Regulating Vertical Agreements: A Comparative Law and Economics Review of the EU and Brazil

Regulating Vertical Agreements is an important and timely book on comparative competition law and economics. Vertical agreements represent a variety of supply and distribution contracts involving different market players, such as suppliers of diverse inputs, manufacturers, distributors and retailers. The study of these commercial practices constitutes a lively dispute for antitrust enforcement. In recent years, the more globalized and digitalized competitive environment has challenged several antitrust authorities around the world on how to regulate vertical agreements, or on how to decide about cases involving such practices. By comparing two leading antitrust jurisdictions, the European Union (EU) and Brazil, the book examines the way to conduct antitrust assessments of vertical agreements and makes recommendations for policy makers.

What’s in this book:

Taking into consideration the complex economic impacts of these vertical alliances, the book offers:

• an original economic analysis of vertical agreements, based on the classical literature of Law & Economics, including the discussion of ‘economic efficiency’ in the context of vertical restraints;
• a unique international comparative study of enforcement activities in the EU and Brazil;
• innovative enforcement models under diverse institutional frameworks that may have great impact on policy and decision-making processes in the upcoming years;
• an updated overview of EU case law on vertical agreements, including the recent cases involving digital markets;
• an in-depth examination of topics such as resale price-fixing, geo-blocking clauses, exclusive and selective distribution systems and;
• a discussion of the role and influence of political pressure groups in the lawmaking processes of competition policy.

How this will help you:

The book offers very constructive theoretical and political insights into the frontier between the disciplines of Economics and Law. It also brings real-world debate and a policy-oriented framework. This book substantially enriches the literature on vertical restraints and enforcement of competition law, and it is highly relevant for scholars and competition law practitioners in the EU, in Brazil, and in other jurisdictions that face similar economic and institutional realities.