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Assessing Unilateral Merger Effects In A Two-Sided Market: An Application To The Dutch Daily Newspaper Market

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  • Lapo Filistrucchi
  • Tobias J. Klein
  • Thomas O. Michielsen

Abstract

We compare different methods to assess unilateral merger effects in a two-sided market by applying them to a hypothetical merger in the Dutch newspaper industry. We first specify and estimate a structural model of demand for differentiated products in both the readership and the advertising sides of the market. This allows us to recover price elasticities and indirect network effects. Marginal costs are then recovered from an oligopoly model of the supply side. We use these estimates of price elasticities, network effects, and marginal costs to perform a concentration analysis based on the Herfindahl-Hirschmann index, to conduct a small but significant non-transitory increase in price test, to measure upward pricing pressure, and to run a full merger simulation.

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  • Lapo Filistrucchi & Tobias J. Klein & Thomas O. Michielsen, 2012. "Assessing Unilateral Merger Effects In A Two-Sided Market: An Application To The Dutch Daily Newspaper Market," Journal of Competition Law and Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 8(2), pages 297-329.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jcomle:v:8:y:2012:i:2:p:297-329.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/joclec/nhs012
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    Cited by:

    1. Edmond Baranes & Thomas Cortade & Andreea Cosnita-Langlais, 2014. "Merger Control on Two-Sided Markets: Is There Need for an Efficiency Defense?," Working Papers hal-01830016, HAL.
    2. Lapo Filistrucchi & Damien Geradin & Eric van Damme, 2012. "Identifying Two-Sided Markets," Working Papers - Economics wp2012_01.rdf, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Scienze per l'Economia e l'Impresa.
    3. David Flath, 2016. "Resale Price Maintenance by Japanese Newspapers," The Japanese Economic Review, Springer, vol. 67(4), pages 441-473, December.
    4. Andre Boik, 2016. "Intermediaries in Two-Sided Markets: An Empirical Analysis of the US Cable Television Industry," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 8(1), pages 256-282, February.
    5. Affeldt, P. & Argentesi, E. & Filistrucchi, Lapo, 2021. "Estimating Demand with Multi-Homing in Two-Sided Markets," Other publications TiSEM 1317bf39-d02e-4f61-a34f-e, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    6. Stefan Behringer & Lapo Filistrucchi, 2015. "Areeda–Turner in Two-Sided Markets," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 46(3), pages 287-306, May.
    7. Kohei Kawaguchi & Toshifumi Kuroda & Susumu Sato, 2021. "Merger Analysis in the App Economy: An Empirical Model of Ad-Sponsored Media," HKUST CEP Working Papers Series 202103, HKUST Center for Economic Policy.
    8. Joao Correia‐da‐Silva & Bruno Jullien & Yassine Lefouili & Joana Pinho, 2019. "Horizontal mergers between multisided platforms: Insights from Cournot competition," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(1), pages 109-124, January.
    9. Lapo Filistrucchi & Tobias J. Klein, 2013. "Price Competition in Two-Sided Markets with Heterogeneous Consumers and Network Effects," Working Papers 13-20, NET Institute.
    10. Eric Darmon & Thomas Le Texier & Zhiwen Li & Thierry Pénard, 2019. "Multimarket Contact and Platform Competition: Reassessing the Mutual Forbearance Hypothesis," Economics Working Paper Archive (University of Rennes 1 & University of Caen) 2019-07, Center for Research in Economics and Management (CREM), University of Rennes 1, University of Caen and CNRS.
    11. Marc Ivaldi & Catherine Muller-Vibes, 2018. "The differentiated effect of advertising on readership: evidence from a two-sided market approach," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 29(3), pages 363-376, September.
    12. Patrick Cayseele & Stijn Vanormelingen, 2019. "Merger Analysis in Two-Sided Markets: The Belgian Newspaper Industry," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 54(3), pages 509-541, May.
    13. Kawaguchi, Kohei & Kuroda, Toshifumi & Sato, Susumu, 2023. "Relevant markets and market power of mobile apps," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    14. Juan Manuel Sanchez‐Cartas & Gonzalo León, 2021. "Multisided Platforms And Markets: A Survey Of The Theoretical Literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(2), pages 452-487, April.
    15. Zevgolis Nikolaos E. & Fotis Panagiotis N., 2019. "A Rule of Reason Approach for Passive Minority Interests within the European Union," Review of Law & Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 15(3), pages 1-41, November.
    16. S. Sriram & Puneet Manchanda & Mercedes Bravo & Junhong Chu & Liye Ma & Minjae Song & Scott Shriver & Upender Subramanian, 2015. "Platforms: a multiplicity of research opportunities," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 26(2), pages 141-152, June.
    17. David Flath, 2021. "Japanese newspapers," International Journal of Economic Policy Studies, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 257-299, September.
    18. Akihiro NAKAMURA & Takanori IDA, 2021. "Delineating zero-price markets with network effects:An analysis of free messenger services," Discussion papers e-21-002, Graduate School of Economics , Kyoto University.
    19. Geoffrey Brooke & Lydia Cheung, 2018. "An Empirical Analysis of Competition in Print Adversiting among Paid and Free Newspapers," Working Papers 2018-07, Auckland University of Technology, Department of Economics.
    20. Kawaguchi, Kohei & Kuroda, Toshifumi & Sato, Susumu, 2022. "An Empirical Model of Mobile App Competition," SocArXiv 2bdk4, Center for Open Science.
    21. Michael L. Katz, 2019. "Platform economics and antitrust enforcement: A little knowledge is a dangerous thing," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(1), pages 138-152, January.
    22. Affeldt, P. & Filistrucchi, L. & Klein, T.J., 2013. "Upward pricing pressure in two-sided markets," Other publications TiSEM a4802977-56e0-4de3-af34-9, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    23. David S. Evans & Richard Schmalensee, 2013. "The Antitrust Analysis of Multi-Sided Platform Businesses," NBER Working Papers 18783, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    24. Baranes, Edmond & Cortade, Thomas & Cosnita-Langlais, Andreea, 2019. "Horizontal mergers on platform markets: cost savings v. cross-group network effects?," MPRA Paper 97459, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    25. Caccinelli, Chiara & Toledano, Joëlle, 2017. "Assessing Anticompetitive Practices in Two-Sided Markets: A Comparative Analysis of four Antitrust Proceedings against Booking.com," 28th European Regional ITS Conference, Passau 2017 169452, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets
    • L40 - Industrial Organization - - Antitrust Issues and Policies - - - General
    • L82 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Entertainment; Media

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