Question

Which of the following correctly explains why cheating is a common problem for cartels?

Answer 1

Answer: An individual cartel member has an economic incentive to sell more than its quota, thus cheating on the cartel agreement. However, if all cartel members sell more than their quotas, the cartel price will fall, and profits will vanish

Explanation: A cartel is defined as group of businesses or nations that collude to limit competition within an industry or market. Thus, a major purpose of a cartel is to drive up price and profits thus restricting market output. This restriction however, requires cartel members to sell no more than their given quotas which provides individual cartel member with economic incentives to sell more than its quota resulting in cheating and a breach of cartel agreement. This leads to a fall in cartel price and vanishing profits should all members sell above their quotas which is a direct contradiction to the purpose of cartels.