Economics of Public Issues (19th Edition)
Economics of Public Issues (19th Edition)
19th Edition
ISBN: 9780134018973
Author: Roger LeRoy Miller, Daniel K. Benjamin, Douglass C. North
Publisher: PEARSON
Question
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Chapter 17, Problem 1DQ
To determine

The reason due to which cartels are unstable.

Expert Solution & Answer
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Explanation of Solution

The reasons for the instability of cartels are as follows:

  • The members of cartels must have a major share in the market so that other producers do not suppress the decision taken by the cartels by expanding its production.
  • The good that is a substitute of another good provided by the cartel must be of low quality and there must be a few numbers of substitutes available in the market.
  • There must be solidarity among the members so that cheaters could be identified and punished.
  • There must be very few external factors that can make the cartel unstable.
  • However, the cartel members have a reason to deviate, in order to earn more profit. Cartel members cheat and decrease the price of goods to sell more quantity of outputs. Hence, the cartel needs a great deal of mutual cooperation to be stable.
Economics Concept Introduction

Concept introduction:

Cartel:

A cartel is a group formed by mutual cooperation. In an oligopoly market, many firms collaborate mutually to have control over market prices and supply of a good. OPEC is one of the known cartels in the oil production sector.

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