Multimarket Contact in Vertically Related Markets

We analyze collusion in two comparable market structures. In the first market structure only one firm is vertically integrated; there is one more independent firm in the upstream industry and another independent firm in the downstream industry. In the second market structure, there are only two vertically integrated firms that can trade among themselves in the intermediate good market. The second market structure mimics markets like the California gasoline market where firms vertically integrated through refinery, and retail markets. We rank these two market structures in terms of ease of collusion and show that while under some circumstances collusion is not possible in the market with one vertically integrated firm, collusion is possible in the market structure with two vertically integrated firms. We conclude that vertical (multimarket) contact facilitates collusion and vertical mergers suspected to lead to subsequent vertical mergers in an industry should receive higher antitrust scrutiny relative to single isolated vertical mergers.Multimarket; collusion; vertical integration; gasoline markets

Social determinants of intra-regional dispersion of FDI in India

The foreign direct investment (FDI) strategy has imbued India’s once stagnant industrial sector with capital and job opportunity. However, as India’s GDP grows ever larger, there is a concern that the growth within the country is not evenly distributed and may in fact exacerbate current economic disparities. This paper seeks to look at potential avenues poorer states can take to attract FDI if they choose to as a method to stay competitive within the country. Our hypothesis is that measures such as power rating (as a proxy for infrastructure), literacy, and minimum wage would be highly significant related to inward FDI

Social determinants of intra-regional dispersion of FDI in India

The foreign direct investment (FDI) strategy has imbued India’s once stagnant industrial sector with capital and job opportunity. However, as India’s GDP grows ever larger, there is a concern that the growth within the country is not evenly distributed and may in fact exacerbate current economic disparities. This paper seeks to look at potential avenues poorer states can take to attract FDI if they choose to as a method to stay competitive within the country. Our hypothesis is that measures such as power rating (as a proxy for infrastructure), literacy, and minimum wage would be highly significant related to inward FDI

Incentives in product design

textEconomic

An econometric study of illegal electricity connections in the urban favelas of Belo Horizonte, Brazil

The data from the project "Conviver," launched in 2006 in Belo Horizonte (Brazil), provides a unique opportunity to study illegal electricity connections. Based on an original dataset of 15,279 low-income households, this paper studies the incidence and determinants of illegality in the context of low-income urban favelas. The probability of engaging in illegal behavior is explained not just by low income, but by a combination of concurring factors: sub-standard energy provision and equipment; inefficient/incorrect use of domestic electric appliances and running an informal in-house business. These recurrent issues in the urban favelas aggravate a sense of exclusion from growth, which is generally recognized as a trigger of illegality. The impact of energy demand on energy-related illegality is carefully analyzed, and different empirical strategies adopted to circumvent some simultaneity problem between both decision processes. The effectiveness of consumption-based energy subsidies is also explored. In spite of some contrary arguments in the literature, in the context of peri-urban slums, such measures may exert a positive impact in mitigating illegal access and use of energy. Effectiveness will be enhanced by accompanying measures such as: perceivable improvements of equipment, metering and maintenance, promotion of beneficiaries' awareness of energy usage, and energy-saving behaviors.Slum electrification Energy consumption subsidies Illegal electricity connections