IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jeczfn/v116y2015i1p25-38.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Learning by doing and horizontal mergers

Author

Listed:
  • Apostolis Pavlou

Abstract

We demonstrate in an n-firms dynamic model that a horizontal merger instead of having adverse welfare effects, due to an increase in concentration, may be welfare improving when production is characterized by learning-by-doing. In particular, within this framework we illustrate that contrary to the conventional wisdom even a horizontal merger, which leads to the monopolization of an industry, may improve welfare. This observation holds when the learning effect is strong and firms care for future profits, that is, they are patient enough. When the merger does not lead to monopoly it always lowers prices, given that the merger materializes, but the number of the active firms cannot be high enough since then market congestion occurs. Copyright Springer-Verlag Wien 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Apostolis Pavlou, 2015. "Learning by doing and horizontal mergers," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 116(1), pages 25-38, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:kap:jeczfn:v:116:y:2015:i:1:p:25-38
    DOI: 10.1007/s00712-014-0423-3
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s00712-014-0423-3
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s00712-014-0423-3?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 search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lars-Hendrik Röller & Johan Stennek & Frank Verboven, 2006. "Efficiency Gains from Mergers," Chapters, in: Fabienne IIzkovitz & Roderick Meiklejohn (ed.), European Merger Control, chapter 3, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. Farrell, Joseph & Shapiro, Carl, 1990. "Horizontal Mergers: An Equilibrium Analysis," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 80(1), pages 107-126, March.
    3. Egger, Hartmut & Egger, Peter, 2010. "The trade and welfare effects of mergers in space," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(4), pages 210-220, July.
    4. Harald Gruber, 1998. "Learning by Doing and Spillovers: Further Evidence for the Semiconductor Industry," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 13(6), pages 697-711, December.
    5. Chrysovalantou Milliou & Apostolis Pavlou, 2013. "Upstream Mergers, Downstream Competition, and R&D Investments," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(4), pages 787-809, December.
    6. Tina Kao & Flavio Menezes, 2010. "Welfare‐Enhancing Mergers Under Product Differentiation," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 78(4), pages 290-301, July.
    7. Stephen W. Salant & Sheldon Switzer & Robert J. Reynolds, 1983. "Losses From Horizontal Merger: The Effects of an Exogenous Change in Industry Structure on Cournot-Nash Equilibrium," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 98(2), pages 185-199.
    8. Perry, Martin K & Porter, Robert H, 1985. "Oligopoly and the Incentive for Horizontal Merger," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 75(1), pages 219-227, March.
    9. Irwin, Douglas A & Klenow, Peter J, 1994. "Learning-by-Doing Spillovers in the Semiconductor Industry," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 102(6), pages 1200-1227, December.
    10. Cabral, Luis M B & Riordan, Michael H, 1994. "The Learning Curve, Market Dominance, and Predatory Pricing," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 62(5), pages 1115-1140, September.
    11. A. M. Spence, 1981. "The Learning Curve and Competition," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 12(1), pages 49-70, Spring.
    12. Drew Fudenberg & Jean Tirole, 1983. "Learning-by-Doing and Market Performance," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 14(2), pages 522-530, Autumn.
    13. Yasuhiko Nakamura, 2011. "Strategic managerial delegation and cross-border mergers," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 104(1), pages 49-89, September.
    14. Lommerud, Kjell Erik & Sorgard, Lars, 1997. "Merger and product range rivalry," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 16(1), pages 21-42, November.
    15. David Besanko & Ulrich Doraszelski & Yaroslav Kryukov & Mark Satterthwaite, 2010. "Learning-by-Doing, Organizational Forgetting, and Industry Dynamics," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 78(2), pages 453-508, March.
    16. Lahiri, Sajal & Ono, Yoshiyasu, 1988. "Helping Minor Firms Reduces Welfare," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 98(393), pages 1199-1202, December.
    17. Inderst, Roman & Wey, Christian, 2003. "Bargaining, Mergers, and Technology Choice in Bilaterally Oligopolistic Industries," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 34(1), pages 1-19, Spring.
    18. Ralph Siebert, 1999. "Multiproduct Competition, Learning by Doing and Price-Cost Margins over the Product Life Cycle: Evidence from the DRAM Industry," CIG Working Papers FS IV 99-21, Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin (WZB), Research Unit: Competition and Innovation (CIG).
    19. repec:bla:jindec:v:45:y:1997:i:2:p:155-69 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Luís M. B. Cabral & Michael H. Riordan, 1997. "The Learning Curve, Predation, Antitrust, and Welfare," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(2), pages 155-169, June.
    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. Hana BOR & Avraham KETKO, 2019. "A University Reinvents Itself: A Case Study For Understanding Strategic Mergers And Integration Between Academic Institutions," REVISTA DE MANAGEMENT COMPARAT INTERNATIONAL/REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL COMPARATIVE MANAGEMENT, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 20(3), pages 241-258, July.

    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. Luca Colombo & Paola Labrecciosa, 2012. "Inter-firm knowledge diffusion, market power, and welfare," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 22(5), pages 1009-1027, November.
    2. Chrysovalantou Milliou & Joel Sandonis, 2018. "Manufacturer Mergers and Product Variety in Vertically Related Markets," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 18(1), pages 1-24, March.
    3. Ralph Siebert, 2017. "Heterogeneous Merger Impacts on Competitive Outcomes," CESifo Working Paper Series 6607, CESifo.
    4. Anelí Bongers, 2017. "Learning and forgetting in the jet fighter aircraft industry," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(9), pages 1-19, September.
    5. Harris, Jeremiah & Siebert, Ralph, 2017. "Firm-specific time preferences and postmerger firm performance," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 32-62.
    6. Ana Espínola-Arredondo & Félix Muñoz-García, 2013. "Uncovering Entry Deterrence in the Presence of Learning-by-Doing," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 319-338, September.
    7. Ioannis N. Pinopoulos, 2020. "Upstream horizontal mergers involving a vertically integrated firm," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 130(1), pages 67-83, June.
    8. Borla, Stefania, 2012. "Spatial competition and merging incentives when firms produce complements," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(1-2), pages 221-229.
    9. Della Seta, Marco & Gryglewicz, Sebastian & Kort, Peter M., 2012. "Optimal investment in learning-curve technologies," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 36(10), pages 1462-1476.
    10. Christos Cabolis & Constantine Manasakis & Emmanuel Petrakis, 2008. "Horizontal Mergers and Acquisitions with Endogenous Efficiency Gains," Working Papers 0817, University of Crete, Department of Economics.
    11. James Gaisford & Stefan Lutz, 2007. "A Multi-Product Framework Generating Waves of Mergers and Divestitures," ICER Working Papers 36-2007, ICER - International Centre for Economic Research.
    12. Luis Gautier & Mahelet G. Fikru, 2024. "Mergers in Cournot Markets with Environmental Externality and Product Differentiation," Natural Resource Management and Policy, in: Handbook of Merger Control and Environmental Policy, chapter 0, pages 21-46, Springer.
    13. Ioannis N. Pinopoulos, 2017. "Upstream horizontal mergers and vertical integration," Discussion Paper Series 2017_07, Department of Economics, University of Macedonia, revised Aug 2017.
    14. David Besanko & Ulrich Doraszelski & Yaroslav Kryukov & Mark Satterthwaite, 2008. "Learning-by-Doing, Organizational Forgetting, and Industry Dynamics," GSIA Working Papers 2009-E22, Carnegie Mellon University, Tepper School of Business.
    15. Ralph B. Siebert, 2022. "What Determines Heterogeneous Merger Effects on Competitive Outcomes?," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 70(1), pages 217-256, March.
    16. Thompson, Peter, 2010. "Learning by Doing," Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, in: Bronwyn H. Hall & Nathan Rosenberg (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 0, pages 429-476, Elsevier.
    17. Ramón Faulí-Oller & Joel Sandonís, 2001. "To Merge Or To License: Implications For Competition Policy," Working Papers. Serie AD 2001-05, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Económicas, S.A. (Ivie).
    18. Robert Town & Douglas Wholey & Roger Feldman & Lawton R. Burns, 2006. "The Welfare Consequences of Hospital Mergers," NBER Working Papers 12244, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. J. Peter Neary, 2007. "Cross-Border Mergers as Instruments of Comparative Advantage," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 74(4), pages 1229-1257.
    20. Hisashi Sawaki, 2015. "Horizontal Mergers Under Asymmetric Information About Synergies," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(3), pages 167-184, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Learning by doing; Horizontal mergers; Efficiency gains; L41;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L41 - Industrial Organization - - Antitrust Issues and Policies - - - Monopolization; Horizontal Anticompetitive Practices

    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:kap:jeczfn:v:116:y:2015:i:1:p:25-38. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.