A non-competitive, covert, and occasionally unlawful agreement between rivals that aims to upset the equilibrium of the market is called Collusion. By working together, companies involved in collusion can artificially inflate prices or reduce production in order to drive up profits. While this may benefit those involved in the collusion initially, it ultimately hurts consumers and businesses who are forced to pay more for goods and services than they should. Additionally, collusion can lead to decreased innovation as companies are less likely to invest resources into new products if they know that their competitors will simply copy them.Ultimately, "collusion is harmful to both consumers and businesses alike and should be avoided whenever possible. Governments should take steps to prevent companies from colluding with each other and punish those that do engage in this behavior. Consumers can also help by being aware of signs that prices may be inflated due to collusion (e.g., identical or suspiciously similar prices across different brands) and reporting any suspected cases of price fixing or cartel activity."
