In Which Industries is Collusion More Likely? Evidence from the UK

I examine the factors facilitating or hindering collusion using a comprehensive data set on the incidence of price-fixing across UK manufacturing industries in the 1950s. The econometric results suggest that collusion is more likely the higher the degree of capital intensity and less likely in advertising-intensive than in low-advertising industries. There is also some evidence of a non-monotonic relationship between market growth and the likelihood of collusion. There is no clear link between concentration and the incidence of collusion.