The Economics of Tacit Collusion

The Economics of Tacit Collusion (Ivaldi, et al, 2003)

“Tacit collusion” need not involve any “collusion” in the legal sense, and in particular need involve no communication between the parties. It is referred to as tacit collusion only because the outcome (in terms of prices set or quantities produced, for example) may well resemble that of explicit collusion or even of an official cartel. A better term from a legal perspective might be “tacit coordination”.