Market Concentration in Europe: Evidence from Antitrust Markets

Affeldt, Pauline; Duso, Tomaso; Gugler, Klaus; Piechucka, Joanna

doi:10.2139/ssrn.3774674

Cited by 11 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Even the stricter pre-2010 merger guidelines labeled all of these as "unconcentrated". 11 Our findings on concentration levels parallel Affeldt et al (2021), who show that concentration levels are much higher than in production data using a sample of market-years in Europe that experienced a merger investigation by the European Commission.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 74%

Concentration in Product Markets

2021

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 74%

Concentration in Product Markets

2021

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“…Grullon et al (2019) observed a significant rise in the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) across over 75% of United States (US) industries, with concentration levels soaring by 90%. In the European Union (EU), a similar trend was noted, with post-merger HHIs climbing from around 2,500 in the mid-1990s to over 3,000 by 2014 (Affeldt et al, 2021). Konczal and Lusiani (2022) report that 2021 saw record high price mark-ups and profits in the US, a phenomenon partly inflated by the COVID-19 pandemic but also rooted in pre-pandemic market concentration.…”

mentioning

confidence: 73%

The Atlantic's Regulatory Rift: Analyzing the Divergent Paths of Competition Policy in the US and the EU With Regard to Big Tech

Bahl

2024

Preprint

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Scholars from both sides of the Atlantic have noted a perceived divergence in the objectives and practice of competition policy in the US and the EU. This paper investigates the reasons behind such a divergence focusing on ideology, legal systems, lobbying, and foreign policy. The most compelling reasons behind the differences we see in competition policy across the US and the EU is due to the US’ more laissez-fair approach to the economy and, as a byproduct, its legal system. With a particular emphasis placed on Big Tech, it is noted that differences in competition policy are exacerbated in this industry in large part due to the relative inefficacy of Big Tech to lobby the EU in comparison to their relative success in the US. This paper ends by discussing how foreign policy aims have recently begun to shape competition policy in both the US and the EU and the potential implications this could have going into the future.

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“…The rise of so-called "superstar firms" (with high efficiencies, innovation, and capital deployment) and platform markets (with strong network effects and a large amount of digital/intangible capital, e.g. software, intellectual property, and data) are two of the current developments that are held responsible for the increasing market concentration and decline of competition intensity that has been identified in several industries and sectors (inter alia, Autor et al 2017Autor et al , 2020Gutiérrez & Philippon 2018;Grullon et al 2019;Effenberger et al 2020;Affeldt et al 2021). In light of these developments it is especially interesting to check whether the data set compiled here allows conclusions to be drawn about a relationship between market concentration and postmerger price effects.…”

Section: Rq 3 -Price Effects Depending On Market Concentrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Price Effects of Horizontal Mergers: A Retrospective on Retrospectives

Stöhr

2024

Journal of Competition Law &Amp; Economics

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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 terms of effective merger enforcement and competition policy. By combining and further analysing the results of 52 retrospective studies on 82 mergers or horizontal transactions, it can be shown that the sector in which the respective transaction takes place alone is not a strong indicator of the direction of price-related merger effects. In contrast, the ‘size’ or ‘importance’ of a transaction as well as market concentration seem to be correlated with post-transaction price increases, especially in already highly concentrated markets. Overall, this meta-study shows the importance of ex post case studies for improving ex ante merger control: although generalizations can only be made with caution, the subsequent analysis of a case and its ex post observable outcome can provide useful information for future merger enforcement in general, either in the same industry and/or with similar case characteristics, as well as for competition policy regulators.

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Market Concentration in Europe: Evidence from Antitrust Markets

Cited by 11 publications

References 21 publications

Concentration in Product Markets

Concentration in Product Markets

The Atlantic's Regulatory Rift: Analyzing the Divergent Paths of Competition Policy in the US and the EU With Regard to Big Tech

Price Effects of Horizontal Mergers: A Retrospective on Retrospectives

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