This paper investigates the effects of mergers, entry, and exit in retail markets when input prices are negotiated. Results are derived from a model of bilateral Nash-bargaining between manufacturers and retailers which allows for general forms of demand and retail competition. Whether...

Unlike most retrospective merger studies that only focus on price effects, we also estimate the impact of a merger on product variety. We use an original dataset on Dutch supermarkets to assess the effect of a merger that was conditionally approved by the Dutch Competition Authority (ACM) on...

I use a unique data set of retail food prices to analyze mergers between supermarket chains. The data allow for an examination of the effects of mergers on prices, the frequency of promotions, and the depth of promotions. I find that increases in a chain's share of the total US food sales are...

This study estimates the price effects of horizontal mergers in the U.S. grocery retailing industry. We examine fourteen regions affected by mergers including both highly concentrated and relatively unconcentrated markets. We identify price effects by comparing markets affected by mergers to...

This article assesses the effectiveness of outlet divestitures as remedies in a merger between two large gasoline retailers. Results show that divestitures are effective in disciplining the increase in margins generated by the merger, but only for competing gas stations located within a one...

On September 4, 1996, the two largest office superstore chains in the United States, Office Depot and Staples, announced their agreement to merge. Seven months later, the Federal Trade Commission voted 4 to 1 to oppose the merger on the grounds that it was likely to harm competition and lead to...

In this paper we quantify the effects of horizontal mergers in the supermarket sector that took place in the US between 2003 and 2005. We contribute to the growing literature on ex-post merger evaluations in three ways: i) we propose a cleaner identification strategy resulting from the different...

We study the effect of a merger between two Dutch supermarket chains to assess its effect on the depth as well as composition of assortment. We adopt a difference-in-differences strategy that exploits local variation in the merger’s effects, controlling for selection on observables through a...

EU Merger Control Regulation No 4064/89 tended to rely on a dominance test, based on the market share of undertakings, to indicate the level and potential changes in market power. The use of such in differentiated product industries is questionable. New EC Merger Regulation No 139/2004...

We investigate the effects of passive backward acquisitions in their efficient upstream supplier on downstream firms' ability to collude in a dynamic game of price competition with homogeneous goods. We find that passive backward acquisitions impede downstream collusion. The main driver of our...