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Merger effects with product complementarity: Evidence from Colombia’s telecommunications

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  • Vélez-Velásquez, Juan Sebastián

Abstract

Mergers of firms producing complementary products entail two opposing effects: Lower prices, because they may internalize the impact of the complementarity, and higher prices, because the firms gain the ability to price discriminate. I use Colombian data to analyze mergers between firms providing complementary telecommunication services. I estimate a discrete choice model of demand for bundled fixed-line and mobile internet services, in which the degree of either substitutability or complementarity among products is a parameter of interest. Counterfactual experiments using the estimated model indicate pro-competitive effects of mergers with complements: despite a small increase in the price of standalone goods, consumer surplus increases.

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  • Vélez-Velásquez, Juan Sebastián, 2019. "Merger effects with product complementarity: Evidence from Colombia’s telecommunications," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:iepoli:v:49:y:2019:i:c:s0167624518301033
    DOI: 10.1016/j.infoecopol.2019.100831
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • L22 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Organization and Market Structure
    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • L96 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Telecommunications

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