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BECCLE Seminar: Local Market Structure and Consumer Prices: Evidence from a Retail Merger
February 20, 2018, 14:15 - 15:30
BECCLE has the pleasure of inviting to a seminar with Dennis Rickert on the effects of mergers and remedies in local markets.
Time and Place:
Tuesday 20 February, 14.15 – 15.30.
Auditorium 2, Faculty of Law, UoB, Magnus Lagabøtes plass 1.
The seminar is free and open to the public. The seminar will be held in English.
Materials:
On the topic:
In a recent paper, “Local Market Structure and Consumer Prices: Evidence from a Retail Merger“, Schain, Stiebale, and Rickert analyse the effects of a merger between a German supermarket chain and a soft discounter on consumer prices. Their findings indicate that both insiders and outsiders raised avarage prices after the merger, particularly in regions with high expected change in retail concentration. In contrast, they estimate price declines in regions that did not experience a rise in concentration but were poentially affected by the cost savings within the merged entity. They also provide evidence that remedies imposed by competition authorities were not sufficient to offset anti-competitive effects.
Norwegian summary:
Effektene av fusjoner og avhjelpende tiltak er ofte usikre og vanskelige å vurdere på forhånd, særlig når fusjonen involverer mange markeder og ukjente kostnadsbesparelser. I en ny forskningsartikkel analyserer Rickert (og medforfattere) effektene av en tysk dagligvarefusjon. De finner at kostnadsbesparelser er reelle og at de påvirker prisene etter fusjonen. Samtidig finner de at effektivitetsgevinstene sammen med de avhjelpende tiltakene ikke var nok til å unngå konkurranseskade i lokale markeder der fusjonen førte til en økning i markedskonsentrasjonen.
Speakers:
