Monopoly Control Research Articles

Уніфікація показників для контролю за різними формами монопольної влади

The paper demonstrates the necessity and possibility to unify the controlling indicators for different types of monopoly (monopolistic competition, oligopoly, natural monopoly) in order to increase efficiency of the monopoly control. Especially this concerns the complex types of monopoly from the point of view of its control, for example, oligopoly. The complexity of this type of monopoly control is associated with the actual inevitability of the appearance of tacit pricing coordination among the oligopoly participants. And the problem is not so much in admitting that the very fact of such a coordination is difficult to prove as in defining the harm it causes to the market and the entire economy. This paper shows the possibility to use the quantitative indexes of monopoly control proposed based on author’s CMI-model of macroeconomic dynamics, to apply these indexes for various types of monopoly. A distinctive feature of this model is the possibility to calculate the vector of “natural” prices for any sector (i.e., the prices that correspond to the state of perfect competition even if it is impossible to reach this state in the existing markets). And the comparison of the actual market price with the “natural” one allows us to control a monopoly using the price indexes alone. In turn, it allows us to perform a monopoly control at various hierarchical levels of the economic system (a firm, an economic sector and economy as a whole). Such a control enables us to calculate the degrees of the monopoly impact both on the entire economy, and on its various sectors. Quantitative values of these degrees can be used as evidence in antitrust litigations and for choice of corresponding instruments to “punish” the monopoly for such abuses. The paper reveals the mechanism of use of the proposed formulas for determination of the monopolistic power and degree of its impact on economy and various economic sectors for the cases of oligopoly and natural monopoly. Also, this paper demonstrates the mechanism of the influence of antimonopoly policy on the configuration of business cycle and on economic growth rate (when other policies are neutral). This opens up the possibility to combine the antitrust policy with the anticyclical and fiscal ones, because, under recession, increased monopolistic power in an individual sector may help the whole economy get out of the crisis.

Care as (re)capture: Data colonialism and race during times of crisis

This article examines the role that data-driven technologies play in expanding and reasserting the legitimacy of the US racial state during times of crisis. Specifically, I examine how prison officials used a software called Verus to reinforce the perceived necessity of penal institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Government officials used Verus to produce narratives that (1) recast criminalized communities as dangerous and therefore disposable and (2) shielded carceral institutions from liability for systematic neglect. Ultimately, the aim of this article is to contribute to emerging critical concepts such as “data colonialism,” a term that has largely been used to describe the social and economic consequences of parasitic data extraction and monopoly control of digital infrastructure. In addition to these issues, I argue that data-driven technologies are used as vehicles for movement capture and the reproduction of prison logics that enable modes of racialized economic exploitation that extend far beyond the high-tech innovation economy.

Вдосконалення інформаційної складової контролю природних монополій

We define the specific features in the control over natural monopoly and the main drawbacks in the contemporary methods of such a control. Also, we analyze some alternative methods of monopoly control that take place in world practice. This paper presents a possible way to improve the information component for quantitative control of natural monopoly using the method of marginal price level fixing (method of price coefficients changing). This method is a widespread one that is used for price regulation of natural monopoly in highly developed countries. However, the method to define the main elements in the corresponding formula — inflation number, economic efficiency factor (X-factor) and effect of external factors (Z-factor) — is still to be elaborated. This fact is one of the main objective reasons why this method is not presently used in practice in Ukraine. Of fundamental importance is the uncertainty of the efficiency factor (X-factor) revision criteria. It can contribute to the slowdown of investments, reducing the interest of the monopolist in large-scale and long-term investments. This paper presents an attempt to eliminate most of the above mentioned drawbacks in the method of the marginal price fixing (method of price coefficients changing) using author's CMI-model of macroeconomic dynamics. We propose a method to define unambiguously the efficiency factor (X) for natural monopoly. Also, we have modified the formula to define the price (tariff) for a product of natural monopoly in order to stimulate the monopoly's innovative and investment activity while keeping the consumer’s interest, and to eliminate the slowdown effect of investments. Besides, using the CMI-model we are able to determine quantitative indexes of monopoly power and the rate of effect of this power on the economy as a whole and on its various sectors. These indexes are proposed as additional ones to the price (tariff) formula to verify the results of the formula’s action.

Кількісні показники прямого контролю монополій на різних ієрархічних рівнях економічної системи

The evidence base of proving that a monopoly uses its market power is a problem that has no unambiguous solution. Lack of clarity in antitrust legislation is a long term problem. A part of the problem is impossibility to elaborate a theory and quantitative indexes for a monopoly control, which would be used for juridical practice. This paper presents an attempt to solve this problem proposing new quantitative indexes of a monopoly control. To do this, we used the cumulative market imperfection model of macroeconomic dynamics (CMI-model) that is based on comparison of perfect and imperfect competition both for separate markets and economy as a whole. Within framework of the model there is a possibility to calculate natural (competitive) price that correspond to perfect competition even, if such competition never was establish in real market. Difference between natural and actual market price characterizes the rate of market imperfection and could be used for the monopoly power estimation. We proposed two types of quantitative indexes to control a monopoly. First type estimates the value of monopoly power, second type – impact degree of this power. It makes us possible to control monopoly on different hierarchical levels: firm, sector of economy, economy as a whole. Besides, there are some more competitive advantages of proposed indexes: 1)monitor indexes in dynamics, i.e. we are able to estimate in real time both the fact of a monopoly power usage and impact degree of this power; 2) to separate innovative component from production cost of monopolist; 3) to demonstrate the monopoly power impact on period and amplitude of economic cycle; 4) to control monopoly in a permanent mode, actually “on-line”, but not in a discrete mode as it could be done in standard methods. Additionally, proposed indexes do not require confidential information about firm’s activity.

The rentierization of food: regimes of property and the making of Chile’s globalized agriculture

ABSTRACT Current scholarly debates on the financialization of agriculture have tended to give analytical priority to markets over institutional regimes of property. This article shifts the gaze towards the latter in order to illustrate the extent to which globalized food systems have come to be increasingly characterized by rentier dynamics. By considering rent as a relation that relies on monopoly control of the circuit of capital, the article explores the case of Chile as an instance of a broader mutation of class power that has placed property owners increasingly at the center of the dynamics of wealth creation under late capitalism.

Publishing Without Exclusive Rights

Journal publishers don’t need exclusive rights. Or, they don’t need them for publishing. They don’t need them to make a work public or to add value in the form of peer review, copy editing, metadata, formatting, discoverability, or preservation. Nor do they need them to make enough money to pay their bills and grow. Publishers only need exclusive rights for monopoly control over the published work and any revenue it might yield. Publishers who say they need exclusive rights are saying they need this monopoly control. The best evidence that journal publishers don’t need exclusive rights is that so many peer-reviewed journals do without them, for example, open access journals using CC-BY. 

Rentier capitalism in question

Rentier capitalism is an idea that has been drawing increasing attention. This article identifies the incoherence of the idea and then addresses its weaknesses as a critique of contemporary political economy. In the first place, it derives from a view of capitalism which privileges exchange rather than production. This explains its view of the relation between the monopoly control of assets and competition. While there may indeed be a current tendency to invest in assets, that does not necessarily act as a deadweight on production; rather it can act as an incentive to rationalize the labor process with a view to increasing the extraction of surplus value. It is suggested that one of the ways in which industrial capital accommodates itself to increasing rents, license fees and the like, is through a turn to extracting value in its absolute form; which may in then shed light on the stagnation of wage levels that has accompanied the turn to investing in assets.

Analysis of the monopolization level of raw material exports of Ukraine


 
 
 The formation of a competitive national economy of Ukraine is hindered by a weak system of monopoly control. The activities of oligarchic clans stimulated political lobbying, illegal influence on the management of independent enterprises, their raider capture, which led to a slowdown in Ukraine’s technical progress, an increase in the hidden economy and a decrease in its efficiency. The current trend of increasing exports of raw materials and the monopolization of major export industries makes Ukraine’s economy even more dependent on the activities of several monopolists. The aim of this work was to analyze the level of monopolization of the main Ukrainian export categories – agricultural and iron industry production. Methods of this study were based on analysis of literature of the national authors, systematization and generalization of data of the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine and other open sources. The study found that the agricultural sector of the Ukrainian economy has a dual structure – corporate (agricultural holdings) and individual farms (family farms and households), which are characterized by different directions of development. The analysis of the regional presence of agricultural holdings showed that the largest landowners cultivate land plots in almost all regions of Ukraine. At present time in the agro-industrial sector of Ukraine corporate landowners control 18.4% of arable land, exist in the form of vertically integrated holdings specializing in the cultivation of export-oriented crops. The study found that specific location of minerals explains the geographical location of iron industry enterprises in Dnipro, Donetsk, Poltava and Zaporizhia regions. However, the geography of the place of registration of these holdings or their parent companies includes Cyprus, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Switzerland. The group of companies Metinvest occupies an informal monopoly position in the market of ore mining and steel production in Ukraine. Thus, the main items of Ukraine’s exports are under control or are significantly influenced by a small number of vertically integrated holdings, which may indicate a low level of competition. In these circumstances, one of the most important functions of the state in this area is to maintain a competitive environment and limit monopolies. At the same time, the lack of quality legislation does not allow the state to fully regulate and influence the real situation in the country.
 
 

Autism, Inc.: The Autism Industrial Complex

Abstract We contend that, within capitalism, the Autism Industrial Complex (aic) produces both autism as commodity and the normative cultural logic of intervention in relation to it. Comprised of ideological/rhetorical as well as material/economic infrastructure, we argue that the aic is not the myriad businesses and industries that capitalize and profit from it; rather, these constitute its epiphenomenal features. In the production of autism as commodity, the aic also simultaneously produces that commodity’s market, its consumers, and its own monopoly control of that market through production for consumption of need for, consent to, and legitimacy of interventionist logics. Within this apparatus, almost anyone can capitalize on and profit from autism. And within the aic, autistic people—their very bodies—function as the raw materials from which this industrial complex is built, even as autistic people—their very identities and selves—also become unwitting, and often unwilling, products of the aic.

The problem and future of the higher education quality assessment system in China-Reflection on the Double World-Class Initiative

Faced with increasingly competitive landscape of the knowledge society, governments worldwide are growingly placing a high value on the quality guarantee of higher education. How to assess and promote the quality of higher education has been a major concern for institutions and governments. The formulation and implementation of the Double World-Class Initiative (DWCI) in China is the process of accreditation where a batch of universities and disciplines are granted with the priority to develop into world-class ones and enjoy privileged subsidize. Despite certain breakthroughs, this evaluation also exhibits problems deep-rooted in the Chinese high education quality assessment system including the governmental monopoly control through the progress, the lack of social and students’ participation, and non-transparent public information. After conducting an analysis on the text of the DWCI, enlighten by the principal-agent theory, the article put forwards the administrative entrustment model and student-oriented evaluation model for future higher education assessment systems in China.

Perlindungan Hukum Tentang Pengembangan Pelabuhan Di Daerah Sesuai Undang-Undang tentang Pelayaran Kaitannya dengan Undang-Undang tentang Pemerintahan Daerah

The problems in this research are: First, how is legal protection, legal compliance and overcoming problems regarding the management of ports in the regions according to Law Number 23 of 2014 concerning Regional Government and its relation to Law Number 17 of 2008 concerning Shipping. The method used in this research is normative legal research, namely research that refers to legal norms and principles contained in statutory regulations and government regulations. The result of the research is that Law Number 17 of 2008 concerning Shipping contains articles that regulate ports which require further regulation in the form of a Government Regulation. The law establishes a system of port authority that will carry out a regulatory role, end state-owned monopoly control over port services, and require the development of national and regional port master plans. Legal protection in implementing regional autonomy is in accordance with the enactment of Law Number 23 of 2014 concerning Regional Government, legal protection for the implementation of various government affairs in the framework of serving the community and managing natural resources. The problems that have arisen in the management of ports in the regions so far are conflicts of use and power. It is hoped that the efforts to deal with these problems can be carried out reactively, meaning that local governments can carry out conflict resolution, mediation or deliberation in dealing with these problems.

Soziale Marktwirtschaft damals und heute

AbstractThe German currency reform on 20 June 1948, together with a comprehensive liberalization of prices as well as monopoly control formed the basis for the post-war West German economic miracle, which became the economic backbone of the European integration process. 70 years later, little remains of the basic principles of the social market economy. An increasingly expansive monetary policy of the European Central Bank undermines competition, growth and social cohesion in Europe, which puts political stability at risk. To ensure economic, political and social stability in Europe, a return to the principles of Walter Eucken und Ludwig Erhard is necessary.

The Strategic Foundations of Political Sovereignty

Maintaining order is perhaps the most important problem confronting society, and establishing a sovereign ruler with monopoly control over the execution of violence creates two distinct security problems: one between private citizens (the horizontal dimension) and the other between the ruler and private citizens (the vertical dimension). I develop a framework to study these dual security problems and the incentives created in solving them together. I show that self-enforcing political sovereignty presents a problem of reciprocal agency, where every individual is simultaneously a principal and an agent and that a ruler will extort rents in exchange for upholding the social contract—the social contract tax—which crucially relies on balancing two distinct incentives, the desire to predate and the opportunity cost of political order. I consider the problem of selecting a ruler and show that the citizen who extorts the least is either the richest or the poorest, depending on the level of economic inequality.

RESOLUTION OF ISSUES RELATED TO THE USE OF LAND PLOTS NOT FOR THE PURPOSE PURPOSE WHEN CARRYING OUT A JUDICIAL ECONOMIC EXPERTISE

The relevance of the census is by the fact that it is the first-rate property for all significant means of justice, disputable persons, as well as perusal of civil rights, and of the rest of the country, and at the same time, at the same time, at the same time, N 963 «Techniques for rozmіru shkodi, zapodіyanono ї vnasdok samovilny zaynyattya land dіlyanok, vikoristannya land dіlyanok not for the whole ryazanennyam, knowing the ground crookedness (I’m using the same mask, I didn’t have a draw).
 The Method № 963 is hidden on the assignment to the distributor, the authorities, the territorial communities, the legal entities, the legal entities, all the categories of land in the land and land areas, not the main reason, which is not the main reason.
 The state monopoly (control) at the part of the land legislation, the victorious and the safeguarding of the lands of all categories and the forms of authority, is attached to the Derzhgeokadastre.
 It is prescribed by the Law of Ukraine «On state control over the damage and protection of land» from 19 June 2003, p. N 963-IV of the sovereign control over the victorians and the defense of the earths can be crossed by the cross.
 In response to a visit to the Roshraunker Rozmir, to be under the supervision of the Victory Day in the land of the Red Army, not in accordance with the appropriate standards, refer to the administrative provisions of the state registrars and the workers, but also to the lawyers in the field
 
 The act of registration of the law of land legislation;
 protocol on administrative law enforcement;
 pripis (with the usushenya pushenenya land legislation);
 act of land registration.
 
 The procedure for the assignment to the distributor of the schoolchildren, according to the rules of the localization of the land of the girls, is not the same as the assignment of the procedure, clause 5 of Method № 963.
 An overview of the data for this type of expertise є Rosrahunok rozmіru shkodi, zavdo їnask dikoristannya land dylyanki not for the purpose.
 Judicial examiner — economist to carry out the completion of the correctness of the assignment to the direct ordering of the skoda, induced in the above-mentioned Rosrahunka for the complete assembly of the Inspector.
 The result of the ship examiner’s examination of the economist’s case is that of the hanging of the vessel itself, at the same time as the control body of the Technique № 963.

AMERICANIZATION OF GLOBAL CULTURE IN THE CONTEXT OF THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS THEORY

Introduction. The process of Americanization of the emerging global culture is associated with the interests of American business and its monopoly control over global information flows. The aim and the tasks of the article are to identify those aspects of Americanization of culture, which allow us to consider them to be the political project as well. To do this the content, nature and means of Americanization of culture are being compared with the method of using cultural influences to achieve foreign policy goals; it is represented in the concepts of cultural imperialism and "soft power" in the theory of international relations. Research methods, such as the sociocultural, the systemic and the comparative ones, were used to perform the tasks. Research results. An analysis of Americanization of global culture has revealed that it is aimed at transforming the system of values, ideology, and behavioural aspects according to American patterns, which are appealingly presented as being more progressive and meeting the imperatives of our time. This process represents a whole system of influences that encompass both the elite and the broad masses of the population, penetrating into the professional sphere, leisure and private life. Americanization covers all basic social institutions, in particular, economics, politics, law, media, education, science, medicine, religion, family, etc. It moves through the contacts of representatives of business and political elites; exchanges, grants and internships at the level of the scientific and professional intellectuals; student exchanges; intensive dissemination of Americanized samples of mass culture; Protestantism, etc. Discussion. Comparison of the main features and means of using the cultural influences in international politics and the process of Americanization of global culture has shown almost their complete coincidence in the crucial aspects: content, orientation, character and means. Conclusion. The article also looked at the opposite points of view on the problem being investigated. At the same time, the results we received are confirmed in both the works of scientists, and in the organization and practice of US cultural policy.

Fundamental Patents, National Intellectual Property Regimes, and the Development of New Industries in Britain and America during the Second Industrial Revolution

Abstract Several “new” industries of the second industrial revolution were characterised by one, or few, “fundamental” patents, without which manufacture of a viable product was not practicable. The degree of monopoly control that such patents conveyed was mediated by national socio-legal regimes, encompassing both patent law and its interpretation and enforcement. Using four case studies (two for the UK – a low anti-trust environment, and two for the USA – a high anti-trust environment) we show that fundamental patents were major determinants of monopoly power, industry structure, barriers to competition, and consumer prices. Impacts could extend beyond the life of the patents, owing to first mover advantages and path-dependent processes. Meanwhile national socio-legal environments, the nature of the fundamental patents, the strategies of the patent owners, and the nature of the specific product technology could have important (and sometimes unforeseen) consequences.

SOCs and Competition: Reflections on South Africa’s Experiences in Telecommunications and Energy

State owned corporations have been serial offenders of competition law. Of the 21 abuse of dominance complaints referred to the Tribunal between October 1999 and September 2016, 13 involved former or current SOCs. SOCs often hold monopoly positions and control essential infrastructure and the record has been that of abuse of monopoly positions and even leveraging market power into adjacent markets. In addition, SOCs have often been protected by policy and regulation with the result of raising barriers to entry and dampening rivalry. How do we facilitate greater competition in these markets? The paper unpacks the ways that SOCs’ anti-competitive conduct and policies to protect them from competition impacted on key markets in terms of barriers to entry and outcomes for consumers. It further considers the alternative ways of managing and regulating SOCs which can provide for more competitive outcomes and the gains from exposing SOCs to greater competition. The paper then proposes a competition policy targeted at SOCs with the objective of ensuring that the key social objectives are met while still preventing SOCs from distorting competition in key markets.

Optimization of Transport Monopoly Control

Abstract A hierarchical model of a large-scale system including a control Centre and a transport monopoly is considered. The mechanism of control of the transport monopoly is defined. The decisions of the game of monopoly with the control Centre are considered. The task of the optimal synthesis of the control mechanism is set. Sufficient conditions for the optimality of this mechanism are found when driving vehicles along a ring road with a prohibited overtaking (for example, by rail or a single-lane highway). The cases of the optimal balance of supply and demand, as well as scarce demand are considered. For the case of excessive demand, sufficient conditions for the optimality of the number of vehicles and the carrying capacity have been determined. Some conditions for the optimality of control mechanisms for road and rail transport have been found.

Medical Patents and the Right to Health – From Monopoly Control to Open Access Innovation and Provision of Medicines

The coming into force of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) in the mid-1990s led to a massive strengthening of intellectual property rights in the global South. This was particularly controversial concerning restrictions on access to medicines and set the stage for spirited debates concerning the impacts of medical patents on the realisation of the right to health in the context of the HIV/AIDS crisis. Efforts to reconcile the right to health and medical patents led to a minor amendment of the TRIPS Agreement that has hardly had any impact on the ground while further strengthening of patent protection was obtained, for instance, through bilateral agreements. In the human rights field, attempts to strengthen the protection afforded by the right to health have been partly diluted by efforts to strengthen the claims of inventors under human rights law. At this juncture, two main elements need to be taken forward. The first is to revisit our understanding of the human right to health to ensure, for instance, that there is no compromise in the liberal promise of universality, in particular access to medicines for every person who needs them. The second element is the need to rethink the way in which legal incentives are given to innovate. In a context where patents are the only recognised legal incentive to innovate in the medical field, this discourages the development of medicines for diseases that may affect mostly poor patients, since companies need to recoup their investments. Further, it militates against giving attention to other systems of medicine whose innovations can usually not be protected under the patent system, even where treatments are effective. Keywords: TRIPS Agreement, Access to Medicines, Right to Health, ICESCR

The Use of Regulatory Power by U.S. State and Local Alcohol Control Agencies to Ban Problematic Products

ABSTRACTBackground: Alcohol is responsible for 4,300 deaths a year in the U.S. among persons under 21. Alcohol companies innovate rapidly and produce new products, some of which prove popular among young people. The 18 “control jurisdictions” in the U.S. – those that exercise monopoly control over some aspect of alcohol distribution – have the ability to govern which products become available within their borders and have, at times, exercised that authority to block particular products from sale. Objectives: This paper is an exploratory study examining how states use regulatory authority in control jurisdictions to restrict the sale of new alcohol products within their borders, and the reasoning used to justify those decisions. Methods: The authors, collaborating with the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association, surveyed control state officials regarding procedures and policies governing the sale of new products in their jurisdictions. Results: Control jurisdictions have banned/restricted different products (e.g., grain alcohol and alcoholic energy drinks) for a variety of reasons (e.g., flavorings/packaging appealing to underage drinkers, blurring of distinctions between alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, and judgment that the product was not socially responsible). Conclusions/ Importance: Although U.S. control jurisdictions universally have the authority to limit access to problematic alcohol products; they vary in the degree to which they use it. These states need to take action, and as of now, there is no systematic reasoning behind when and how states make decisions to ban/restrict these products. Greater exploration of regulatory authority in this arena could be protective of public health.