Market Control and Politics.The International Cartel of Oil Corporations 1960-1980

历史和经济研究通常认为，20世纪下半叶的贸易自由化和新自由主义政策导致卡特尔作为一种经济组织形式的重要性下降。然而，国际商品市场的发展表明，这一论点存在争议。该项目涉及1960年至1980年的世界石油市场，并将国际石油公司作为分析的重点。在此期间，七家大公司控制了世界石油市场，因此是战后最重要的市场之一。虽然石油公司没有在第二次世界大战后立即正式建立卡特尔协议，但他们确实继续就石油的价格和生产做出非正式安排。到1960年，它们强大的市场机制不断受到新的市场利益相关者崛起的挑战，这主要是由于独立卡特尔企业的建立，但也是石油市场政治相关性增强的结果。随着石油输出国组织（OPEC）的成立，石油市场的格局被永久地改变了。欧佩克是第二个国营卡特尔，声称拥有使用、生产和利润的权利。该项目分析了石油公司如何在1960年至1980年间不断变化的市场环境中定位自己，以及它们采取了哪些战略来保持其主导地位。该项目的中心论点是，石油市场的变化和新的竞争促使大型国际石油公司之间加强合作。即使是所谓的1973/74年油价危机的转折点，也没有改变这一格局。该项目基于对相关公司的系统和档案分析，解释了第二次世界大战后国际商品市场的出现和转变。此外，本文还对国际卡特尔的实证分析做出了贡献。

Historical and economic research often assumes that the liberalization of trade and neo-liberal policies during the second half of the 20th century led to a decreased significance of cartels as a form of economic organization. However, the development of international commodity markets shows that this thesis is disputable. The project deals with the world oil market between 1960 and 1980 and makes the international oil companies the focus of the analysis. During this period, seven large corporations controlled the world oil market and hence one of the most important markets of the postwar period. Although oil companies did not formally establish cartel agreements immediately following World War II, they did continue to make informal arrangements concerning the prices and production of oil. By 1960 their strong market regime was repeatedly challenged by the rise of new market stakeholders, largely due to the establishment of independent cartel enterprises but also as a result of an increased political relevance of the oil market. With the formation of the Organization of Oil Exporting Countries (OPEC) a second, state-run cartel, which claimed the rights of usage, production and profit, the landscape of the oil market was perpetually altered. The project analyzes how oil companies positioned themselves within shifting market circumstances between 1960 and 1980 and which strategies they pursued to maintain their dominant position. The central argument of the project contends that the changes and the new competition on the oil market spurred reinforced cooperation between large international oil companies. Even the alleged tipping point of the 1973/74 oil price crisis did not change this constellation.Building on a systematic and archival-based analysis of the involved corporations, the project explains the emergence and transformation of international commodity markets after the Second World War. Furthermore, it makes a contribution to the empirical analysis of international cartels.