The Effects of Resale Price Maintenance on Shareholder Wealth: The Consequences of Schwegmann

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Event study methodology is used to assess the effects of the 1951 US Supreme Court Schwegmann decision, which severely weakened the enforcement of resale price maintenance contracts in the United States. Overall, upstream industries with heavy RPM usage apparently were not adversely affected by the decision. Among large retailing groups, a positive effect of the decision was found for department stores. Cross-section tests of the motives for the adoption of RPM provide support for hypotheses based on free-ridership, dealer cartels, and to a lesser extent protection of product reputation.