This presentation explained project #3 of the workshop on Gender inclusive competition policy held virtually on 25 February 2021. More papers and presentations on the topic can be found out at oe.cd/gicp.

1. Cartel Behaviour and Boys’ Club Dynamics
Carolina Abate, OECD and Alexis Brunelle, Autorité de la concurrence
OECDWorkshop on Gender and Competition
25 February 2021

2. Main hypothesis and methodology
 Gender and participation in cartels:
it is not about the essential nature
of men and women, but about
network dynamics and social
structure
 Preservation of shared values,
loyalty and homosocial patterns
within male informal professional
networks is a key factor for the
maintenance of cartel practices
 Theoretical framework based on
behavioural economics, cartel
studies, white collar crime and
gender studies (multi-disciplinary
approach)
 Systematic analysis of cartel cases
sanctioned by the French
competition authority: real life
illustrations of “boys’ clubs”
dynamics in cartels

3. Behavioural components of cartels
• Cartels are non only about rational behaviour
and game theory : emergence of behavioural
economics considerations in cartel studies
(Stucke 2010)
• Emphasis on personal, relational,
psychological factors (culture, social norms,
networks, personal interest, status,
opportunity etc.)
• Participants act within formal and informal
networks, and take into account collective
values
What we see in cartel cases..
• In cartel cases interpersonal relationships are
key, and these are affected by gender
• Contacts between participants are personal
and not organized on a firm to firm basis
• Evidence of typical “boys’ club” or “locker
room” vocabulary : “loyalty”, “keeping your
word”, “friends”, “treason”, “confrères”,
“knighting” etc.
• Frequent reference to loyalty, trust, and
preservation of the respectability of the
profession/sector

4. Gender studies and professional networks
• Informal networks as key element for access
to company leaders, visibility and promotion
• Women benefit less from informal networks:
“women as outsiders”
• Women question policy more and are
disruptive of implicit but entrenched loyalties:
“women as mavericks”
• Not due to an “essential nature” of women
but to structural and situational factors:
expected gender roles and hierarchies
What we see in cartel cases..
• The main network of participants, or “core
coalition” is almost exclusively male
• Presence of women mostly as organizational
role, mere application of policy discussed
within male networks
• When women participate in equal capacity:
less emphasis on interpersonal relationships
and more objective references to policies
pursued by the firm as an institution
• When firm’s representative changes from
man to woman: much fewer contacts and less
consistent application; fine reduction for
“maverick behaviour”

5. White collar crimes literature
• Studies on other white collar crimes focus on
social norms, informal networks and gender
• Women do not behave differently because of
intrinsic differences (e.g higher moral
standards) but because of social dynamics
• Emphasis on homosocial trust in male-
dominated networks and common identity
bias (e.g. common gender enables private
information sharing)
• Consistent and substantial limitation to
women’s participation to informal and
professional networks, which are key for
white collar crimes’ dynamics  minimal and
marginal female involvement in corporate
criminal networks
What we see in cartel cases..
• When women enter a cartel based on a long
standing interpersonal network, interactions
with other members appear more limited
• In other instances, presence of women is
short lived, and female representatives are
quickly replaced by men more familiar to the
habitus of the social circle involved
• When women are fully included in networks,
apply official corporate policy or create
common gender cooperation  efficient
cartel participation can be observed
• No evidence of cartels based on informal
networks where men and women are mixed
and equals

6. Why this is important
• It demonstrates that behavioural analysis
of economic agents and of their relations
both amongst them and with the
institutions they work for, may very well
constitute the core of cartel analysis
• These aspects could be key to determine
how perpetrators balance the terms of
incentives and deterrence, and going
forward should no longer be included
only as marginal explanations
• It shows that the wealth of research and
literature available for other white collar
crimes can be used as reference point to
develop our understandings of the
dynamics of illicit behaviour
• It brings to light the fact that the
continued exclusion of women from a
number of work opportunities, on the
one hand, and increased sustainability of
cartels, on the other hand, share common
factors and circumstances

7. Limitations at this stage
Scope
• Focus on the enforcement policy of
only one competition authority, over a
period of about ten years
• A majority of cartels do not include
female participants at all, so any
analysis of the matter must take into
account that most economic sectors
are strongly male-dominated in order
to be correctly interpreted
Depth
• Decisions published by competition
authorities are generally limited to
factual considerations that are
necessary to demonstrate the
existence of an infringement
• Many elements that would be
relevant for the understanding of
inter-sex dynamics do not appear in
the evidence signaled by the decision
• Only an in-depth analysis of each case
file will allow us to lay out the
intricacies of interpersonal relations

8. Update since 25 February 2021
Theoretical framework
• Inclusion of new elements on gender
studies with a focus on :
• The implicit nature of gender perceptions
and gender role allocation
• The apparent masking of gender dynamics
at the workplace, through a supposedly
“neutral” environment
• Differences between men and women in
terms of hierarchy and team building
• Development of a stronger link between
gender studies and works on white collar
crime through the notions of “gendered
organisations” and “common gender
bias”
Case analysis
• Near completion of case analysis allowing
some early stage conclusions:
• Notions of “core coalition” applying to the
inner circle of cartel members
• Out of more than 40 cases, only 1 woman
full member of a core coalition
• Clear gendered roles in cartel behaviour:
• Leading role of men regardless of their
status/function in employing firm
• “Women as outsiders” : “secretarial” role of
women regardless of their status/function
in employing firm
• “Women as mavericks” : more instances of
distinct behaviour and/or pursuance of
separate goals

9. Conclusion
Continued gender imbalance constitutes an important risk factor for
cartel practices, it should:
• Be included as a relevant screening element for the enforcement
policy of competition authorities
• Be included as a major point of attention for compliance officials
within corporate organisations
To be continued…