Some Reflections on Algorithms, Tacit Collusion, and the Regulatory Framework

By John Moore, Etienne Pfister & Henri Piffaut

Whether algorithms do increase the risk of tacit collusion remains very uncertain. Yet, if this is the case, the consequences for the effectiveness of regulation and of competition policy could be important and regulators need to think on how to make sure that this risk of algorithmic collusion is reduced while simultaneously preserving firms’ incentives to adopt such efficiency-enhancing mechanisms. This article reviews the latest experimenta