firm. When the government sets that share to maximize post merger welfare as assumed in the privatization literature, the … merger paradox will often remain and the merger will not take place. Yet, we show there always exists scope for mergers that …

neglected. We introduce them into a standard oligopoly model of horizontal merger by assuming an (empirically supported …) decrease in labour demand due to merger-specific synergies and derive welfare effects. We find that efficiency benefits from …-side effects remain negligible. Eventually, policy conclusions for merger control are discussed. -- horizontal mergers …