Cost synergies are an explicitly recognized justification for a two-firm merger and empirical techniques are now widely used to assess the impact of cost-reducing mergers on prices and welfare in the postmerger market. We show that if the merger occurs in a vertically product differentiated...

Cost synergies are an explicitly recognized justification for a two-firm merger, and empirical techniques are now widely used to assess the impact of cost-reducing mergers on prices and welfare in the post-merger market. We show that if the merger occurs in a vertically product differentiated...

We analyze the interaction between entrepreneurs who open new markets and established, `fast second' firms to develop them. We use a spatially differentiated model in which early entry is traditionally excessive. However, the anticipated later entry by the `fast second' brand can potentially...