VECTORS OF IMPROVEMENT OF STATE CONTROL OVER MONOPOLY PRICING

Author
, ,

In heading

 Economic analysis of law;

Signed print

 21.02.2020

Issues number

 2020 - № 1 (40)

Page

 74-97

Type of articles

 Scientific article

Code UDK

 338.5.072.2

ISSN print

 2411-5584

Abstract

 Problem setting. The organization of control by the state authorities on the observance of price discipline by all economic entities, including monopoly entities, is aimed at ensuring the protection of economic competition and is a necessary guarantee for the functioning and development of an effective competitive environment in Ukraine. However, in practice, in the direct consideration of competitive cases, there are difficulties in proving the facts of abuse of a monopoly (dominant) position due to the lack of a clear classification of types of abuse, methods of their detection and termination, presence of a large number of evaluative concepts in the antitrust law of Ukraine. The elimination of existing gaps will increase the effectiveness of state control over monopoly pricing and will promote the development of the national economy.
Recent research and publications analysis. Problems of monopoly pricing in the context of the effects of activity on the market of monopolists were investigated by J. Shumpeter, D. Armentano, C. W. Crews, M. Sproul, К. Kudryavtsev, S. Avdasheva, A. Shastitko, others. Issues of improving antitrust regulation are devoted to the works of V. Lahutin, Yu. Umantsiv, A. Shcherbak, P. Akman, L. Garrod, K. Reinker, D. Culley, M. Mulvenon. To date, the methodological aspects of establishing a monopoly-high price, methods of detecting and ending abuse of a monopoly (dominant) position remain controversial, and the role of the state in ensuring effective state control over monopoly pricing needs to be rethought.
Paper objective. The purpose of this article is to investigate the problem of monopoly pricing, methodological aspects of establishing monopoly prices, to determine the peculiarities of problems and restrictions that arise in the detection and termination of the facts of abuse of the monopoly (dominant) position in Ukraine and world law enforcement practices, development of proposals for the improvement of competition rules and norms to control over their compliance by relevant state institutions to ensure the effectiveness of state control over monopoly by formation.
Paper main body. The article analyzes the views of well-known scientists on the problem of monopoly pricing and the effects of antitrust regulation in terms of influencing the changes in prices and volumes of monopolists in order to eliminate the existing market failure. On the basis of statistical analysis, the structure of terminated violations of the competition legislation of Ukraine in 2018, the structure of violations in the form of abuse of monopoly (dominant) position for the period 2010–2018 with the determination of the share of price abuses are investigated. Analyzing the dynamics of abuse of the monopoly position in the economy of Ukraine in 2010–2018, we came to the conclusion that the reduction of the corresponding share of suspended violations is caused not so much by the reduction of their real number, as by the complexity of proving the presence of market power in an entity, the imperfection of methods of detecting abuse, especially abusive pricing, and lobbying the interests of monopolists through political corruption.
The problem of monopoly high prices is considered due to the prism of foreign experience of competitive antitrust practice of economic analysis and enforcement of regulation of competitive relations. A comparative analysis of the most known cases of the European Commission on Competition concerning the establishment of a monopoly high price has been carried out. Ways to implement foreign experience in the legislative field and practice of domestic antitrust regulation and control over monopoly pricing are proposed.
Conclusions of the research. In order to ensure the effectiveness of state control over monopoly pricing, it is necessary to provide in the antitrust law of Ukraine a clear definition of monopoly high (monopoly low) price, to develop and approve the method of detecting abuse of monopoly (dominant) position, in particular with regard to the establishment of monopoly prices, draw up and regulate state control bodies and their actions in case of detection of appropriate abuses, and to determine the list of circumstances in which it would be appropriate to apply the monopoly price rule.
Short Abstract for an article
Аbstract. Article examines a problem of a monopoly pricing and its influence on the state of competitive environment. It analyses practice of applying current provisions and norms of the Ukrainian legislation on the abuse of a monopoly (dominant) position in the market. The specifics of methodological and legal approaches to the detection of signs of monopoly high prices in the EU and the world are described and the ways of improving the correspondence of national methods and norms are proposed. Measures to increase the effectiveness of state control over monopoly pricing have been proposed.

Keywords

 state control, monopoly pricing, monopoly high price, abuse of a monopoly (dominant) position, antitrust law, antitrust regulation.

Reviewer

External reviewer

Article in PDF

 74-97

Bibliography

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Code DOI

 10.31359/2411-5584-2020-40-1-74

21.02.2020