Expansion, Depression and Collusion: An econometric analysis of the Belgian coal industry in 1901-1945
Résumé
In the first half of the twentieth century various specific factors (stability of the extraction process, presence of a fierce competition from abroad, less favourable geological endowment, unstable demand during the interwar) lead Belgian coal producers to unify in order to preserve their production capacities. In order to take into account the presence of massive coal imports in the Belgian market, one considers a three-equations theoretical model derived from Industrial Economics to assess the impact of the economic cycle on the market power sustained by the Belgian coal producers within their domestic market. Results indicate that collusive strategies exercised a significant influence on the relationship between the economic cycle and the price-cost margin within the Belgian coal industry. In particular, results established by Haltiwanger and Harrington (1991) are not contradicted by estimates.