Das Instrument der Ministererlaubnis ist ein vieldiskutierter Sonderfall in der deutschen Wettbewerbspolitik, bei welchem der Bundeswirtschaftsminister einen vom Bundeskartellamt (BKartA) untersagten Zusammenschluss bei Vorliegen besonderer Gründe im Nachhinein doch noch erlauben kann. Im...

This paper analyzes the effects of a merger between a German supermarket chain and a soft discounter on consumer prices. We exploit geographic variation in prices within retail chains and brands and use a difference-in-differences estimator to compare regional markets with a change in market...

Regulation by litigation has driven U.S. merger regulation to crisis. The reliance on private lawsuits to police disclosures and potential conflicts of interest in mergers, takeovers, and other control transactions has resulted in the filing of claims after every major transaction. However, it...

Most quantitative tools for assessing competitive effects of mergers rely heavily on recapture ratios (also known as aggregate diversion ratios). Recapture ratios measure the proportion of customers switching away from a product that is captured by other products within the market rather than...

The essay provides a brief overview of the transition that occurred in major legal systems from golden share to golden power provisions in order to protect national strategic interests in the economic field, with a focus on Italy. A closer look is then dedicated to a recent proposal for an EU...

This study contributes to the current debate on how privacy concerns can and should be integrated into merger analysis. First, I contend that while competition authorities increasingly account for the role of personal data as a source of market power and entry barriers, privacy-related consumer...