12

This paper examines the interaction between two branches of the competition policy, the merger control and the anticartel fighting. Our model takes into account both the imperfect information of the competition agency on the quality of coordination projects undertaken by the industry firms, and the private choice of firms between cartels and mergers. We show that the two above-mentioned branches of the competition policy may be either substitutable or complementary, depending on the cost of resources available to the competition agency. Classification JEL: L41, K21, D82