From patent licensing to stock buffering schemes. Paths and structures of international aluminium cartels, 1886-1945.

International aluminium industry was deeply marked by cartels. Since its birth at the end of XIX century, this industry formed different kinds of agreements that went along its growth until the Second World War. While the conventional interpretations consider only the competition side of the problem, this article want to analyse cartels under a managerial point of view, studying internal structures and their impact over the evolution of firms’ organisation. Furthermore, this article wants also to explore the impact of state regulations and interventionism, showing under a comparative point of view its effects over cartel activity.