IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/indorg/v53y2017icp99-113.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Vertical integration and downstream collusion

Author

Listed:
  • Biancini, Sara
  • Ettinger, David

Abstract

We investigate the effect of a vertical merger on downstream firms’ ability to collude in a repeated game framework. We show that a vertical merger has two main effects. On the one hand, it increases the total collusive profits, increasing the stakes of collusion. On the other hand, it creates an asymmetry between the integrated firm and the unintegrated competitors. The integrated firm, accessing the input at marginal cost, faces higher profits in the deviation phase and in the non-cooperative equilibrium, which potentially harms collusion. As we show, the optimal collusive profit-sharing agreement takes care of the increased incentive to deviate of the integrated firm, while optimal punishment erases the difficulty related to the asymmetries in the non-cooperative state. As a result, vertical integration generally favors collusion.

Suggested Citation

  • Biancini, Sara & Ettinger, David, 2017. "Vertical integration and downstream collusion," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 99-113.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:indorg:v:53:y:2017:i:c:p:99-113
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijindorg.2017.05.001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167718716301096
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ijindorg.2017.05.001?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Normann, Hans-Theo, 2009. "Vertical integration, raising rivals' costs and upstream collusion," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(4), pages 461-480, May.
    2. George J. Mailath & Volker Nocke & Lucy White, 2017. "When And How The Punishment Must Fit The Crime," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 58(2), pages 315-330, May.
    3. Abreu, Dilip, 1988. "On the Theory of Infinitely Repeated Games with Discounting," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 56(2), pages 383-396, March.
    4. Jeanine Miklós-Thal, 2011. "Optimal collusion under cost asymmetry," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 46(1), pages 99-125, January.
    5. Chen, Yongmin, 2001. "On Vertical Mergers and Their Competitive Effects," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 32(4), pages 667-685, Winter.
    6. Ordover, Janusz A & Saloner, Garth & Salop, Steven C, 1990. "Equilibrium Vertical Foreclosure," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 80(1), pages 127-142, March.
    7. Volker Nocke & Lucy White, 2007. "Do Vertical Mergers Facilitate Upstream Collusion?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 97(4), pages 1321-1339, September.
    8. Rey, Patrick & Tirole, Jean, 2007. "A Primer on Foreclosure," Handbook of Industrial Organization, in: Mark Armstrong & Robert Porter (ed.), Handbook of Industrial Organization, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 33, pages 2145-2220, Elsevier.
    9. Yongmin Chen & Michael H. Riordan, 2007. "Vertical integration, exclusive dealing, and expost cartelization," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 38(1), pages 1-21, March.
    10. Salvatore Piccolo & Jeanine Miklós-Thal, 2012. "Colluding through suppliers," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 43(3), pages 492-513, September.
    11. Abreu, Dilip, 1986. "Extremal equilibria of oligopolistic supergames," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 191-225, June.
    12. Pedro Mendi, 2009. "Backward integration and collusion in a duopoly model with asymmetric costs," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 96(2), pages 95-112, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Charistos, Konstantinos & Pinopoulos, Ioannis N. & Skartados, Panagiotis, 2022. "Passive forward ownership and upstream collusion," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 216(C).
    2. Frédéric Marty & Thierry Warin, 2020. "Visa Acquiring Plaid: A Tartan over a Killer Acquisition? Reflections on the risks of harming competition through the acquisition of startups within digital ecosystems," CIRANO Working Papers 2020s-62, CIRANO.
    3. Serge Moresi & Steven C. Salop, 2021. "When Vertical is Horizontal: How Vertical Mergers Lead to Increases in “Effective Concentration”," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 59(2), pages 177-204, September.
    4. Shekhar, Shiva & Thomes, Tim Paul, 2020. "Passive backward acquisitions and downstream collusion," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    5. Jen-Yao Lee & Chen-Chia Fan & Chien-Shu Tsai, 2023. "Network Externalities and Downstream Collusion under Asymmetric Costs: A Note," Games, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-11, March.
    6. Frédéric Marty & Thierry Warin, 2021. "Visa's Abandoned Plan to Acquire Plaid: What Could Have Been a Textbook Case of a Killer Acquisition," Working Papers halshs-03405108, HAL.
    7. Schlütter, Frank, 2022. "Managing Seller Conduct in Online Marketplaces and Platform Most-Favored Nation Clauses," LIDAM Discussion Papers CORE 2022026, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
    8. Bet, Germán & Cui, Shana & Sappington, David E.M., 2021. "The impact of vertical integration on losses from collusion," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    9. Li, Pei & Tan, Dan & Wang, Guangyong & Wei, Hang & Wu, Jilan, 2021. "Retailer's vertical integration strategies under different business modes," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 294(3), pages 965-975.
    10. Stanislav Stoykov & Ivan Kostov, 2023. "Price Competition with Differentiated Products on a Two-Dimensional Plane: The Impact of Partial Cartel on Firms’ Profits and Behavior," Games, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-25, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mariana Cunha & Paula Sarmento, 2014. "Does Vertical Integration Promote Downstream Incomplete Collusion? An Evaluation of Static and Dynamic Stability," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 1-38, March.
    2. Normann, Hans-Theo, 2009. "Vertical integration, raising rivals' costs and upstream collusion," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(4), pages 461-480, May.
    3. Belleflamme,Paul & Peitz,Martin, 2015. "Industrial Organization," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107687899, January.
    4. Zanchettin, Piercarlo & Mukherjee, Arijit, 2017. "Vertical integration and product differentiation," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 25-57.
    5. Johan Hombert & Jérôme Pouyet & Nicolas Schutz, 2019. "Anticompetitive Vertical Merger Waves," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 67(3-4), pages 484-514, September.
    6. Éric Avenel & Stéphane Caprice, 2018. "Collusion et possibilité d’entrée en aval dans une industrie verticalement intégrée," Revue économique, Presses de Sciences-Po, vol. 69(1), pages 5-28.
    7. Simon Loertscher & Markus Reisinger, 2014. "Market structure and the competitive effects of vertical integration," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 45(3), pages 471-494, September.
    8. Hunold, Matthias & Schad, Jannika, 2021. "Single monopoly profits, vertical mergers, and downstream entry deterrence," DICE Discussion Papers 373, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE).
    9. Pouyet, Jérôme & Trégouët, Thomas, 2016. "Vertical Mergers in Platform Markets," CEPR Discussion Papers 11703, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    10. Éric Avenel & Stéphane Caprice, 2012. "Collusion and downstream entry in a vertically integrated industry," Economics Working Paper Archive (University of Rennes 1 & University of Caen) 201208, Center for Research in Economics and Management (CREM), University of Rennes 1, University of Caen and CNRS.
    11. Pouyet, Jérôme & Thomas, Trégouët, 2021. "The Competitive Effects of Vertical Integration in Platform Markets," CEPR Discussion Papers 16545, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    12. Isabel Teichmann & Vanessa von Schlippenbach, 2014. "Collusive Effects of a Monopolist's Use of an Intermediary to Deliver to Retailers," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1440, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    13. Calcagno, Claudio A. & Giardino-Karlinger, Liliane, 2019. "Collective exclusion," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 326-375.
    14. Zhang, Vanessa Yanhua & Chen, Yongjun, 2011. "Vertical relationships in China’s electricity industry: The quest for competition?," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 142-151.
    15. Serge Moresi & Steven C. Salop, 2021. "When Vertical is Horizontal: How Vertical Mergers Lead to Increases in “Effective Concentration”," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 59(2), pages 177-204, September.
    16. Volker Nocke & Lucy White, 2003. "Do Vertical Mergers Facilitate Upstream Collusion? Second Version," PIER Working Paper Archive 05-013, Penn Institute for Economic Research, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania, revised 08 Mar 2005.
    17. Giuranno, Michele G. & Scrimitore, Marcella & Stamatopoulos, Giorgos, 2020. "Subsidy policies and vertical integration in times of crisis: Can two virtues produce an evil?," MPRA Paper 104413, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Milliou, Chrysovalantou, 2020. "Vertical integration without intrafirm trade," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    19. Stefan Buehler & Dennis L. Gärtner, 2013. "Making Sense of Nonbinding Retail-Price Recommendations," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(1), pages 335-359, February.
    20. Michele G. Giuranno & Marcella Scrimitore & Giorgos Stamatopoulos, 2019. "Vertical Integration under an Optimal Tax Policy: a Consumer Surplus Detrimental Result," Working Papers 2019.22, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Vertical integration; Collusion; Price competition; Oligopoly;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D43 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Oligopoly and Other Forms of Market Imperfection
    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets
    • L40 - Industrial Organization - - Antitrust Issues and Policies - - - General
    • L42 - Industrial Organization - - Antitrust Issues and Policies - - - Vertical Restraints; Resale Price Maintenance; Quantity Discounts

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:indorg:v:53:y:2017:i:c:p:99-113. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/505551 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.