Preventing Margin Squeeze: An Unsolvable Puzzle for Competition Policy? The Case of the German Gasoline Market

Thomas Wein ()
Additional contact information
Thomas Wein: Leuphana University Lueneburg, Germany

No 309, Working Paper Series in Economics from University of Lüneburg, Institute of Economics

Abstract: There is a discrepancy between Europe and the United States on whether margin squeeze is a relevant question for competition law and policy. Beyond this question, it is unclear whether law and the Cartel Office can detect margin squeeze, assuming it is necessary to look into the matter. In Germany, politicians have decided the given rule against margin squeeze should not be abolished, especially because of problems in the gasoline market. This paper discusses a comprehensive microeconomic new explanation on margin squeeze, and discusses some of the problems used to detect margin squeeze in the gasoline market. After comparing theoretical shortcuts, practical challenges and efforts towards enforcement with expected benefits, this paper concludes competition law should ignore the margin squeeze problem.

Keywords: margin squeeze; gasoline market; market dominance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: K21 L13 L44 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 28 pages
Date: 2014-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-com
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.leuphana.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Fors ... df/wp_309_Upload.pdf (application/pdf)
Our link check indicates that this URL is bad, the error code is: 404 Not Found (https://www.leuphana.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Forschungseinrichtungen/ifvwl/WorkingPapers/lue/pdf/wp_309_Upload.pdf [303 See Other]--> https://www.leuphana.de/fileadmin/user_upload/forschungseinrichtungen/ifvwl/workingpapers/lue/pdf/wp_309_upload.pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:lue:wpaper:309

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Working Paper Series in Economics from University of Lüneburg, Institute of Economics
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Joachim Wagner ( this e-mail address is bad, please contact ).