Partial Price-Fixing and Semi-Collusion

Many cartels do not directly fix the price of products. Instead, the participants may agree on a starting price for negotiations or the price of a component of the overall price. Antitrust investigations reveal that cartel agreements are also often very imperfectly implemented. Antitrust law in the United States and the European Union has typically taken a robust approach to these practices even where economic analysis might be unable to show that such practices always or almost always harm consumer welfare. The decision of the New Zealand Supreme Court in Lodge Real Estate Ltd. v. Commerce Commission offers a New Zealand perspective on the concept of a price-fixing agreement and imperfect collusion. The Court, this article argues, reached the correct decision in Lodge. The decision, however, evidences a pragmatic judgment, rather than the confident deployment of economic learning or foreign case law within the statutory framework of the Commerce Act 1986. The language of sections 30 and 30A of the Act was borrowed from an Australian statute, which in turn had attempted to capture the state of United States price-fixing law in the 1970s. A more formalistic and pre-Chicago approach to antitrust is evident in the language, much of which was inspired by United States v. Socony-Vacuum Oil Co. The case also highlights some of the distinctive features of the competition law in New Zealand. The reluctance to develop to guide in the application of the general provisions of the Commerce Act and requiring a demonstration of an effect on price on the facts may mark a departure from the body of pricing case law in the United States and the European Union and risks undermining the per se prohibition of cartel conduct in the Commerce Act. Without the same depth and breadth of cartel case law, the adoption of a more flexible approach to anticompetitive agreements evident in some decisions in the United States and the European Union could have different effects in a smaller jurisdiction.

Going, going, gone: competitive decision-making in Dutch auctions

In a Dutch auction, an item is offered for sale at a set maximum price. The price is then gradually lowered over a fixed interval of time until a bid is made, securing the item for the bidder at the current price. Bidders must trade-off between certainty and price: bid early to secure the item and you pay a premium; bid later at a lower price but risk losing to another bidder. These properties of Dutch auctions provide new opportunities to study competitive decision-making in a group setting. We developed a novel computerised Dutch auction platform and conducted a set of experiments manipulating volatility (fixed vs varied number of items for sale) and price reduction interval rate (step-rate). Triplets of participants ($$N=66$$ N = 66 ) competed with hypothetical funds against each other. We report null effects of step-rate and volatility on bidding behaviour. We developed a novel adaptation of prospect theory to account for group bidding behaviour by balancing certainty and subjective expected utility. We show the model is sensitive to variation in auction starting price and can predict the associated changes in group bid prices that were observed in our data.

Digitization of sale of the confiscated customs goods in customs service of the Republic of Serbia

The confiscated customs goods and the goods that were taken out for the benefit of the state are sold by the customs offices in accordance with the Customs Law and the Decree on customs clearance of goods. The manner of sale of customs goods by the customs offices has not changed for decades and is done exclusively through public sale, that is, at public bid-dings held in customs offices throughout the Republic of Serbia. Sale of customs goods through auction, i.e. public sales in the customs offices are confronted with certain problems including the following: the lack of training of customs officers to conduct bids, inexperience of customs officers in the way of bid management, the negotiation of the bidders regarding the bidding of goods in order to avoid buying at the first bids and wait for the purchase of goods through a direct contract, where the starting price is significantly lower; the existence of organized groups that by their participation in bids do not allow other participants to take part in public bidding. The problems identified in the public sale of customs goods have resulted in a lower payment of funds into the budget due to the purchase of goods and vehicles at significantly lower price. The sale of the confiscated goods and vehicles that would be organized via the Internet is one of the possibilities that can significantly reduce problems when selling customs goods and vehicles in the era of digitization, Internet development t and electronic data processing. Selling goods via the Internet can contribute to faster and more efficient sale of customs goods and vehicles, generating higher revenues from the sale of the confiscated goods, allowing more bidders to participate in bids, the persons participating in bids are known only to customs authorities, but not to other participants.. At the same time, the sale of goods via the Internet would contribute to the modernization of the customs service as a whole.

Wawelski czarny krucyfiks. Krzyż królowej Jadwigi, Leona Wyczółkowskiego i św. Jana Pawła II

A unique Gothic crucifix has been worshiped in the Wawel Royal Cathedral throughout centuries. The sculpture created in Bohemia or Hungary around 1380 was brought by Jadwiga of Poland (13741399) from Hungary to Poland, most likely in 1384. At the feet of Christ Crucified the monarch prayed for the gift of wisdom to rule the kingdom. The crucifix was placed in an altar in the Wawel Royal Cathedral and it has inspired a great devotion to the Crucified. After premature death of Jadwiga in 1399 the altar became a place of veneration of the monarch, which ever since has been lasting unceasingly. Due to the fact that prayers of the faithful through intercession of the queen at the crucifix were blessed by wonders it acquired great significance and started being called ‘miraculous’. Cardinal Karol Wojtyła, carrying out the function of the Metropolitan of Kraków, evoked the memory of Jadwiga in a particular way, encouraged her veneration and intensifi d efforts towards her canonization. He regarded the Crucifix of Jadwiga as ‘a place of the powerful testimony’. As pope John Paul II he canonized the queen during the Eucharist celebrated in Błonia Park in Krakow on the 8th of June 1997. The crucifix became a symbol of Polish history, spiritual heritage and deep faith of the Polish nation, what has been proved by the strong presence of this motif in fi arts. In the time of partitions of Poland Leon Wyczółkowski (1852-1936), an outstanding Polish artist and a teacher depicted it many times using a range of artistic techniques. A lively interest in a pastel ‘Crucifi of Jadwiga of Poland’ by Wyczółkowski auctioned in Kraków in 2019, which price went from 35 000 PLN (starting price) to 54 000 PLN (hammer price) after emotional bidding reveals how profound is its signifi to the Polish nation nowadays.

Model of formation of the price of the state construction contract in the conditions of innovative development of economy

Analysis and probation of the optimization model when determining the starting price of the construction contract in the current conditions of economic development. During the research, methods of economic theory, economic statistics and mathematical and statistical tools have been used. The methodical bases of the formation of the initial maximum contract price by dividing it into basic and manageable (controlled) components are considered. The division of the controlled factors into qualitative and quantitative indicators is proposed. The list of the basic expenses by division on the base and conditionally operated components at calculation of the starting price, which essentially differs from the technique of calculation of the estimated cost of the building order, is generated. A methodology for the formation of the contract price for the introduction of innovative investment and construction projects in the system of state procurement has been developed. Based on the research, it follows that, through the controlled factors, it is possible to influence the initial maximum contract price, in particular, by changing qualitative coefficients. As a part of the initial maximum contract price, there are basic and conditionally manageable components that change the contract price without adversely affecting other factors in the implementation of the state construction order. The integral qualitative indicator is a conditional coefficient, which depends on a certain set of qualitative components of the controlled factors, i.e. corresponds to the available set of significant indicators. It is enough to change the value of one of the qualitative indicators, and it will lead to a change in the initial maximum contract price through the integral indicator.

Pricing in the modern world: the role of price-related and non-price related cues

Purpose – This editorial aims to discuss how the modern world is causing pricing practices of both retailers and consumers to evolve. The contributions of seven papers included in this special issue have been highlighted. Design/methodology/approach – The purpose is to explore how different cues impact consumer reactions to prices. Findings – These cues include both cues regarding the price itself (e.g. the level of the discount, how the price is broken into component parts, the starting price in an auction), as well as non-price-related cues (e.g. private labels, brand familiarly, consumer ratings, creativity of an ad). In addition, this special issue includes a review article which provides a comprehensive review of behavioral pricing research. Originality/value – The contributions of seven papers included in this special issue have been highlighted.

ANALISIS PENANGANAN PENERIMAAN TANDAN BUAH SEGAR PADA PT. BIO NUSANTARA TEKNOLOGI DI KECAMATAN PONDOK KELAPA KABUPATEN BENGKULU TENGAH

This paper aimed to determine the handling system receiving TBS in PT.Bio Nusantara Teknologi to three supplier of partners supplier, plasma supplier and general supplier and how opportunities for improvement that can be done. This study used decriptive analysis and F test to examined wether there is discrimination in handling treatment and price of TBS among suppliers. The results showed that there are several steps that must be passed TBS suppliers to sell it to the POM: 1) taking a queue number, 2) The calling queue number, 3) Weighing, and 4) Sorting and loading and unloading. There was no difference in the treatment of the company against a third supplier, but the difference is the quality of fruit that would affect the price. The price difference was tested using the Tukey’s test or BNJ. From the results of the research sequence starting price of the highest rates of plasma suppliers, partners supplier and then general supplier. Keywords: Handling system, TBS price, suppliers