This article examines the price effects of gasoline stations following a retail merger in 2022. Using detailed station-level price data from 2020 to 2024, the analysis shows that fuel prices increase at both merging stations and their competitors, but with regional differences. These regional...

Der vorliegende Beitrag wendet die dynamische Wettbewerbstheorie von Wolfgang Kerber und anderen auf aktuelle Fragen der Wettbewerbspolitik an. Damit zeigt der Beitrag, dass dynamische Wettbewerbstheorien sehr wohl zu konkreten wettbewerbspolitischen Empfehlungen führen und einen wichtigen...

This year the 2004 EU Merger Regulation turns 20 years old. To mark this significant milestone DG COMP organised a conference, bringing together experts from across the competition field. Building on such momentum the conference was designed to take stock, reflect on what the 2004 reform has...

This issue focuses on non-price competition in EU merger control. Mergers may affect both price and non-price parameters of competition, such as innovation, quality, capacity, data protection and privacy, sustainability, and reliability of supply. When reviewing mergers, the Commission takes...

In this paper, we comment on the debate about guidelines for Art. 102 TFEU in the face of the challenges brought by digital ecosystems and abuse of dominance in related markets. We take the perspective of dynamic competition economics and derive four recommendations for the future enforcement of...

This comprehensive review of ex-post merger studies assesses the price effects of horizontal transactions to determine whether there are common post-merger price effects, both overall and in specific markets. The aim is to derive implications for policy makers and competition authorities in...

We estimate structural, materials, and labour markups for the South African economy at the three-digit industry level for 2012-19. The fall in structural labour and materials markups found for the numerical majority of industries are generally isolated to smaller industries, with industries...

Der vorliegende Beitrag wendet die dynamische Wettbewerbstheorie von Wolfgang Kerber und anderen auf aktuelle Fragen der Wettbewerbspolitik an. Damit zeigt der Beitrag, dass dynamische Wettbewerbstheorien sehr wohl zu konkreten wettbewerbspolitischen Empfehlungen führen und einen wichtigen...

We discuss the design of an effective merger review policy for the 21st century. We argue that the practice of the past decades is inadequate and propose a move towards much stronger rebuttable structural presumptions. These presumptions establish that all mergers above certain thresholds are...

We discuss the main Theories of Harm in EU merger control and their evolution since the 1990s. We present stylised facts and trends using data extracted from EU merger decisions by natural language processing tools. EU merger policy has adapted over time, both in terms of legislation and...

We discuss the main Theories of Harm in EU merger control and their evolution since the 1990s. We present stylised facts and trends using data extracted from EU merger decisions by natural language processing tools. EU merger policy has adapted over time, both in terms of legislation and...

This paper analyzes a merger of large manufacturers with divestiture in the French coffee market. In contrast to previous approaches used to study the effects of upstream divestitures on prices and welfare, we model the vertical market structure. First, our results show that the standard policy...

Merger control plays a central role in competition policy. When assessing proposed mergers, Competition Authorities should consider its impact on all relevant markets. Large mergers between manufacturers typically impact competition, thus requiring the approval of Competition Authorities....

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has ignited a vigorous debate by called for toughening of Australia’s merger law. Its concern is that currently the law is insufficient to block mergers that, in its view, present serious market power concerns. This article, published in the...

Economic analysis of competition regulation is most developed in the domain of horizontal mergers, and modern agency guidelines reflect a substantial consensus on the appropriate template for merger assessment. Nevertheless, official protocols are understood to rest on a problematic market...

This article adds to the limited existing literature about the role that sustainability should or could play in EU merger control. The topic of sustainability and competition law has been considered mostly with reference to the prohibition of anticompetitive agreements (art 101 TFEU) and abuse...

Using acquisition data from 2010-2018, we examine the impact of acquisitions by foreign SOEs on politically connected domestic U.S. competitors. We examine the initial response to such acquisition announcements, the attempts of industry incumbents to increase their own political connections, and...

The regulatory sandbox model has proven to be relatively effective in reducing regulatory uncertainty and improving investment and innovation outcomes. The antitrust regulatory sandbox is generally a success, even if at the margins there are important changes that can be made. The problem with...

The legality of a horizontal merger under section 7 of the Clayton Act turns on a reckoning of its social costs and benefits. This paper reviews what economics has to say about that reckoning and explores the relationship between economic learning and merger law and policy

We tend to think of mergers and monopolization as separate and distinct branches of antitrust. Using Section 2 to attack mergers raises the question of whether merger enforcement has been ineffective. But there is another explanation. The legal and economic frameworks are most developed when it...

The Grand Chamber set aside the judgment of the General Court in CK Telecoms having found eight errors in law. This paper dissects the judgment of the Grand Chamber and illustrates and explains the differences between the two judgments as well as their significance. The Grand Chamber clarifies...

Previous iterations of the DOJ/FTC Merger Guidelines have articulated a clear, rigorous, and transparent methodology for balancing the pro-competitive benefits of mergers against their anticompetitive costs. By describing agency practice, guidelines facilitate compliance, ensure consistent and...

On July 18, 2023, the Agencies responsible for enforcing antitrust law relating to mergers—the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission—published draft Merger Guidelines (dMGs) for comment. This comment reflects cumulative experience from four decades as an enforcer, from...

A couple of years ago, a new phenomenon emerged in the EU Merger Control sphere. This phenomenon is called – “Killer Acquisitions” where incumbent undertakings are suspected to acquire promising start-ups to vanish future potential rivals from the market. Big Tech companies in digital...

This contribution seeks to address the problem of gun-jumping on the EU level as a dynamic and topical issue of EU merger control. Gun-jumping has lately gained considerable attention within the area of EU competition law as the European Commission toughened its enforcement of this...

In the field of merger control, under the SIEC test, the European Commission doesn’t explicitly examine the effects of the merger on the labour market, and therefore its effects on worker welfare. This paper examines which econometric tests used to determine the effects of a merger on the...

Advocates of vigorous antitrust enforcement should not fear the rise of textualism. The Sherman Act, Clayton Act and FTC Act were all enacted as a result of the progressive movement. These laws were written in large part to protect the interests of consumers against possible exploitation by...