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Bargaining, Mergers and Technology Choice in Bilaterally Oligopolistic Industries

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Author Info
Inderst, Roman
Wey, Christian

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Abstract

This Paper provides a conceptual framework of multilateral bargaining in a bilaterally oligopolistic industry to analyse the motivations for horizontal mergers, technology choice, and their welfare implications. We first analyse the implication of market structure for the distribution of industry profits. We find that retailer mergers are more likely (less likely) if suppliers have increasing (decreasing) unit costs, while supplier mergers are more likely (less likely) if goods are substitutes (complements). In a second step we explore how market structure affects suppliers' technology choice, which reflects a trade-off between infra-marginal and marginal production costs. We find that suppliers focus more on marginal cost reduction if (i) retailers are integrated and (ii) suppliers are non-integrated. In a final step we consider the whole picture where both market structure and (subsequent) technology choice are endogenous. Analysing the equilibrium market structure, we find cases where retailers become integrated to induce suppliers to choose a more efficient technology, even though integration weakens their bargaining position. In this case the merger benefits all parties, i.e., suppliers, retailers, and even consumers. We also show that the equilibrium market structure does often not maximize welfare.

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Paper provided by C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers in its series CEPR Discussion Papers with number 2981.

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Date of creation: Sep 2001
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Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:2981

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Related research
Keywords: antitrust; bargaining; buyer power; mergers; technology choice;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
D40 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure and Pricing - - - General
L10 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - General
L40 - Industrial Organization - - Antitrust Issues and Policies - - - General

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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Marie-Laure Allain & Saïd Souam, 2004. "Concentration horizontale et relations verticales," Working Papers hal-00242914_v1, HAL. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Nisvan Erkal, 2003. "Buyer-Supplier Interaction, Asset Specificity, And Product Choice," Department of Economics - Working Papers Series 885, The University of Melbourne. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. George Symeonidis, 2009. "Downstream merger and welfare in a bilateral oligopoly," Economics Discussion Papers 671, University of Essex, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  4. Jim Engle-Warnick & Bradley Ruffle, 2002. "Buyer Countervailing Power versus Monopoly Power: Evidence from Experimental Posted-Offer Markets," Economics Papers 2002-W14, Economics Group, Nuffield College, University of Oxford. [Downloadable!]
  5. Hans Normann, Bradley Ruffle and Christopher Snyder, 2004. "Do Buyer-Size Discounts Depend on the Curvature of the Surplus Function? Experimental Tests of Bargaining Models," Royal Holloway, University of London: Discussion Papers in Economics 04/01, Department of Economics, Royal Holloway University of London, revised Apr 2004. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  6. 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. [Downloadable!]
  7. Jim Engle-Warnick & Bradley Ruffle, 2006. "The Strategies Behind Their Actions: A Method To Infer Repeated-Game Strategies And An Application To Buyer Behavior," Departmental Working Papers 2005-04, McGill University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  8. Chrysovalantou Milliou & Emmanuel Petrakis, 2005. "Upstream Horizontal Mergers, Bargaining, Vertical Contracts," Economics Working Papers we051507, Universidad Carlos III, Departamento de Economía. [Downloadable!]
  9. Gary Biglaiser & Nikolaos Vettas, 2007. "Dynamic price competition with capacity constraints and strategic buyers," Working Papers 24, Portuguese Competition Authority. [Downloadable!]
  10. Milliou, Chrysovalantou & Petrakis, Emmanuel & Vettas, Nikolaos, 2003. "Endogenous Contracts Under Bargaining in Competing Vertical Chains," CEPR Discussion Papers 3976, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Chrysovalantou Miliou & Emmanuel Petrakis, 2005. "Upstream Horizontal Mergers, Bargaining and Vertical Contracts," Working Papers 0509, University of Crete, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  12. GOH, Ai-Ting, 2004. "Knowledge Diffusion, Supplier's Technological Effort and Technology Transfer via Vertical Relationships," Les Cahiers de Recherche 793, HEC Paris. [Downloadable!]
  13. Catherine de Fontenay & Joshua Gans, 2004. "Sequential Bilateral Bargaining and the Shapley value," Econometric Society 2004 Australasian Meetings 84, Econometric Society. [Downloadable!]
  14. Catherine C. de Fontenay & Joshua S. Gans, 2004. "Vertical Integration in the Presence of Upstream Competition," Department of Economics - Working Papers Series 904, The University of Melbourne. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  15. Howard Smith & John Thanassoulis, 2009. "Upstream Competition and Downstream Buyer Power," Economics Series Working Papers 420, University of Oxford, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  16. Roman Inderst & Tommaso M. Valletti, 2008. "Buyer Power and the “Waterbed Effect”," CEIS Research Paper 107, Tor Vergata University, CEIS, revised 10 Jul 2008. [Downloadable!]
  17. Biglaiser, Gary & Vettas, Nikolaos, 2004. "Dynamic Price Competition with Capacity Constraints and Strategic Buyers," CEPR Discussion Papers 4315, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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