Silent cartel
A silent cartel is a calculated suppression of information, an agreement or behavior in the same direction, in which the actors do not disclose certain information that is important for other affected parties or consistently do not address topics that are unfavorable to them, i.e. remain silent. It is not a real cartel in the sense of an organized alliance of competitors.
Economy
In the conventional, economic cartel system there are or have been phenomena that partly correspond to a “silent cartel”. These include private price reporting offices and the submission cartels for tenders. In both cases, the cartel members try to create market transparency only for themselves and to leave the other side of the market in the dark about the business deals they have concluded or their own calculation prices. to deceive. As a result, buyers or the public sector awarding contracts buy at prices which are higher than the equilibrium price . The prevention of mutual market transparency leads to a violation of the principle of the “ invisible hand ”, since the price can no longer compensate for itself through informed action decisions of the other market participants.
Price reporting offices can be seen as a preliminary stage to normal, illegal price cartels . In such cases, the sales prices are set by the cartel. Submission cartels can still be identified on a number of occasions today - despite intensive control - and are considered a weak point in public procurement.