Zahlreiche Märkte sind durch die Coronavirus-Pandemie von Unternehmensaufgaben und Insolvenzen, Unternehmenszusammenschlüssen und verminderten Gründungsanreizen betroffen. Durch den Digitalisierungsschub infolge der Kontaktbeschränkungen ist zudem zu erwarten, dass Digitalmärkte mit...

Recent empirical studies suggest that there is a rising trend of market power across sectors in advanced economies. We contribute to this line of research by providing industry-specific evidence for German manufacturing industries, based on representative high-quality firm level data from...

We document the following stylized facts for the Mexican retail market for gasoline using data for 2018-2019: (1) consumer prices adjust slower than wholesale prices; (2) more competition, in the form of a higher density of stations, implies lower markups and lower prices; and (3) more...

Empirical evidence suggests that many mergers do not increase profits of the participating firms and decrease welfare. Due to the globalization of markets we should take an international view on mergers and their welfare effects. This paper develops a Bertrand-model of an international...

Cloud-Computing umschreibt einen fundamentalen Wandel im Bereich der Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien (IKT). Zunehmend werden Softwareanwendungen, aber auch Hardwarefunktionen wie Speicherplatz und Rechenkapazität nicht mehr zur dauerhaften Nutzung an einem lokalen Computer...

Since the early 2000s, there has been rapid growth in the number and spread of supermarkets in southern Africa. This paper is a synthesis of key findings of studies undertaken in Botswana, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe on the expansion of supermarkets and the impact this has had on...

We examine the relation between consumer search and equilibrium prices when collusion is endogenously determined. We develop a theoretical model and show that average price is a U-shaped function of the measure of searchers: prices are highest when there are no searchers (local monopoly power)...

Free!! Google and Facebook!!! We all know them, what to worry about? Everything! The giants of the internet are expanding into every corner of the economy, politics and our lives. They control the majority of digital advertising; Alphabet, Google's parent, and Facebook receive more than 60...

Free!! Google and Facebook!!! We all know them, what to worry about? Everything! The giants of the internet are expanding into every corner of the economy, politics and our lives. They control the majority of digital advertising; Alphabet, Google's parent, and Facebook receive more than 60...

This paper presents a comparative analysis of alternative competition policy and regulatory regimes that are proposed to safeguard competition in the digital economy. We review the causes of concentration in several digital markets, and differentiate the objectives of promoting competition in,...