The goal of the study, according to the case study "The Kentucky Milk Case," was to discover if there was any bid collusion in the Kentucky school milk market between 1983 and 1991. Collusion is an unethical conduct frowned upon by our government since it contradicts our
country's economic principles and values. The Kentucky Milk Case Report is an in-depth examination of a potentially collusive market environment in Kentucky. The Kentucky Department of Agriculture commissioned the research in response to claims of price fixing and other anti-competitive behavior in the state's dairy business. There was a lot of data on all the big
dairy producing companies, but two companies, Meyer and Truath Dairies, data was eye opening
and clearly indicated collusion was taking place. By analyzing the market share of the company, it was a clear indicator that collusion was taking place. A company's or product's market share is the percentage of total sales in a market that it controls. It is used to assess a company's size and success within an industry or market. To find the market share of these two companies I used the data provided by the case. Using the quantity of half points sold by each company divided by the total of half pints of milk sold in that year, I was able to calculate the market share for both Meyer and Truath Dairies. If you look at figure one, you can see the market share for both companies from the years in question, 1983-1991. When conducting my calculations, I noticed the shift in market share as Meyer and Truath Dairies both had near identical market shares and controlled over 90% of the market. This is a clear indicator of collusion within the industry as equal shares between two companies are a clear indicator of collusion (McClave, 2014).
