Collusion Detection with Graph Neural Networks

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Gomes, Lucas, Kueck, Jannis, Mattes, Mara, Spindler, Martin, Zaytsev, Alexey
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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_version_ 1866914968533729280
author Gomes, Lucas
Kueck, Jannis
Mattes, Mara
Spindler, Martin
Zaytsev, Alexey
author_facet Gomes, Lucas
Kueck, Jannis
Mattes, Mara
Spindler, Martin
Zaytsev, Alexey
contents Collusion is a complex phenomenon in which companies secretly collaborate to engage in fraudulent practices. This paper presents an innovative methodology for detecting and predicting collusion patterns in different national markets using neural networks (NNs) and graph neural networks (GNNs). GNNs are particularly well suited to this task because they can exploit the inherent network structures present in collusion and many other economic problems. Our approach consists of two phases: In Phase I, we develop and train models on individual market datasets from Japan, the United States, two regions in Switzerland, Italy, and Brazil, focusing on predicting collusion in single markets. In Phase II, we extend the models' applicability through zero-shot learning, employing a transfer learning approach that can detect collusion in markets in which training data is unavailable. This phase also incorporates out-of-distribution (OOD) generalization to evaluate the models' performance on unseen datasets from other countries and regions. In our empirical study, we show that GNNs outperform NNs in detecting complex collusive patterns. This research contributes to the ongoing discourse on preventing collusion and optimizing detection methodologies, providing valuable guidance on the use of NNs and GNNs in economic applications to enhance market fairness and economic welfare.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2410_07091
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Collusion Detection with Graph Neural Networks
Gomes, Lucas
Kueck, Jannis
Mattes, Mara
Spindler, Martin
Zaytsev, Alexey
Econometrics
Machine Learning
Collusion is a complex phenomenon in which companies secretly collaborate to engage in fraudulent practices. This paper presents an innovative methodology for detecting and predicting collusion patterns in different national markets using neural networks (NNs) and graph neural networks (GNNs). GNNs are particularly well suited to this task because they can exploit the inherent network structures present in collusion and many other economic problems. Our approach consists of two phases: In Phase I, we develop and train models on individual market datasets from Japan, the United States, two regions in Switzerland, Italy, and Brazil, focusing on predicting collusion in single markets. In Phase II, we extend the models' applicability through zero-shot learning, employing a transfer learning approach that can detect collusion in markets in which training data is unavailable. This phase also incorporates out-of-distribution (OOD) generalization to evaluate the models' performance on unseen datasets from other countries and regions. In our empirical study, we show that GNNs outperform NNs in detecting complex collusive patterns. This research contributes to the ongoing discourse on preventing collusion and optimizing detection methodologies, providing valuable guidance on the use of NNs and GNNs in economic applications to enhance market fairness and economic welfare.
title Collusion Detection with Graph Neural Networks
topic Econometrics
Machine Learning
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.07091