Green cartels

The article shows that when consumers value sustainable products and firms choose investments in sustainability before choosing output or prices, coordination of output choices or prices boosts investments in sustainability. This type of coordination only enhances consumer surplus, however, when products are close substitutes and the marginal cost of investment in sustainability is relatively low. The policy that inspired this research, which is to allow collusion on product quality investments in order to induce higher levels of sustainable production, leads to lower sustainability instead, even than under competition.

The full article can be read online at the link below.

About the Antitrust Writing Awards

The aim of the Antitrust Writing Awards is to promote competition scholarship and to contribute to competition advocacy. The articles are selected by a Jury and by readers and assessed using an international peer-reviewed evaluation process.