Dissecting cartels From discovery to damages

By looking at the three different phases of cartel enforcement: the pre-discovery phase, the investigation phase and the damages phase, this book addresses both public and private cartel enforcement, and the interaction between these.
It addresses the following topics during each of the stages. During the pre-discovery phase, it is relevant to know what characterizes cartels and its members who apply for leniency, both before and after the competition authority has started its investigation. This is done by analysing Dutch cartels on a number of key characteristics.
Second, in this phase it is relevant how aspects of public and private cartel enforcement influence whether firms apply for leniency. This is done by means of a conjoint analysis based on a survey among Dutch firms and Dutch competition lawyers. This has also implications for the next phase, the investigation phase.
The third article addresses how to deal with public interests such as sustainability under art. 101(3) TFEU. How can these be weighted and how does the economics perspective relate to the EC guidelines on this topic?
During the damages phase, cartelists may face damages claims. However, consumer damages are less common, in part because of the issues of how to properly compensate consumers. By means of different calculation methods, a theoretical upper and lower limit for compensation for consumers is designed.
The prosecuted cartel member may also experience other form of damages, for instance a negative career effect of managers of cartel companies. This is analysed based on a dataset of Dutch firms.