ANÁLISE DAS PRÁTICAS ANTICOMPETITIVAS NOTIFICADAS AO CONSELHO ADMINISTRATIVO DE DEFESA ECONÔMICA (CADE) ANALYSIS OF ANTI-COMPETITIVE PRACTICES NOTIFIED TO THE ADMINISTRATIVE COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC DEFENSE (CADE)

In 1962, the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) was created, an institution that regulates the Brazilian productive structure. Since 1990, its participation has become more active due to trade liberalization and the expansion of free competition. In this sense, the present study seeks to analyze the notifications made to the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) in the period from 1965 to 2012. From a qualitative approach, the content analysis was performed for the twenty-five cases notified along these years, which were obtained from the publication of "Defense of competition in Brazil: 50 years." Through the Mind Manager software, the development of conceptual maps was performed. The cases judged by the Council refer to five categories, the concentration acts, the exclusive contracts, monopolies, cartels and tied sales. These cases were judged as justified when the presence of anticompetitive conduct is confirmed, and rejected otherwise. In the first category, five reports were found, of which two were justified. In exclusive contracts, three cases were justified. In monopoly, five cases were reported, of which four were justified. In the fourth category, cartels, ten notifications were found, and nine of them were judged as justified. Regarding the tied sales, only one case was judged and considered as justified. Thus, the cartel was the most notified anticompetitive practice and judged as justified by the Council. Therefore, it is observed that 76% of the cases prosecuted were justified, which corroborates the Council s suspicion of anticompetitive conduct. These behaviors may inhibit free competition and distort the market, being often harmful to consumers, because of the incidence of abusive pricing. Key-Words: Anti-competitive practices, CADE, Content analysis. 1 Doutoranda do Programa de Pos-Graduacao em Administracao (PPGA) da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM). Avenida Roraima, n. 1000, Cidade Universitaria, Santa MariaRS, CEP: 97105-900, predio 74-C. E-mail: brunammmoraes@hotmail.com. Mestre em Administracao pela UFSM. 2 Doutoranda PPGA da UFSM. Avenida Roraima, n. 1000, Cidade Universitaria, Santa MariaRS, CEP: 97105-900, predio 74-C. Email: mygrelopes@gmail.com. Mestre em Administracao pela UFSM. 3 Professora Adjunta do PPGA da UFSM. Avenida Roraima, n. 1000, Cidade Universitaria, Santa MariaRS, CEP: 97105-900, predio 74-C. E-mail: vania.costa@ufsm.br. Doutora em Administracao pela Universidade Federal da Bahia (UFBA). 4Professor Adjunto do PPGA e Diretor da Editora da UFSM. Avenida Roraima, n. 1000, Cidade Universitaria, Santa MariaRS, CEP: 97105-900, predio 74-C. E-mail: daniel.coronel@uol.com.br. Homepage: www.daniel.coronel.com.br. Doutor em Economia Aplicada pela Universidade Federal de Vicosa (UFV). 5 Professor Adjunto do PPGA da UFSM. Avenida Roraima, n. 1000, Cidade Universitaria, Santa MariaRS, CEP: 97105-900, predio 74-C. E-mail: reisolibender@yahoo.com.br. Doutor em Economia Aplicada pela Universidade Federal de Vicosa (UFV).