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Merger Policy at the Margin: Western Refining’s Acquisition of Giant Industries

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  • Nicholas Kreisle

Abstract

In May 2007, a United States District Court declined to grant the Federal Trade Commission a preliminary injunction that would have blocked the merger of two petroleum refiners that served Albuquerque, New Mexico, and surrounding areas. This study compares estimates of the post-merger price effect to the price effects that were predicted by economic experts on both sides of the case. I find little scope to interpret the evidence as consistent with an anticompetitive post-merger price effect. I also highlight the difficulties that are involved in econometrically identifying small effects even with an abundance of pricing data. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York (outside the USA) 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Nicholas Kreisle, 2015. "Merger Policy at the Margin: Western Refining’s Acquisition of Giant Industries," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 47(1), pages 71-89, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:revind:v:47:y:2015:i:1:p:71-89
    DOI: 10.1007/s11151-015-9463-2
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Daniel Hosken & Louis Silvia & Christopher Taylor, 2011. "Does Concentration Matter? Measurement of Petroleum Merger Price Effects," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(3), pages 45-50, May.
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    9. Orley Ashenfelter & Daniel Hosken & Matthew Weinberg, 2009. "Generating Evidence to Guide Merger Enforcement," CPI Journal, Competition Policy International, vol. 5.
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