undermine the cartel from within.

Cartel represents a form of monopoly or commercial agreement. It differs from other monopoly structures in that all enterprises that are part of the cartel are independent in production and financial terms.

Cartels are created in order to influence market factors such as:

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• price formation;
• spheres of influence;
• terms of purchase and sale;
• management and regulation of volumes of manufactured products;
• use of patents;
• hiring workers;

Cartels typically control businesses in one of many industries, making it difficult for the market to function properly. In countries where cartels are prohibited, they are subject to antitrust laws.

However, in some countries the creation of cartels is supported by law and is widely practiced. This is explained by the fact that such monopolistic unions help to restructure industry, abolish or limit competition between enterprises, and influence the standardization of materials and components of finished products.

Signs of a cartel

The cartel is a large group that has its own characteristics:

1. The relationship is based on an agreement between the parties with the aim of eliminating competition between them and obtaining huge profits from the monopoly.
2. The ownership of component enterprises remains with their owners. This ensures financial, legal and economic independence.
3. Allied companies in the cartel are from the same manufacturing industry.
4. General production and sales of products.
5. There is a work enforcement system that determines the detection of violations and the application of sanctions to violators.

In world practice, there are the following types of cartel agreements:

Varieties

Corporations unite into the following types of cartels:

1. Share. There are: product cartel or quota cartel. Allocates a certain quota to cartel participants for the sale of products in accordance with production capacity. By purposefully regulating supply through quotas, cartel owners change prices on the goods market.
2. Monetary. Approves unified prices along with equal terms of delivery and payment.
3. Territorial cartel. Each enterprise is allocated its own territory for marketing its products, which eliminates mutual competition.
4. Purchasing. A monopoly agreement is concluded between corporations, the purpose of which is the wholesale purchase of raw materials and a certain type of goods. As a result, prices for the purchase of large quantities of products fall significantly, which is beneficial for all cartel participants.
5. Calculating. The participants in such a monopoly enter into agreements among themselves on general structure enterprises and work, and also about the same content of calculations.
6. Conditioned. Determines under what conditions the sale of consumer products is carried out.
7. Contingent cartel, he sets contingents (quotas) for everyone who works in the cartel.
8. Crisis. It is formed in cases where demand for products drops sharply (crisis cartel of structure) or there is a temporary reduction in sales of goods (cartel of market conditions). The goal is to limit competition. In the event of a fatal decline in the production of goods, such monopoly organizations develop an independent plan of action.
9. Patent cartel, which defines the branches and directions of general use of any technical invention.
10. Industrial, which sets production quota volumes for monopoly participants.
11. Regional. From the name it is clear that it determines the territory for sales of products on a regional scale.
12. Price. Determines product prices for all cartel participants.

A more “advanced form” of cartels not only allows itself to establish a single price for goods and their general sales, but also has the right to limit the creation of consumer products. This is done by determining quotas for each enterprise and each product separately.

In simple words, this is a forced reduction in the productivity of enterprises that interfere with the monopoly. Or their liquidation.

Prohibitions on creation. In what cases do they not apply?

The ban on the creation of cartels applies not only in countries where they are prohibited and the practice of creating them is criminally punishable and prosecuted by law. Where such forms of monopoly are permitted, there is a set of rules and conditions that must be followed by all cartel participants.

The ban is lifted for:

1. Cartels that occupy relatively a small share on the sales market (for example, if in the European Union the share of the monopoly group does not exceed 5% of the total product sales market and the average annual financial turnover of the corporations that make up the cartel is below two hundred million ECU).
2. Cartels that develop new markets and territories for the production and sale of goods.
3. Cartels that significantly improve state economy and promoting technological progress.
4. Cartels of the “crisis” type, the goal of which is to reduce or destroy the excess capacity of enterprises.

Model

Most best strategy The functioning of cartels is an agreement between competitors to equalize and regulate the cost of products and the volume of goods produced. Thanks to collusion, it is actually possible to increase the influence and power of corporations, as well as to receive economic profits for each enterprise, comparable in size to monopoly profits, when even the market itself is monopoly. In economics this is called a cartel.

Due to the fact that in most countries the practice of creating and operating cartels is criminally punishable, they have either an international status (such as the OPEC cartel) or a secret status (the most popular of these are drug cartels).

One of the main features of such forms of monopoly is their fragility, since over time each cartel participant is tempted to “snatch larger piece pie" in as little working time as possible.

As a result, cartel members break agreements, eliminate competitors within the cartels, an internal war breaks out between allied corporations, and the cartel ceases to exist.

What determines performance?

In practice, there are several factors that determine the effectiveness of a cartel. The most important and fundamental factor is the participation in the considered organizational form of integration of the companies of the main producers of these products and their agreement with the cartel’s policies.

Refusal to participate in the cartel of large corporations leading in the sales market may entail the loss of monopoly control over the market value of the product.

The same result can be achieved when some cartel members are deceived by others for the purpose of profit and “fraud.” This is expressed in providing customers with substitute products for expensive and rare manufactured products.

Some other important factors that directly affect the efficiency of cartels:

1. Availability and extent of antimonopoly legislation in the country. At the same time, cartels and other types of monopolistic structures cannot operate openly and are forced to operate and work secretly. Accordingly, the risk of participation in cartels immediately increases, and also the risk of a fixed number of enterprises, law enforcement agencies, individuals or individuals not joining such a union. legal entities. If cartels operate on legally– the risk is minimized, and the number of people willing to join increases many times over.
2. The number of production capacities of the monopoly, as well as the number of sellers and dealers. It is easier for firms to negotiate with each other if their number is relatively small.
3. Uniformity of manufactured products and comparability of costs. If all firms that want to form an alliance produce the same product at the same costs, it will be much easier to negotiate than with greater differentiation of the products produced.
4. Predictability of demand and its stability.
5. Relations within the cartel. It is easier to reach consensus if your allies are favorable and friendly to you, rather than vice versa. An example is the fact of a failed alliance between the USSR and South Africa for the export of gold, which was caused by political differences between the parties.

The term "cartel" is familiar to many from films about the mafia. It is in cinema that this word is often used to define criminal gangs who are united by the same interests. Meanwhile, there is a very clear definition. What is a cartel and what are its features and history? Let's talk about this.

What is a cartel? Definition

A cartel is a form of association of enterprises special agreement. Participants in an established cartel can determine in an agreement the conditions for the sale of their products, division of the market, conditions for hiring workers, sources of raw materials, and a general pricing policy. Some companies, as part of the agreement, share technologies and expand their spheres of influence in the market. At the same time, their production and financial independence is preserved.

The purpose of creating a cartel is to achieve economic growth and stabilize the market situation by regulating competition between companies participating in the formed cartel. Also, a similar technique is used to suppress external competition and eliminate rivals in the market. So now we understand what a cartel is. The definition of this phenomenon is quite simple, but many different subtleties still occur.

Appearance

The German term "cartel" was common in continental Europe. IN English speaking countries it corresponded to the words “trust” or “pool”. Agreements between market participants slowed it down, so some countries issued laws prohibiting companies from entering into certain agreements with each other.

First, in 1890, the Sherman Antitrust Act appeared in the United States. It defines a trust as an illegal arrangement between companies. However, the term “trust” itself did not take root. In economic and theoretical literature, the definition of “cartel” is most often used. It is also known that such a concept is used in Russia. In 2011, the third antimonopoly package prohibited market participants from concluding agreements on:

1. Prices.
2. Participation in auctions.
3. Creating a shortage.
4. Market section.
5. Boycott buyers.

These bans may be extremely inconvenient for certain companies, but they contribute to the development of the market itself and economic growth.

Types

Now that we know what a cartel is and the definition, we can talk about the types existing forms mergers of enterprises. Almost all countries consider two types of cartels: vertical and horizontal.

The latter represent a conspiracy of firms in the same industry. The purpose of such conspiracies is to create a monopoly in the market and gain more profits by limiting competition. As a rule, this involves fixing prices for certain goods, limiting production volumes, and dividing the market. All these actions on the part of participants negatively affect the market itself, its economic development. This causes the prices of certain goods to rise and may even cause shortages. Due to the unnecessary need to improve the quality and surpass your competitor in the quality of products supplied to the market, development is slowed down, innovation is held back, etc.

If anti-competitive agreements are concluded between companies located at different levels of the process of selling and producing goods, then this type of cartel is called vertical. The consequences of such agreements are also negative for market development as in the first case, but in general they are less dangerous, since initially there is competition between companies different levels too weak. However, such agreements also fall under the definition of a “cartel”, and all market participants know that such agreements are unacceptable.

What is a cartel in history?

History provides excellent examples of why anti-competitive agreements should not be tolerated. In the period from 1931 to 1946. there was a monopoly association that controlled a huge part of tin production in different countries.

In 1931, an interesting attempt was made between private traders of the Tin Cartel to create a stir and increase prices. The essence of the method is simple: artificially create a shortage of goods on the market, which is quite easy to do if you have control over production. This method was invented back in the 16th century by German merchants. At the same time, market participants not only reduced production, but also bought a huge amount of tin, which sharply caused a jump in prices and a shortage of this product. A year later, all stocks were sold at incredible prices, and sellers received super profits.

What a cartel is in the history of Russia is also well known to citizens. You may recall the recent rush with salt and buckwheat, when prices for these products soared. However, it is unknown whether these were attempts to implement the “tin scenario” or whether there really was a shortage of these products.

Drug conspiracy in Russia

In 2016, there was information in the media that the FAS Russia (antimonopoly service) had identified the activities of a cartel that supplied medicines. The parties to the agreement used all means to prevent the reduction of prices for drugs and equipment, helping each other to keep prices high.

And although they took part in tenders for the supply of medicines and medical equipment to healthcare institutions, in fact, there was no competition. They only created the appearance of it, and ultimately government contracts were awarded to the bidder at the initial cost.

At the same time, one of the largest cartels in Russia was identified, whose participants supplied clothing to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the FSB, and customs authorities.

Unfortunately, in Russia they know well from history what a cartel is. This concept is defined in Federal law No. 401-FZ dated December 6, 2011.

Syndicate

One of the toughest forms of cartel is a syndicate. In this form, the products of all market participants are sold through just one sales center, which belongs to the syndicate. That is, all manufacturers are obliged to supply goods to the syndicate, and it then sells it through its center. This makes it possible to control the market completely, which eliminates the formation of competition in it. At the same time, independent sale of products by individual cartel members is not allowed. For control, the most different ways, sometimes they don’t even hesitate to check at the manufacturer’s gate.

Finally

Now you understand what a cartel is in history. Brief Definition This phenomenon was given a very long time ago, and although today there are special antimonopoly services, collusion between companies in different industries does occur. This must be combated, because it is in the interests of the state to create a free market with healthy competition, which contributes to the economic growth of the country as a whole and stimulates the emergence of new manufacturing companies and attracting investment.