In a model with manufacturer and retailer competition, we show that RPM facilitates manufacturer cartels when retailers have an outside option to selling the manufacturer's product. Because retailers have an effective outside option, the manufacturer can only ensure contract acceptance by...

Japanese antitrust law exempts a variety of vertical and horizontal restraints that are commonly regarded as anti-competitive. Measures of market structure, market power and deadweight loss in the United States and Japan, however, indicate a striking similarity in the level of "competition" in...

This paper undertakes a qualitative analysis of the relationship between EU cartel enforcement in the chemical industry in the period 1997-2010 and compliance measures announced in the Annual Reports of the undertakings involved. It goes on to focus on Akzo Nobel NV’s unique use of an internal...

Television is the dominant entertainment medium for hundreds of millions. This chapter surveys the economic forces that determine the production and consumption of this content. It presents recent trends in television and online video markets, both in the US and internationally, and describes...

We examine cost-reducing investment in vertically-related oligopolies, where firms may be vertically integrated or separated. Analyzing a standard linear Cournot model, we show that: (i) Integrated firms invest more than separated competitors. (ii) Vertical integration increases own investment...

We examine vertical backward integration in a reducedform model of successive oligopolies. Our key findings are: (i) There may be asymmetric equilibria where some firms integrate and others remain separated, even if firms are symmetric initially; (ii) Efficient firms are more likely to integrate...

This paper provides evidence on the relation between the intensity of product market competition and the probability of exit. We adopt a natural experiment approach towards analyzing the impact of a tightening of Swiss antitrust legislation on exit probabilities. Based on a sample of more than...

This article analyzes the effects of intellectual property rights in a qualityladder model in which incumbent firms preemptively innovate in order to keep their position of leadership. Unlike in models with leapfrogging, granting nonexpiring forward protection reduces the rate of innovation and...

Using a sample of 96 mergers notified to the EU Commission and logit regression techniques, we analyse the Commission's decision process. We find that the probability of a phase 2 investigation and of a prohibition of the merger increases with the parties' market shares. The probability...

Most often, the competition authorities approve combinations based on the tradeoff between the expected efficiency gains and the likely effect on market power creation. However, the realities may be different from the expected synergy creation since merger regulations are ex ante in nature. The...