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These are the best new articles, videos, podcasts, and other resources we have found to teach oligopoly. They bring economics to life by showing students real-life examples and current events.
 

News Articles

(Listed from most recent to oldest)

Spirit Airlines mulls bankruptcy, sending its stock price into nosedive | CBS News (Nov. 13, 2024)
Earlier this year the FTC blocked Spirit's proposed merger with JetBlue. The FTC's block may not preserve low cost competition as Spirit is reported to be weeks away from declaring bankruptcy.

McDonald's accuses beef suppliers of price fixing | Restaurant Business (Oct. 7, 2024)
McDonald's filed in court alleging the U.S.’s biggest slaughterhouses colluded to raise beef prices, while simultaneously lowering prices to cattle suppliers.

OPEC may soon lose its sway over global oil prices, IEA says | CNN (June 12, 2024)
The IEA predicts that oil supply, boosted by production in the Americas, will exceed demand by 8 million barrels a day in 2030.

The United States is drowning OPEC in oil | Quartz (Jan. 18, 2024)
As the US has ramped up oil production, the share of oil produced by OPEC has dropped to 48% of the market. That means OPEC has less pricing power than it used to.

Spirit Airlines is in trouble after the JetBlue deal was grounded | Quartz (Jan. 18, 2024)
A federal judge struck down the proposed merger of JetBlue and Spirit. It may not preserve low-cost competition, but instead spell the downfall of Spirit.

Beating the Auction Duopoly | SatPost by Trung Phan (Jan. 12, 2024)
There’s a relative newcomer threatening the Sotheby’s and Christie duopoly on auctions.

NAR’s commission collusion case rattles real estate industry | Mortgage Professional (Nov. 2, 2023)
A Missouri jury found that the National Association of Realtors colluded to maintain high commissions in real estate sales.

AI cartels: what does artificial intelligence mean for competition policy? | Economics Observatory (July 24, 2023)
Does AI pricing increase competition or enable tacit collusion?

For Saudi Arabia, the price of oil is falling too low | Quartz (June 5, 2023)
The classic cartel example gets a recent data update.

Exclusive: Chinese lithium producers set price floor as demand evaporates, sources say | Reuters (March 31, 2023)
Ten lithium companies met and agreed to a minimum price. Sounds like collusion to me.

Bumble Bee CEO is the latest tuna titan caught in the tangled net of fish-fixing | The Hustle (Sept. 23, 2020)
Three canned tuna companies dominated the US tuna market. In 2016, they created a “Tuna Council” as a front for collusive activity to fix the price of tuna. Your dad will appreciate the tuna puns in this article.
 

Videos

Tesla vs. Ford: What Their Price Cuts Mean for the EV Industry | WSJ 
Tesla, the leading EV automaker, slashed prices and Ford followed.

Syrup wars | Vice 
With a name like the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers, you know they mean business. Move over OPEC, there’s a new oligopoly in town. The indicator has a podcast on the same topic.

Bread collusion in Canada | Economics Media Library
Bread companies in Canada allegedly had a price-fixing scheme to keep the price of bread artificially high for over 10 years before they were caught! Here’s an update on the charges. First maple syrup, now bread? Why so much collusion, Canada?

Podcasts

The ice cream conspiracy | NPR
Are Ben and Jerry’s and Haagen Daas tacitly colluding to keep the price of premium pints high?

Encore: A new hard hat could help protect workers from on-the-job brain injuries | NPR (3:45 min.)
All safety helmets seem identical, but none of them protects the head well if a hit comes at an angle. Two scientists noticed an opportunity, and their WaveCel is now one of the two companies that make sports and hard hats. How did WaveCel eliminate the competition? What is the price of the new hard hat technology?

Postal illuminati | Planet Money Episode 857
Why is it more expensive to ship a mug across the street than across the world? You may need to listen to this one twice - has Planet Money uncovered an international postage price fixing scheme?

Additional Resources

Multiple-Choice Questions | MRU

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