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Moscow Institute of Humanities and Economics

Kirov branch

Faculty of Law

in the discipline "Legal regulation of competition"

Subject: monopolyactivity

Completed by a 4th year student

correspondence abbreviated department

enrollment September 2012

study period 3 years

Loginov Sergey Evgenievich

Checked by: Ovsyukov Dmitry Alekseevich

Kirov, 2015

Content

• Introduction
• 1. Monopolies: concept, types
• 1.1 Concept of monopoly
• 1.2 Forms and types of monopolies
• Conclusion
• Bibliography

Introduction

In a perfectly competitive market, there are enough sellers and buyers of a product, and therefore no seller or buyer alone can influence the price of a product. The price is determined by the market rules of supply and demand. Firms take the market price as given when deciding how much to produce and sell, and consumers take it as given when deciding how much to buy.

The object of study of this work is a monopoly. Monopolies are large economic associations (cartels, syndicates, trusts, concerns, and so on) that are privately owned (individual, group or joint-stock) and exercise control over industries, markets and the economy based on a high degree of concentration of production and capital in order to establish monopoly prices and the extraction of monopoly profits. Dominance in the economy is the basis of the influence that the monopoly has on all spheres of the country's life.

The problems of monopolization of economic life, competition in commodity markets today attract close attention not only of specialists, but also of the general population. The attitude of the public and the state to various forms of monopolies is always ambivalent, due to the contradictory role of monopolies in the economy. Monopolies restrict output and set higher prices due to their monopoly position in the market, which causes misallocation of resources and increases income inequality. Monopoly lowers the standard of living of the population. Firms - monopolists do not always use their full potential to ensure scientific and technological progress (STP). Monopolies do not have sufficient incentives to increase efficiency through scientific and technical progress, as there is no competition.

In our country, whose industry inherited a whole complex of giant monopolists from the command and control system of the former USSR, the problem of demonopolizing the economy and preventing the strengthening of the role of monopolies already operating in the market is becoming especially important.

The study of monopoly markets is relevant for making economic decisions on various issues.

The purpose of this work is to fully illuminate and analyze the most important features, forms and types of monopolies, as well as the main methods of combating them and the features of the antimonopoly policy of the Russian Federation in modern market relations.

monopoly antitrust policy legislation

1. Monopolies: concept, types

In the modern market, there is often a situation where one firm completely controls the supply of one product, since for the buyer there is no more or less close, interchangeable product with him.

Monopoly - (from Greek mono - one, poleo - sell) an exclusive right in a certain area of ​​the state, organization, firm. Turning to monopoly, it should be considered as a certain type of economic relations, which enables one of the participants in these relations to dictate their terms on the market for a certain product.

Monopolies have been known for a long time. They existed both in the ancient world and under feudalism, and they expressed the possession of some kind of exceptional economic advantage in a given economic system. But in those days they were not a typical phenomenon, but simply an exception. In the 20th century, they became widespread. With the advent of monopolies, competition is waged between monopolies and outsiders (enterprises not included in monopolistic associations), as well as within monopolies.

1.1 Concept of monopoly

Monopoly is a complex, multifaceted phenomenon, therefore, when determining it, it is advisable to apply an integrated approach. As a rule, a threefold definition of monopoly is used, namely, a monopoly is defined as:

· such a market structure or market situation when there is only one seller of a product (in the absence of substitutes for this product) and many buyers (it is no coincidence that "monopoly" in Greek literally means "I sell one");

the exclusive right to carry out any type of activity, granted only to a certain person, group of persons, state;

a large company, a corporation that unites several companies and thereby achieves a position in the market of a certain product or group of products, when the market has only one seller and many buyers.

Monopoly as a type of market structure has the following features:

- there is only one firm and many buyers of its products on the market;

- there are no goods that can serve as competitors to those offered by this company;

- full control of the monopolist over the price of goods and sales volume;

- the presence of certain barriers to entry into the market of other firms.

Dominance in the market makes it possible to set monopoly prices and receive monopoly profits. At monopolistically high prices, monopolies sell their goods, and at monopolistically low prices they buy the goods they need.

An enterprise can produce both one type of product and many of its types, but in any case, it will be considered as occupying a monopoly position only in that type of product for which there are completely no competing manufacturers.

Since the monopoly firm, like any other firm, seeks to obtain high profits, it takes into account market demand and its costs when deciding on the sale price. Since the monopolist himself determines the market price, he cannot consciously behave like a perfect competitor and accept the price as unchanged. Instead, he takes as constant the entire decreasing market demand curve. In other words, the monopolist does not adjust to the equilibrium conditions that are born in the market as a result of the interaction of supply and demand. Quite the contrary, the monopolist creates the market equilibrium itself. He does this by choosing the ratio of price and quantity of production that can bring him the greatest profit at his level of production costs.

Unlike a firm that is in perfect competition and which is characterized by equality of marginal revenue and price, in the case of a monopoly, the price curve coincides with the market demand curve, and the marginal revenue curve lies below it. This happens because the monopolist is the only manufacturer of products on the market and a representative of the entire industry, he, reducing the price of products to increase sales, is forced to reduce it for all units of goods sold, and not just for the next one. Since the monopolist decides on the volume of production, equalizing marginal revenue and marginal cost, the price and quantity of output will be different than under conditions of competition, namely: he will sell the product at a higher price and produce it in a smaller volume than under perfect conditions. competition.

Monopoly price - a special type of market price, which is established under the influence of not only supply and demand, but also the dominance of monopolists in the market for a given product. The monopoly price is higher than what would have been established in the absence of a monopoly. It is in the price that the benefit of a monopoly position is realized. The peculiarity of the monopoly price is that it deliberately deviates from the real market price, which is established as a result of the interaction of supply and demand. The profit of the monopolist is ensured at the expense of the consumer or the small producer: the former overpays, while the latter does not receive his due part of the product. Thus, the monopoly price is a certain "tribute" that society is forced to pay to those who occupy a monopoly position.

The monopoly price redistributes the product between economic entities, but such a redistribution, which is based on non-economic factors. But the essence of the monopoly price is not limited to this - it also reflects the economic advantages of large-scale, high-tech production, ensuring the receipt of excess product.

Usually, large firms or powerful manufacturing companies have monopoly power.

It is very difficult to capture the market and become a monopolist on it, but to keep this market in your hands is even more difficult. There are three types of barriers that prevent new competitors from entering monopolized markets and changing the situation there for the better for buyers:

1) Legal barriers. The most ancient forms of such barriers were monopoly rights, which were appropriated by the right of the powerful rulers and which eventually became known as state monopolies. Legal restrictions are in the form of a license, copyright, trademark, patent:

- License is the right of a firm to the exclusive exercise of a certain type of activity in a given market.

- Copyright right controls the sale and distribution of the original work in the interests of its author; it is valid throughout the life of the author (and for another 25 years after his death in the interests of his heirs).

- Commodity signs- these are special characters that allow you to recognize ("identify") a product, service or company; competitors are prohibited from using registered trademarks, counterfeiting them or using similar ones that confuse the consumer.

- Patent- a certificate certifying the exclusive rights of the author to dispose of the good (technology) created by him; if a firm has a patent for a technology for the production of a product, then this makes it impossible for other firms to produce this product during the term of the patent.

2) Natural barriers. In some cases, the birth of a monopoly turns out to be practically inevitable for purely objective reasons. The barriers that give rise to monopolies are natural; naturally inherent in a particular market.

3) Economic barriers. Such barriers are erected by monopoly firms themselves or are the result of an unfavorable general economic situation in the country.

1.2 Forms and types of monopolies

Monopoly has various forms: corner, cartel, syndicate, branch holding, trust, concern, consortium, conglomerate.

Corner - a method invented by German merchants back in the 16th century. The meaning of this method is simple: merchants or producers enter into a secret agreement to buy up or temporarily withdraw some product from the market in order to artificially create its shortage and cause prices to rise. After that, the goods from the stocks are thrown onto the market, and the participants in the collusion receive an increased income. For example, in 1931. members of the International Tin Cartel organized a tin corner. They bought huge amounts of tin and created a rush for it, which in turn caused a sharp rise in prices. Having achieved this, the participants of the corner sold off their stocks of metal a year later at a huge profit.

Cartel - an agreement between enterprises of the same industry on sales volumes, prices, markets, profit distribution. However, the cartel agreement did not concern the production and, moreover, the supply and marketing activities of the enterprise. The regulation of such a monopoly is usually carried out through quotas and the definition of sales areas. A typical cartel is the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which includes 14 countries that produce about 70% of oil. It establishes not only uniform prices for oil, but also distributes quotas for its production.

Syndicate usually represented by an association of enterprises, characterized by the fact that the distribution of orders, the purchase of raw materials, the sale of manufactured products are carried out through a single sales organization. The members of the syndicate are production independent from each other, but in commercial terms, they do not have freedom of action. The organizational and legal form in which syndicates operate is multifaceted. This may be a joint stock company, a limited liability company, etc.

ABOUTtraslevy holding- a method that consists in buying up controlling stakes in competing firms and thereby establishing economic control over them in order to pursue a single monopoly policy of sales and prices.

More complex forms of monopolistic associations arise when the process of monopolization extends to the sphere of direct production. On this basis, such a higher form of monopolistic associations as a trust appears. Trust is called an association in which the participants are deprived of their industrial and commercial independence. The management of the trust is carried out from a specially created single center. The profit received as a result of the economic activity of this organization is distributed in accordance with the equity participation of its constituent enterprises. At the same time, they usually distinguish between a single-industry trust and a combined, multi-industry trust, when the association captures enterprises in another industry. A combined trust that unites enterprises from different industries gets the opportunity to derive additional profit, firstly, by using by-products and waste from another industry, and secondly, by organizing vertical combination, when one enterprise processes raw materials, the other manufactures parts from it, the third turns them into commodities, and so on. In modern economic life, this form of monopoly organization of production is extremely rare.

One of the complex forms of monopolistic associations is concern. As a rule, it includes enterprises of various industries, transport, trade and banking. Such an association is undertaken in order to reduce intersectoral competition through a single, centralized management of production, supply, sales of goods, planning their actions to introduce new technology and a promising strategy for common actions in the future. An important feature of the concern's activity is, on the one hand, tight internal financial control, and on the other hand, the economic independence of firms, branches, branches and decentralization of management for the main product groups and territories. Its goal is to specialize and integrate its enterprises into a single economic complex. It is believed that the concern is the most developed form of association of enterprises, based on common interests and carried out through a system of participation, financial ties.

Consortium - a temporary union of economically and commercially independent producers whose purpose is to carry out any specific economic projects. The consortium is formed on the basis of an agreement between the participants, which provides for the share of each of them in the costs, as well as the forms of participation of the project organization, and other conditions for modern activities. The Russian practice of recent years shows that each member of the consortium bears property liability within the limits of 10% of its share in the order, and amounts exceeding this amount are divided among other members in proportion to their share of participation. Consortium participants can be legal entities and individuals, private and public organizations, the state itself. The consortium is headed by one of its members, whose functions are stipulated in the agreement.

conglomerate is called the merger of firms operating in non-overlapping market segments. This form of monopoly organization is characterized by a high level of management decentralization, within which production units have a fairly wide autonomy. A conglomerate is one of the modern forms of monopolistic associations that arose in the United States in the early 1960s.

The market is dominated by entrepreneurial, state and natural monopolies. Entrepreneurial monopolies are the most common. They arise as a result of successful competition. Two paths lead to this. The first is the successful development of the enterprise, the constant increase in its scale through the concentration of capital. The second (faster) is based on the processes of centralization of capital, that is, on the voluntary association or absorption of bankrupt winners. But, as a rule, such a monopoly is temporary. Sooner or later, you have to give way to even more successful competitors.

State monopoly expressed, on the one hand, in granting individual firms the exclusive right to perform a certain type of activity, for example, the production of alcoholic beverages, the export of gold, furs. On the other hand, these are organizational structures for state-owned enterprises, when they unite and report to different ministries and associations. Here, as a rule, enterprises of the same industry are grouped. They act on the market as one economic entity and there is no competition between them. The economy of the former USSR belonged to the most monopolized in the world. It was the administrative monopoly that dominated there.

Modern Russia retains the presence of the state in strategically important industries for the country. The share of the state in the blocks of shares of various enterprises varies by industry, the main sectors of the economy. Most state-owned companies are in industry, transport, communications, and R&D.

TO natural monopolies include industries and enterprises in relation to which the development of competition is impossible, ineffective and not expedient. They arise in those industries where one firm or corporation serves the entire market, for example, when it owns the only sources of minerals or raw materials. Also, a natural monopoly arises in those areas where copyright is in force, since the author is a monopolist by law.

There are two types of natural monopolies:

- natural monopolies. The birth of such monopolies is due to the barriers to competition erected by nature itself. The law protects the rights of the owner, even if he eventually turned out to be a monopolist (which does not exclude the regulatory intervention of the state in the activities of such a monopolist)

- technical and economic monopolies. Their occurrence is dictated by either technical or economic reasons associated with the manifestation of economies of scale.

The major monopolies of the natural type in the Russian Federation are the companies "Gazprom", RA0 "UES", "RZhD". Occupying only 4% of workers and employees, these three monopolies provide 13.5% of GDP, 20.6% of investments, 16.2% of profits, 18.6% of tax revenues of the consolidated budget of the Russian Federation. The role of "Gazprom" is especially great due to its export potential: it provides more added value than RAO UES and Russian Railways combined, employing only 300 thousand employees, and profits and taxes - twice as much as they do.

The existence of natural monopolies is explained by a special effect associated with the scale of production - the effect of saving resources as a result of the consolidation of production. Due to the better technical equipment and greater capacity of a large enterprise, there is an increase in labor productivity, which means a decrease in costs per unit of output. This means more efficient use of resources. The macroeconomic aspect of the problem is also important. Infrastructure networks, which are natural monopolies, ensure the interconnection of economic entities and the integrity of the national economic system. It is not for nothing that they say that in modern Russia the economic unity of the country is not least determined by unified railways, common electricity and gas supply.

Therefore, natural monopolies are becoming a desirable phenomenon for society, although the monopolistic nature still forces them to be regulated.

2. Ways to limit the activities of monopolies

The emergence of a monopoly disrupts the normal operation of market mechanisms, and this is harmful to the interests of the nation as a whole. And that is why most countries of the world gradually came to understand the need to fight the monopoly.

Monopoly is a phenomenon so ancient and familiar to mankind that it would seem that it is simply unthinkable to cope with it. Moreover, some economists (Karl Marx and his followers) believed that an invincible monopoly, in the end, would simply corrode the market-type economy from the inside and it should be urgently replaced by a planned state economy called "socialism".

By the end of the 19th century Economists and the governments of the leading powers of the world, at last, also realized the full scale of the danger of monopolies and plucked up the determination to start fighting them.

In this chapter, we will consider the main stages of formation and the main principles and problems of antimonopoly legislation and analyze the main directions of the fight against monopolies in the modern market economy of the Russian Federation.

2.1 Antitrust law

A monopoly is associated with a whole bunch of sharply negative consequences for the country's economy, such as underproduction, inflated prices, inefficient production, and so on. In order to avoid such situations, in many developed countries, including Russia, antimonopoly regulation has been introduced and there is a special authority to oversee its implementation. Its main task is to maintain a balance of competitive and monopoly forces, limit extreme forms of monopoly and develop a competitive market environment. It is aimed at the demonopolization of production and the fight against unfair competition.

Antimonopoly regulation sets up a fair, civilized competition, when they win not with the help of dubious methods, but with low prices, high quality, and the offer of lucrative contracts. It is not limited to any time frame. Since the modern economy is arranged in such a way that it inevitably gives rise to monopoly, to the extent that opposition to it turns into a permanent duty of the state.

The system of state regulation, formed in all industrialized countries, as an obligatory element provides for the creation of favorable conditions for the development of a competitive environment in the market of goods and services. At the same time, one of the main instruments that limit monopolistic activity, the basis that creates guarantees for the existence of competition, is antimonopoly legislation.

Antimonopoly legislation - these are laws and other regulations that promote the development of competition, aimed at limiting and prohibiting monopolies, preventing the creation of monopoly structures and associations, monopolistic actions.

When developing antimonopoly legislation and other measures aimed at restricting the activities of monopolies, one should proceed from the main goal - to promote the expansion of free competition, to make it more perfect. For these purposes it is necessary:

- to control the behavior of monopolies in the market, seeking to reduce high monopoly prices to the level of regulated ones, to prevent overt or secret collusion to set prices that are much higher than social costs;

- prohibit mergers, mergers and acquisitions by large medium and small firms in order to ensure decentralization and efficient use of resources and public wealth.

The first antitrust laws appeared in the USA more than 100 years ago. Currently, antitrust laws are part of the legal system of many countries.

The most developed is considered to be the antimonopoly legislation of the United States, which, moreover, has the longest history. It is based on "three pillars", three main legislative acts:

Law Sherman(1890). This law forms the core of antitrust policy in US economic life. It involves the prohibition of trusts, the prohibition of the practice of monopolizing trade between the states. Anti-competitive actions of firms are treated as an object of a criminal offense, which provides for punishment in the form of imprisonment up to 3 years, a fine of up to $1 million for a company and up to $100,000 for an individual, or dissolution of the company;

Law Clayton(1914) and Law O Federal trading commissions. The main provisions of Clayton's law were:

- almost all forms of discrimination in price policy were prohibited;

- restrictions were imposed on the sale and sale of goods with a forced assortment;

- it was forbidden to merge firms by acquiring shares of competitors if such actions reduced competition;

- It was forbidden to combine positions on the boards of directors of various firms and business enterprises.

Simultaneously with the Clayton Act, the US Congress ratified the Federal Trade Commission Act, which supplemented the Clayton Act. This act gave the US Federal Trade Commission the authority to determine, on a case-by-case basis, the existence of antitrust violations.

· Law Robinson-Pitman(1936) prohibits price discrimination and criminalizes predatory pricing policies and predatory pricing (setting prices below average or marginal costs in order to force a competitor out of the market).

The most difficult task facing the state bodies directly implementing the antimonopoly legislation is as follows: what are the economic criteria on the basis of which the fact of monopolization is established? There are questions that public services have to solve every time: what is considered a low (or vice versa, overpriced) price level? What percentage (share) of the entire sectoral production indicates a monopolistic seizure?

All these are not simple questions, to which it is impossible to give an unambiguous answer in all cases. And if a large corporation has achieved a low selling price level by reducing costs, using a higher level of technology and, in general, economic efficiency? And in general, by introducing a ban on sales "at extremely low prices", who is protected by antitrust legislation - competition or some groups of competitors.

Public services called upon to implement antitrust laws can be guided by two principles: first, strictly following the letter of the law and, secondly, "principles of reason." The fact is that in many respects the legal language of antitrust acts (for example, the Sherman Act) is so declarative that a US federal court could bring "any two partners who decide to conduct a joint business" under its scope. Therefore, the "principle of reasonableness" means that only unreasonable restrictions on trade (agreements, mergers, destruction of values, ie artificial scarcity) are covered by the Sherman Act.

All these problems show how difficult is the practical implementation of antitrust laws. The state must balance, walking along a narrow path between the danger of destructive monopoly and the danger of restricting competition (and any state intervention, even with the aim of maintaining competition, is accompanied by one or another restriction of competitive opportunities). Antimonopoly practice should really support competition, and not restrict it by granting the most preferential treatment to some groups of producers (consumers) at the expense of others.

In order to establish the fact of monopolization, antimonopoly regulation involves the widespread use of mathematical tools and, in general, the entire theoretical apparatus of the concepts of imperfect competition. The executive authorities carry out not only "punitive" but also preventive work to prevent monopolistic restrictions.

It is important to note that the antimonopoly legislation is not directed against large corporations, "big business" as such, since the size of the company does not yet make it possible to interpret it as a monopoly. Antitrust regulation is directed against restrictive business practices that undermine effective competition.

And if we use the principle of comparing additional costs and additional benefits, which is professed in a market economy, then it can be argued that the inevitable costs that accompany antimonopoly regulation still turn out to be lower than the benefits that bring the restriction of monopolistic tendencies in a market economy.

Thus, the antimonopoly legislation should, on the one hand, strive to regulate prices, the structure of the economy, and equitably distribute resources, and, on the other hand, prohibit such behavior and activities of monopolies that are negative in the eyes of society.

2.2 Antimonopoly policy of Russia at the present stage

The formation of a market economy in our country faced a special kind of monopoly, which has no analogues. It was formed in a non-market environment and is significantly different from Western-style monopoly.

The socialist economy was a single national economic complex, in which each enterprise was not completely autonomous, but was an integral part of the nationwide super structure. At the same time, the satisfaction of the needs of the whole country in one form or another of the product was often entrusted to only one or two factories. So, at the end of the 80s, more than 1,100 enterprises were complete monopolists in the production of their products. Even more often there was a situation when the number of manufacturers throughout the giant country did not exceed 2-3 plants. In total, out of 327 commodity groups produced by the country's industry, 290 (89%) were subject to strong monopolization.

Thus, if in countries with a market economy, monopolization usually took place through the organizational association of initially independent companies, then socialist monopoly was based on the deliberate creation of only one producer (or a very narrow group of producers). The beginning of market reforms in our country led to a sharp increase in monopoly tendencies. Using their monopoly power, the monopolists sharply limited supply. And the deliberate reduction in output, combined with price increases by Russian monopoly enterprises, was the most important microeconomic reason for the particular depth of the crisis of transformation in Russia.

In recent years, Russia has been actively pursuing a state policy aimed at supporting competition and limiting monopoly.

The Constitution of Russia says: "Economic activity aimed at monopolization and unfair competition is not allowed."

The main problem and at the same time difficulty is the specificity of the monopoly inherited from the socialist era: Russian monopolists By greater parts Not may be demonopolized through downsizing.

In the West, the demonopolization of giant enterprises is possible by merging and acquiring independent firms. Russian monopolists, on the contrary, were immediately built as a single plant or technological complex, which in principle cannot be divided into separate parts without complete destruction.

There are three principal possibilities for lowering the degree of monopolization:

1. direct separation monopoly structures: such opportunities in Russian reality are very limited, since, for example, a single plant cannot be divided into parts, and there are almost no cases when a monopoly manufacturer consists of several plants of the same profile;

2. foreign competition- this is probably the most effective and effective blow to domestic monopoly. But such a potent remedy must be used very carefully, because due to ill-conceived monetary and customs policies, import competition in very many cases turns out to be excessively strong;

3. Creation new enterprises. This way is preferable in all respects. It eliminates the monopoly without destroying the monopolist himself as an enterprise.

The need to use antitrust laws is dictated by the public interest, since this is the only way to ensure that consumers are provided with quality goods at a relatively affordable price.

The main body for conducting antimonopoly policy in the Russian Federation has undergone a number of transformations. In September 1998, the State Antimonopoly Committee (SAC of Russia) was renamed the Ministry of the Russian Federation for Antimonopoly Policy and Entrepreneurship Support (MAP). In the spring of 2004, MAP was transformed into the Federal Antimonopoly Service (Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 189 dated April 7, 2004). Its rights and opportunities are quite wide, and the status corresponds to the position of similar bodies in other countries with a market economy. The main law regulating monopolies is the Law “On Competition and Restriction of Monopoly Activity in Commodity Markets”, adopted in 1991, and since then repeatedly supplemented and amended, as well as Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of December 10, 2008 N 950 “On the participation of executive bodies authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in the field of state regulation of tariffs in the implementation of state regulation and control of the activities of subjects of natural monopolies.

In accordance with the Law "On Competition and Limitation of Monopolistic Activity in Commodity Markets", an enterprise that controls 65% or more of the commodity market can be considered an unconditional monopolist. An enterprise that controls 35-65% of the market can also be recognized as a monopolist, but for this, the antimonopoly authorities must prove that there is a "dominant position" of the economic entity in the market by examining the specific market situation. "Dominant position" gives the firm the ability to exert a decisive influence on competition, hinder market access to other economic entities or otherwise restrict their freedom of economic activity. A list of shares has been established that are treated as abuse of dominant position. These include the withdrawal of goods from circulation in order to create a shortage, the imposition of conditions that are unfavorable to the counterparty or not related to the subject of the contract, the creation of obstacles to market access for competitors, violation of the established pricing procedure.

The law establishes state control over the creation, merger, accession, transformation, liquidation of economic entities, as well as over compliance with antimonopoly laws when acquiring shares, shares, stakes in the authorized capital of an enterprise, forced separation of economic entities. The liability of enterprises and officials for violating antimonopoly legislation is provided for.

The purpose of antitrust law is to regulate industry structure by explicitly prohibiting the merger of companies that dominate the market.

In our country, reforming the structure of natural monopolies can bring certain benefits. The fact is that in Russia, within the framework of a single corporation, both the production of natural monopoly goods and the production of goods that are more efficient to produce under competitive conditions are often combined. This association is, as a rule, the nature of vertical integration. As a result, a giant monopoly is formed, representing a whole sphere of the national economy. RAO "Gazprom", RAO "UES of Russia", JSC "Russian Railways" are the brightest examples of such associations. In addition to the Unified Gas Supply System of Russia (ie, a natural monopoly element), RAO "Gazprom" includes exploration, mining, instrument-making enterprises, design and technological structures, and social facilities (ie, potentially competitive elements). JSC Russian Railways is in charge of both infrastructure (railways, railway stations, information system) and non-monopoly activities (construction and repair organizations, catering enterprises). RAO "UES of Russia" unites both power grids and power plants. Therefore, it is possible to develop competition in those activities of natural monopolies where it can be achieved.

In order to control the market share of economic entities in the country, since 1991, the state register of the Russian Federation of associations and monopoly enterprises has been approved. It annually reflects enterprises that produce 35% or more of products in any commodity market. There is a special procedure for setting prices and tariffs for such enterprises. In addition to special departments and committees, deputies of the State Duma also participate in it.

Another step towards improving the antimonopoly policy is the revision of its theoretical foundations with a reorientation to other tasks. The main direction among them is the development of a policy to counteract the restriction of competition by state authorities and local governments. The second most important task is concern for public welfare, and not for the welfare of a competitor.

It follows from the foregoing that, in general, the system of antimonopoly regulation in the Russian Federation is still in its infancy and requires further improvement, but it should also be noted that this area of ​​state economic policy is rapidly developing and is under close attention of the Government as one of the priority tasks.

Conclusion

As a result of writing this work, the following conclusions can be drawn:

A monopoly assumes that one firm is the only manufacturer of a given product that has no analogues. The monopolist has complete control over its price and output.

The main goal of a monopolist is to maximize profits.

A monopolist always charges a price above marginal cost. Moreover, the output of a monopoly industry is less than that of a competitive industry facing the same demand and the same cost conditions, and the monopoly price is higher than the competitive price.

Sometimes economies of scale make a monopoly desirable. But in order to maximize social welfare, the government needs to set and regulate prices.

Thus, the ever-increasing influence of monopolies on the market has become an indisputable fact, and therefore, one can hardly now talk about free competition, much less call for a return to it, although from the point of view of theoretical economics, such competition contributes to a better use of limited resources of raw materials, materials and other production factors. At the same time, we should not forget that large-scale production is more profitable due to economies of scale, although it negatively affects the more economical and rational use of production factors.

Summing up, we can characterize the antimonopoly legislation and antimonopoly policy of Russia as necessary attributes of structural transformations in all spheres of the country's economy. Undoubtedly, in some cases (but only in a small fraction of their total number), the existence of a monopoly is justified and necessary, but these processes must be strictly controlled by the state to prevent abuse of its monopoly position.

Relying on existing legislation and adopting new, really working laws aimed at limiting monopoly power and preventing the creation of new monopoly entities, pursuing an effective antimonopoly policy, it is possible to solve the problem of monopoly.

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11. Nikiforov A. Changes in the Law "On Competition." and the fight against the establishment of monopoly prices // Questions of Economics, 1995. No. 11.

12. Sidorov V.A. General economic theory: A textbook for universities. M.: "Publishing house "Elite", 2006. 526s.

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Monopolistic activity is actions (inaction) of economic entities, state bodies that are contrary to antimonopoly legislation, aimed at preventing, restricting or eliminating competition, as well as harming the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of consumers.

Monopolistic activity can be subdivided into monopolistic activity of economic entities and monopolistic activity of governing bodies.

Thus, monopolistic activity has a number of features that make it possible to distinguish it from other activities of subjects of monopolistic activity:

illegality. Monopolistic activity in any form is prohibited by law under the threat of applying various types of legal liability (economic, administrative, criminal, civil). Therefore, the implementation of such activities is contrary to the rule of law;

monopolistic activity can be both active, i.e. be carried out by performing actions, as well as passive, i.e. carried out by inaction;

specific subject matter. Monopolistic activity can be carried out only by business entities. Consequently, its subjects cannot be citizens who are not individual entrepreneurs;

anti-competitive nature. Monopolistic activity is aimed at limiting, eliminating or preventing competition in the commodity market, thereby protecting the position of the subject in the commodity market and its monopoly high profits;

* monopolistic activity harms both other business entities and the consumer, whose needs, in essence, are the axis of all entrepreneurial activity.

Monopolistic activity of economic entities can be carried out both individually (abuse of a dominant position in the market by an economic entity) and collectively (agreements and actions of economic entities leading to restriction of competition).

Abuse by an economic entity of a dominant position in the commodity market is the unlawful use by the entity of its dominant position in the commodity market. The dominant position is understood as the exclusive position of an economic entity or several economic entities in the republican or local commodity markets, which gives him (them) the opportunity to exert a decisive influence on the general conditions for the circulation of goods in the relevant commodity market or hinder access to the commodity market for other economic entities.

All methods of abuse of dominance can be divided into four groups:

• 1) actions against the competitive environment. For example, creating barriers to market access for other business entities;
• 2) price manipulation. In particular, unreasonable and deliberate price increases. In this regard, the concept of a monopoly price is introduced, which is understood as a price that steadily deviates from its possible level in a competitive market and is set by an economic entity that dominates the market or economic entities that have entered into an agreement in order to realize their economic interests through the abuse of monopoly power - unreasonable and deliberate increase (decrease) in prices, as well as the adoption of other measures artificially causing their increase or decrease.

Monopoly prices can be monopoly high, monopoly low, and monopoly low.

The establishment of monopolistically high prices may be indicated by a price increase in order to compensate for unreasonable costs and (or) to obtain monopoly high profits as a result of a deliberate reduction in production (sales) volumes in the presence of stable demand or a hidden decrease in production (sales volumes), i.e. intentional reduction in the quality of goods with a formally unchanged value of output (sales); as well as a hidden price increase [price stability with a decrease in quality (the basis for ascertaining the fact of a decrease in the quality of a product is the conclusion of the Committee for Standardization, Metrology and Certification under the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus)] in order to compensate for unreasonable costs and (or) obtaining monopoly high profits.

Signs of monopolistically or monopolistically low prices may be the creation of a situation on the market in which the purchase of goods from other economic entities becomes economically unprofitable; purchase (sale) of goods at prices below the level that would have developed in competitive markets, or at prices that do not provide the seller with profit at the average industry (average regional) level or reimbursement of cost, if this is not predetermined by market conditions, and also not due to market conditions increasing the profit of an economic entity that occupies a dominant position as a buyer in this product market (or the level of wages of its employees) by reducing its own production (sales) costs at the expense of the supplier;

imposing enslaving terms of transactions on potential counterparties. For example, the conclusion of an agreement subject to the acceptance by the counterparty of obligations that are not related to the subject of the agreement;

discrimination of potential counterparties, i.e. applying an unequal approach to economic partners under equal conditions, which creates unequal conditions for them to compete, including the inclusion in contracts of discriminatory conditions that put the counterparty in an unequal position compared to other economic entities.

The legislation does not define an exhaustive list of ways to abuse a dominant position, so the antimonopoly body qualifies the activities of a business entity that occupies a dominant position in the market, based on actual circumstances.

In a competitive environment in the commodity market, in the absence of a business entity that occupies a dominant position, it is possible to carry out monopolistic activities. To do this, business entities can agree to carry out coordinated activities in various forms, creating associations for this or concluding agreements. It should be noted that such agreements are possible both between competitors (horizontal agreements) and non-competing entities, one of which occupies a dominant position in its product market (vertical agreements).

The form of price agreements is a conspiracy to determine prices for goods and services, established orally or in writing. The establishment of price collusion can occur at any stage of the production and sale process directly or indirectly. The form of price agreements is also the exchange of information in the field of prices. The multilateral exchange of information by monopolists is seen as evidence of collusion. The exchange of information about current prices or quantities is a substitute for a formal price agreement.

The objects of price agreements are prices and tariffs for goods and services, other production resources, intermediate and final products, domestic, export or import prices. Agreements between sellers can take the form of fixing prices, agreeing to artificially increase or decrease them, maintain a constant ratio between prices for interchangeable goods, buy goods offered at low prices, establish terms and conditions for credit extended to consumers.

Agreements between buyers are concluded by fixing or artificially setting prices. The first type of this agreement is reduced to the establishment by buyers of the prices at which they will purchase goods.

The monopolistic activity of governing bodies is the most socially dangerous, since it is carried out with the use of state power. There are the following forms of such activity:

agreements (concerted actions) with other business entities;

illegal restriction of the activities of business entities;

discrimination of business entities;

violation of the principle of freedom of contract;

* creating obstacles to the emergence and existence of a competitive environment.

This list is not closed. Thus, the antimonopoly body, having comprehensively assessed the actions of state bodies, can recognize them as monopolistic activities if all its signs are established.

Monopolistic activity - actions (inaction) of economic entities that are contrary to antimonopoly legislation and are aimed at preventing, restricting or eliminating competition.

Monopolistic activity is an offense and, like any offense, has an object, an objective side, a subject and a subjective side. Such activity should be considered as the antipode of competition. Its ultimate goal is to maximize profits in the implementation of entrepreneurial activities.

The classification of monopolistic activity is carried out on various grounds. The classification criterion can be chosen as a form of reflection and consolidation of manifestations of monopolistic activity. In accordance with this criterion, contractual and non-contractual types of monopolistic activity are distinguished.

The classification can also be based on the number of participants in monopolistic activity. In this case, one speaks of individual and collective anti-competitive practices. Collective activity is manifested, in particular, in agreements between economic entities. The result of such agreements is most often the creation of cartels, syndicates, concerns and other monopolistic associations.

Let us analyze the types of monopolistic activities, using the number of participants as the basis for classification, taking into account other criteria.
1. Individual monopolistic activity, which manifests itself as an abuse by an economic entity of its dominant position in the market. The subject of such activity is an economic entity, in respect of which the antimonopoly body has established the fact of dominance, regardless of whether it was entered into the Register.
Depending on goals abuse can take the form of:

• withdrawal of goods from circulation, the purpose or result of which is the creation or maintenance of a shortage in the market or an increase in prices;
• imposing on the counterparty the terms of the contract that are not beneficial for him or not related to the subject of the contract (unreasonable demands for the transfer of financial resources, other property, property rights or labor force of the counterparty, consent to conclude a contract only if provisions are made in it relating to goods in which the counterparty does not interested, etc.);
• creation of obstacles in access to the market (exit from the market) for other economic entities;
• violation of the procedure for pricing prescribed by regulatory enactments, the establishment of monopoly high or monopolistically low prices;
• reducing or stopping the production of goods for which there is a demand or orders from consumers, if there is a break-even possibility of their production.

It should be borne in mind that the established Art. 5 of the Law on Competition, the list of actions considered as a violation of antimonopoly law is not exhaustive. The antimonopoly body has the right to apply measures of influence to an economic entity in cases not directly mentioned in the Law on Competition, if the actions of this entity limit competition and infringe on the interests of other economic entities and citizens, i.e. meet the general definition of "abuse of dominance".

The law provides that in exceptional cases, these actions (inaction) may be recognized as lawful if the economic entity proves that the positive effect from them, including in the socio-economic sphere, will exceed the negative consequences for the commodity market in question.

Depending on the shape, abuses associated with a dominant position can be contractual (if they relate to various conditions for concluding contracts) and non-contractual.

2. Collective monopolistic activity in the form of agreements (concerted actions) of economic entities that restrict competition.

Depending on the subject matter distinguish:
1) contracts, other transactions, agreements or the implementation of concerted actions by economic entities operating in the market of one product (interchangeable goods), which lead or may lead to the following results:

• establishment (maintenance) of prices, discounts, allowances (surcharges), extra charges;
• increase, decrease or maintenance of prices at auctions and auctions;
• dividing the market according to the territorial principle, according to the volume of sales or purchases, according to the range of goods sold or according to the circle of sellers or buyers (customers);
• restriction of access to the market or removal from it of other economic entities as sellers of certain goods or their buyers (customers);
• refusal to conclude contracts with certain sellers or buyers (customers).

This list is not exhaustive. It is prohibited for economic entities operating on the market of one product to conclude other agreements, to carry out concerted actions, as a result of which there is or may be the prevention, restriction, elimination of competition and infringement of the interests of other economic entities;
2) agreements or concerted actions of economic entities that do not compete with each other in the relevant commodity market, receive (potential purchasers) and provide (potential sellers) goods (interchangeable goods), if as a result of such agreements or concerted actions there is or may be a prevention, restriction , elimination of competition. This provision does not apply to economic entities whose aggregate market share of a certain product does not exceed 35 percent.

In exceptional cases, it is allowed to recognize certain types of agreements (concerted actions) of economic entities as lawful if they prove that the positive effect of their actions will exceed the adverse consequences for the commodity market in question, or if the possibility of concluding such an agreement (carrying out concerted actions) is provided for by federal laws. The procedure for recognizing the agreements under consideration as lawful is determined by the Law on Competition (Article 19.1).

The form of agreements is not established by the Law on Competition, therefore, they can be concluded in writing by drawing up one or more documents; in the form of oral agreements at forums, meetings; through coordinated and strictly directed actions aimed at limiting competition.

In addition, it is prohibited to coordinate the business activities of commercial organizations, which may result in the restriction of competition.

Violation of these requirements is the basis for liquidation in court of an organization that coordinates entrepreneurial activities, at the suit of the antimonopoly body.

The Law on the Financial Market does not contain the term "monopolistic activity", but establishes a ban on its implementation (based on the known content of this concept), establishes and defines the forms of manifestation. At the same time, similarly to the Law of the RSFSR “On Competition and Restriction of Monopolistic Activities in Commodity Markets”, monopolistic activities in the financial services market can be divided into two types:

1. abuse by a financial institution of its dominant position.
2. agreements or concerted actions of financial institutions that restrict competition. The Law on the Financial Market does not allow the conclusion of agreements or the implementation of concerted actions of financial organizations among themselves or with federal executive authorities, executive authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, local governments and with any legal entities, if they may result in restriction of competition.

Such agreements may be aimed at setting and maintaining prices, dividing the financial services market, restricting access to the market or eliminating other financial organizations from it, establishing barriers to entry into payment systems, etc. This list is open.

As an exception, the Financial Market Law allows agreements or concerted actions of financial institutions:

• with the Bank of Russia;
• in cases stipulated by the legislation of the Russian Federation;
• concluded for the purpose of unifying performance standards, conducting joint research and development, purchasing technical equipment, using unified software and technical information tools.

The Financial Market Law (Article 8) introduces the concept and practice of subsequent control over agreements (concerted actions) of financial organizations that restrict competition. Financial institutions are required to send notifications to the FAS Russia within 15 days from the date of conclusion of the agreement, if the total share of financial institutions participating in agreements or concerted actions in the turnover of the financial service is or may be 10 percent or more.

The procedure for the FAS Russia to make a decision on recognizing agreements or concerted actions as restricting competition is defined in Art. 9 of the Financial Market Law. Agreements or transactions made as a result of such actions may be declared invalid in court on the basis of a claim by the FAS Russia with compensation for damages.

Preliminary control of the FAS Russia is provided for agreements on the creation of associations (associations, unions) of financial organizations. Participants are obliged to send an application to the antimonopoly authority and obtain its consent to the creation of the association.

Monopolistic activity is the abuse of a dominant position by an economic entity, a group of persons, agreements or concerted actions prohibited by antimonopoly legislation, as well as other actions recognized as monopolistic activities in accordance with federal laws.

Dominant position in the market - the position of an economic entity (group of persons) or several economic entities (group of persons) in the market of a certain product, giving such an economic entity (group of persons) or such economic entities (groups of persons) the opportunity to exert a decisive influence on the general conditions for the circulation of goods on the relevant commodity market, and (or) eliminate other economic entities from this commodity market, and (or) impede access to this commodity market for other economic entities (Part 1, Article 5 of the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition”). The dominant position in the market is occupied by an economic entity in cases where:

1) its share in the market of a certain product exceeds 50%, unless it is established that, despite the excess of the specified value, the position of the economic entity in the product market is not dominant;

2) its share in the market of a certain product is less than 50%, if the dominant position of such an economic entity is established by the antimonopoly authority (Part 1, Article 5 of the Federal Law "On Protection of Competition");

3) the aggregate share of no more than three economic entities, the share of each of which is greater than the shares of other economic entities in the relevant commodity market, exceeds 50%, or the aggregate share of no more than five economic entities, the share of each of which is greater than the shares of other economic entities in the relevant commodity market; product market exceeds 70% (Part 3, Article 5 of the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition”) (this provision does not apply if the share of at least one of the specified economic entities is less than 8%);

4) for a long period of time, the relative size of the shares of economic entities is unchanged or subject to minor changes, and access to the relevant product market for new competitors is difficult;

5) a product sold or purchased by economic entities cannot be replaced by another product when consumed, an increase in the price of a product does not cause a decrease in demand for this product corresponding to such an increase, information on the price, on the conditions for the sale or purchase of this product on the relevant product market is available to an indefinite circle of persons (Part 3, Article 5 of the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition”).

The position of an economic entity whose share in the market of a certain product does not exceed 35% cannot be recognized as dominant.

The danger of market dominance to trade is that market dominance often leads to monopoly. Abuse of a dominant position can only be recognized in court. The dominant position of an economic entity is established by the antimonopoly body in case of violation of the antimonopoly legislation.

Actions (inaction) of an economic entity occupying a dominant position are prohibited, the result of which is or may be the prevention, restriction, elimination of competition and (or) infringement of the interests of other persons, including in accordance with Part 1 of Art. 10 of the Federal Law "On Protection of Competition"):

1) establishment, maintenance of a monopoly high or monopolistically low price of goods;

2) the withdrawal of goods from circulation, if the result of such withdrawal was an increase in the price of the goods;

3) imposing on the counterparty the terms of the contract that are unfavorable for him or not related to the subject of the contract;

4) economically or technologically unjustified reduction or termination of production of goods, if there is a demand for this product or orders for its supply are placed if it is possible to produce it cost-effectively, and also if such reduction or termination of production of goods is not directly provided for by federal laws, regulatory legal acts the President of the Russian Federation, the Government of the Russian Federation, authorized federal executive bodies or judicial acts;

5) economically or technologically unjustified refusal or evasion from concluding an agreement with individual buyers if it is possible to produce or supply the relevant goods, as well as if such refusal or such evasion is not expressly provided for by federal laws, regulatory legal acts of the President of the Russian Federation, the Government Russian Federation, authorized federal executive bodies or judicial acts;

6) economically, technologically or otherwise unjustified establishment of different prices for the same product, unless otherwise provided by federal law;

7) establishment of an unreasonably high or unreasonably low price of a financial service by a financial institution;

8) creation of discriminatory conditions;

9) creation of obstacles to access to the commodity market or exit from the commodity market to other economic entities;

10) violation of the pricing procedure established by regulatory legal acts.

According to their types, monopolistic activity is divided into:

1) individual;

2) collective;

3) contractual;

4) non-contractual.

Individual monopolistic activity is manifested in the abuse of a dominant position in the market of a certain type of goods. Collective monopolistic activity is manifested in the conclusion of agreements. Agreement - an agreement in writing contained in a document or several documents, as well as an agreement in oral form. Agreements allowed:

1) in writing, if these agreements are commercial concession agreements;

2) between economic entities, the share of each of which in any commodity market does not exceed 20%.

The Federal Law "On Protection of Competition" allows actions, inactions, agreements, concerted actions, transactions, if they do not create an opportunity for individuals to eliminate competition in the relevant product market, do not impose restrictions on their participants or third parties that do not correspond to the achievement of the goals of such actions (inaction), agreements and concerted actions, transactions, other actions, as well as if their result is or may be:

1) improving the production, sale of goods or stimulating technical, economic progress or increasing the competitiveness of Russian-made goods in the world commodity market;

2) obtaining by buyers of advantages (benefits) commensurate with the advantages (benefits) received by economic entities as a result of actions (inaction), agreements and concerted actions, transactions.

Agreements between federal executive authorities, public authorities of constituent entities of the Russian Federation, local governments, other bodies and organizations exercising the functions of these bodies, as well as state non-budgetary funds, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation or between them and business entities, or the implementation by these bodies and organizations of agreed actions, if such an agreement or such implementation of concerted actions lead or may lead to the prevention, restriction, elimination of competition, in particular, to:

1) increase, decrease or maintenance of prices (tariffs), unless such agreements are provided for by federal laws and regulatory legal acts of the President of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Russian Federation;

2) economically, technologically and otherwise unjustified establishment of different prices (tariffs) for the same product;

3) dividing the commodity market according to the territorial principle, the volume of sale and purchase of goods, the range of goods sold, or the composition of sellers or buyers;

4) restriction of access to the commodity market, exit from the commodity market or elimination of economic entities from it.

Question 3. The concept, signs and types of monopolistic activities in commodity markets

Monopolistic activity - abuse by an economic entity, a group of persons of its dominant position, agreements or concerted actions prohibited by antimonopoly legislation, as well as other actions (inaction) recognized as monopolistic activities in accordance with federal laws (clause 10, article 4 of the Law on Competition).

Monopolistic activity is the unlawful behavior of subjects and is perceived as an offense. To characterize the offense, the theory of law has developed a category of the legal composition of the offense, which should be disclosed in relation to monopolistic activities.

The object of this offense is competitive legal relations protected by the norms of the antimonopoly legislation. At the same time, unfair manifestations of competition are illegal and not subject to legal protection.

From the objective side, monopolistic activity is characterized as an illegal act, expressed in active (action) or passive (inaction) behavior.

The subjects of this offense are business entities and entities acting as groups of persons.

The subjective side of monopolistic activity is manifested in the intentional form of guilt, since the legislative definition contains an indication of the direction (purpose) of such unlawful behavior1.

The Law on Competition establishes a ban on the abuse by an economic entity of a dominant position in the market and on the conclusion (implementation) of agreements (concerted actions) restricting competition by economic entities. In essence, we are talking about individual and collective manifestations of monopolistic activity.

Article 10 of the Law on Competition prohibits actions (inaction) of an economic entity occupying a dominant position, the result of which is or may be the prevention, restriction, elimination of competition and (or) infringement of the interests of other persons, incl. the following actions (inaction):

Establishment, maintenance of a monopoly high or monopolistically low price of goods;

Withdrawal of goods from circulation, if the result of such withdrawal was an increase in the price of the goods;

Imposing on the counterparty the terms of the contract that are unfavorable for him or not related to the subject of the contract (economically or technologically unjustified and (or) not directly provided for by federal laws, regulatory legal acts of the President of the Russian Federation, regulatory legal acts of the Government of the Russian Federation, regulatory legal acts of authorized federal bodies executive power or judicial acts of the demand for the transfer of financial resources, other property, including property rights, as well as consent to conclude an agreement, subject to the introduction of provisions regarding the goods in which the counterparty is not interested, and other requirements);

Economically or technologically unjustified reduction or termination of production of goods, if there is a demand for this product or orders for its supply have been placed if it is possible to produce it profitably, and also if such a reduction or such termination of production of goods is not expressly provided for by federal laws , regulatory legal acts of the President of the Russian Federation, regulatory legal acts of the Government of the Russian Federation, regulatory legal acts of authorized federal executive bodies or judicial acts;

Economically or technologically unjustified refusal or evasion from concluding an agreement with individual buyers (customers) if it is possible to produce or supply the relevant goods, as well as if such refusal or such evasion is not expressly provided for by federal laws, regulatory legal acts of the President Russian Federation, regulatory legal acts of the Government of the Russian Federation, regulatory legal acts of authorized federal executive bodies or judicial acts;

Establishing different prices (tariffs) for the same product that is not economically, technologically or otherwise unjustified, unless otherwise provided by federal law;

Creation of discriminatory conditions;

Creating obstacles to access to the commodity market or exit from the commodity market to other economic entities;

Violation of the pricing procedure established by regulatory legal acts.

When considering cases related to the violation of Art. 10 of the Law on Competition, it is mandatory to establish the fact of the presence of a dominant position of an economic entity (group of persons)1. But it should be noted that the retention of a dominant position in itself is not anti-competitive, the fact of abuse of a dominant position is considered illegal.

In accordance with paragraph 2 of Article 10 of the Law on Competition, actions (inaction) of an economic entity in exceptional cases are recognized as lawful, if the economic entity proves the latter.

Article 11 of the Law on Competition establishes a ban on the conclusion (implementation) of agreements (concerted actions) of economic entities, if such agreements or concerted actions lead or may lead to:

Establishment or maintenance of prices (tariffs), discounts, surcharges (surcharges), margins;

Increase, decrease or maintenance of prices at the auction;

Division of the commodity market on the basis of the territorial principle, the volume of sale or purchase of goods, the range of goods sold or the composition of sellers or buyers (customers);

An economically or technologically unjustified refusal to conclude contracts with certain sellers or buyers (customers), if such a refusal is not directly provided for by federal laws, regulatory legal acts of the President of the Russian Federation, regulatory legal acts of the Government of the Russian Federation, regulatory legal acts of authorized federal executive authorities or judicial acts;

Imposing on the counterparty the terms of the contract that are unfavorable for him or not related to the subject of the contract (unreasonable demands for the transfer of financial resources, other property, including property rights, as well as consent to conclude the contract, subject to the inclusion of provisions in it regarding goods in which the counterparty not interested, and other requirements);

Economically, technologically and otherwise unjustified establishment of different prices (tariffs) for the same product;

Reducing or ceasing the production of goods for which there is a demand or for the supply of which orders have been placed, if there is a possibility of their profitable production;

Creating obstacles to access to the commodity market or exit from the commodity market to other economic entities;

Establishing the conditions for membership (participation) in professional and other associations, if such conditions lead or may lead to the prevention, restriction or elimination of competition, as well as the establishment of unreasonable membership criteria that are obstacles to participation in payment or other systems, without participation in which competing financial institutions will not be able to provide the necessary financial services.

It is allowed to conclude vertical agreements between business entities if their market share does not exceed twenty percent.

The rules of the antimonopoly legislation establish requirements directed not only to business entities, but also to authorities and other organizations that allow anticompetitive manifestations in their activities. The form of such manifestations should be individual or collective (agreed)1.

In accordance with Art. 15 of the Law on Competition Federal executive authorities, public authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, local governments, other bodies or organizations exercising the functions of these bodies, as well as state extra-budgetary funds, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation are prohibited from adopting acts and (or) carrying out actions (inaction) ), which lead or may lead to the prevention, restriction, elimination of competition, except for the cases of adoption of acts and (or) implementation of such actions (inaction) provided for by federal laws, in particular, it is prohibited:

Imposing restrictions on the creation of economic entities in any field of activity, as well as establishing prohibitions or imposing restrictions on the implementation of certain types of activities or the production of certain types of goods;

Unreasonable obstruction of the activities of business entities;

Establishment of prohibitions or restrictions on the free movement of goods in the Russian Federation, other restrictions on the rights of economic entities to sell, purchase, otherwise acquire, exchange goods;

Giving instructions to economic entities on the priority supply of goods for a certain category of buyers (customers) or on the conclusion of contracts on a priority basis;

Establishing restrictions on the choice of economic entities that provide such goods for purchasers of goods.

It is prohibited to vest public authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, local self-government bodies with powers, the exercise of which leads or may lead to the prevention, restriction, elimination of competition, with the exception of cases established by federal laws.

Collective forms of anti-competitive activities of authorities, other organizations are expressed in the conclusion in any form of agreements between authorities, other organizations between themselves or between them and an economic entity, as a result of which there is or may be the prevention, restriction, elimination of competition and infringement of the interests of economic entities ( article 16 of the Competition Law).

Question 3. The concept, signs and types of monopolistic activity in commodity markets - the concept and types. Classification and features of the category "Question 3. The concept, signs and types of monopolistic activities in commodity markets" 2017, 2018.