The Economics Of Resale Price Maintenance

Resale Price Maintenance deals with selected countries: Canada, the United States of America, Sweden, Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. The main emphasis is placed on two subjects, namely, the effects of resale price maintenance and its termination, where this has taken place, as disclosed in official and private investigations; and the development of public policy measures, including consideration of the problems encountered in their implementation. B. S. Yamey, in the volume, defines the major economic issues involved in resale price maintenance and presents a compendium of arguments that have been employed in the debate on resale price maintenance. Taken together, these country studies constitute a compendium of the arguments which have been deployed in debates on resale price maintenance; all the major issues and most of the minor ones are considered or at least mentioned in one or more of the studies in the course of the review of developments in public policy. An introductory chapter, by the editor, sets the scene with an analytical discussion of the major economic issues. This volume considers the historical development of the practice of resale price maintenance and its extent and scope when at its height. It also deals with resale price maintenance in the European Common Market. Dealing with the practice in the constituent countries and also as it is affected by the emerging Common Market policy towards restraint on competition, the volume focus on developments in public policy. Resale Price Maintenance carefully examines all major and many minor issues covers a wide range of trades and products that have been affected by resale price maintenance, and provides fruitful analyses of various empirical studies that have been made on the restraint and/or advancement of commerce.

Theoretical discussions among competition lawyers and economists on the approach to Resale resale Price price Maintenance maintenance (RPM) and Vertical vertical Territorial territorial Restrictions restrictions (VTR) have often caused controversy. However, commentators agree that there is a lack of comprehensive study surrounding the topic. This book explores these two forms of anticompetitive conduct from legal, historical, economical, and theoretical points of view, focusing on the EU and US experiences. The author expertly goes beyond the current legal practice to explain, among other things, what approach should apply to RPM and VTR, and why RPM and VTR are introduced in situations where procompetitive theories would not make economic sense, or do not apply in practice. The book takes account of economic values, such as efficiency and welfare, as well as other values, such as freedom, fairness and free competition. Scholars and students of law will find the book’s depth of legal, economic and historical analysis to be a rich contribution to the scholarship. This book will also be of use to EU and US practitioners, and enforcers dealing with RPM and VTR cases.

Resale price maintenance (RPM) is a controversial pricing practice for managing retail distribution channels. In Leegin Creative Leather Products, Inc. v. PSKS, Inc. (2007), the Supreme Court abolished a nearly century-old per se rule against RPM established in Dr. Miles Medicine Co. v. John D. Park & Sons (1911). Henceforth, RPM will be judged under federal antitrust law by the rule of reason - a less restrictive standard that requires courts to weigh all the relevant circumstances of a case to assess whether a practice unreasonably restrains trade. Despite that the decision in Leegin leaves many unanswered questions, the decision has prompted an increasing number of consumer goods manufacturers to adopt RPM in the management of their retailer relationships. Recently, the widespread use of restrictive pricing practices in the retail distribution of contact lenses has drawn attention and elevated debate over the practice. Pending lawsuits in the industry have been identified as an important "test case" for antitrust's new vertical pricing regime following Leegin. Drawing upon relevant literatures from law, economics, and business, together with publically available information, important questions in the debate and related cases that share significance for scholarship and practice are elaborated upon and examined. We hope this examination reveals insights helpful to understanding the antitrust implications of contact lens manufacturers' pricing practices and for advancing academic knowledge, marketing practice, and competition policy involving RPM.

In this exciting new book, an international team of experts compare market structures, in both global and Korean contexts, particularly focusing on the impact of foreign competition on market concentration and ways to improve market structure. It thoroughly investigates core competition problems, including international abuses of dominance, mergers and collusion, and vertical restraints. Contributions move beyond explaining the laws and practices of enforcement agencies, offering readers an insight into the trend of an ever-increasing interdependence among national economies, complemented by analyses of recent developments in the US and Canada.

Resale Price Maintenance deals with selected countries: Canada, the United States of America, Sweden, Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. The main emphasis is placed on two subjects, namely, the effects of resale price maintenance and its termination, where this has taken place, as disclosed in official and private investigations; and the development of public policy measures, including consideration of the problems encountered in their implementation. B. S. Yamey, in the volume, defines the major economic issues involved in resale price maintenance and presents a compendium of arguments that have been employed in the debate on resale price maintenance.Taken together, these country studies constitute a compendium of the arguments which have been deployed in debates on resale price maintenance; all the major issues and most of the minor ones are considered or at least mentioned in one or more of the studies in the course of the review of developments in public policy. An introductory chapter, by the editor, sets the scene with an analytical discussion of the major economic issues. This volume considers the historical development of the practice of resale price maintenance and its extent and scope when at its height. It also deals with resale price maintenance in the European Common Market. Dealing with the practice in the constituent countries and also as it is affected by the emerging Common Market policy towards restraint on competition, the volume focus on developments in public policy.Resale Price Maintenance carefully examines all major and many minor issues covers a wide range of trades and products that have been affected by resale price maintenance, and provides fruitful analyses of various empirical studies that have been made on the restraint and/or advancement of commerce.