IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/pra/mprapa/54079.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Entry and Competition in Local Newspaper Retail Markets - When two are enough

Author

Listed:
  • Balmer, Roberto

Abstract

This chapter estimates sustainable coverage and competitive effects of entry for Swiss newspaper sellers which sell composite goods, including a range of other products such as food and near-food items. It utilises the applied entry threshold ratio methodology from Bresnahan and Reiss (1991), which allows estimation even when the range of products under examination is not exactly defined and when price and quantity data are not available. It is found that under monopoly pricing, single firm entry is sustainable in communes with a market size of over 482 people (leaving 310 Swiss communes without a selling point). With duopoly prices, instead, a first firm would only be able to enter a market with 921 people (leaving another 263 communes, corresponding to 2,1% of the population, without coverage). There are therefore tangible benefits from above duopoly prices in monopoly regions. Thus, a clear and quantifiable trade-off between prices in monopoly regions and coverage exists. Moreover, it is found that a second entrant in this market strongly increases competition, while further entry doesn’t have significant additional competitive effects. From a welfare perspective, therefore, “two is enough” to ensure competition in this market. It is shown that this is not the case in some other retail markets, where entry by a third firm may significantly affect competition. Finally, using the estimation results, it is show that the public policy, which consisted of having the government controlled Swiss Post enter the newspaper sellers’ retail market, was not optimal as it was focused on urban areas where neither coverage nor competition could be enhanced, while risking competitive distortions. At the same time, it is shown that there are communes in which such a government policy may be welfare enhancing.

Suggested Citation

  • Balmer, Roberto, 2013. "Entry and Competition in Local Newspaper Retail Markets - When two are enough," MPRA Paper 54079, University Library of Munich, Germany.
  • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:54079
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/54079/1/MPRA_paper_54079.pdf
    File Function: original version
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lapo Filistrucchi & Damien Geradin & Eric van Damme & Pauline Affeldt, 2014. "Market Definition In Two-Sided Markets: Theory And Practice," Journal of Competition Law and Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 10(2), pages 293-339.
    2. Bignon, Vincent & Flandreau, Marc, 2011. "The Economics of Badmouthing: Libel Law and the Underworld of the Financial Press in France Before World War I," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 71(3), pages 616-653, September.
    3. Nelson, Phillip, 1970. "Information and Consumer Behavior," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 78(2), pages 311-329, March-Apr.
    4. Jean Marie Abraham & Martin Gaynor & William B. Vogt, 2007. "Entry And Competition In Local Hospital Markets," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(2), pages 265-288, June.
    5. Dewenter, Ralf, 2003. "The Economics of Media Markets," Working Paper 10/2003, Helmut Schmidt University, Hamburg.
    6. Ivaldi, Marc & Argentesi, Elena, 2005. "Market Definition in the Printed Media Industry: Theory and Practice," CEPR Discussion Papers 5096, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    7. Elena Argentesi & Lapo Filistrucchi, 2007. "Estimating market power in a two-sided market: The case of newspapers," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(7), pages 1247-1266.
    8. Bignon, Vincent & Miscio, Antonio, 2010. "Media bias in financial newspapers: evidence from early twentieth-century France," European Review of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 14(3), pages 383-432, December.
    9. Janusz Ordover, 2007. "Comments on Evans & Schmalensee’s “The Industrial Organization of Markets with Two-Sided Platformsâ€Â," CPI Journal, Competition Policy International, vol. 3.
    10. Richard van der Wurff, 2011. "Are News Media Substitutes? Gratifications, Contents, and Uses," Journal of Media Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(3), pages 139-157, September.
    11. Panzar, John C & Rosse, James N, 1987. "Testing for "Monopoly" Equilibrium," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(4), pages 443-456, June.
    12. Hoernig, Steffen & Cambini, Carlo, 2012. "Geographic Access Rules and Investments," CEPR Discussion Papers 9013, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    13. Blasco, Andrea & Sobbrio, Francesco, 2012. "Competition and commercial media bias," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 434-447.
    14. Steven C. Salop, 1979. "Monopolistic Competition with Outside Goods," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 10(1), pages 141-156, Spring.
    15. Tommaso Valletti, 2009. "Mobile Call Termination: A Tale of Two-Sided Markets," Chapters, in: François Lévêque & Howard Shelanski (ed.), Antitrust and Regulation in the EU and US, chapter 7, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    16. Dertouzos, James N & Trautman, William B, 1990. "Economic Effects of Media Concentration: Estimates from a Model of the Newspaper Firm," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(1), pages 1-14, September.
    17. David Evans & Richard Schmalensee, 2007. "The Industrial Organization of Markets with Two-Sided Platforms," CPI Journal, Competition Policy International, vol. 3.
    18. Bresnahan, Timothy F & Reiss, Peter C, 1991. "Entry and Competition in Concentrated Markets," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 99(5), pages 977-1009, October.
    19. Vincent Bignon & Antonio Miscio, 2009. "Media Bias in Financial Newspapers: Evidence from Early 20th Century France," EconomiX Working Papers 2009-4, University of Paris Nanterre, EconomiX.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Dittmann, Heidi & Kuchinke, Björn A., 2016. "Sharing Economy and Regulation," 27th European Regional ITS Conference, Cambridge (UK) 2016 148665, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
    2. 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.
    3. Vincent Bignon & Marc Flandreau, 2012. "The Price of Media Capture and the Looting of Newspapers in Interwar France," IHEID Working Papers 09-2012, Economics Section, The Graduate Institute of International Studies.
    4. Matthew Gentzkow & Jesse M. Shapiro & Michael Sinkinson, 2014. "Competition and Ideological Diversity: Historical Evidence from US Newspapers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(10), pages 3073-3114, October.
    5. Oliver Budzinski & Annika Stöhr, 2019. "Competition policy reform in Europe and Germany – institutional change in the light of digitization," European Competition Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(1), pages 15-54, January.
    6. Kesternich, Iris & Schumacher, Heiner & Van Biesebroeck, Johannes & Grant, Iris, 2020. "Market size and competition: A “hump-shaped” result," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    7. Filistrucchi, L. & Gerardin, D. & van Damme, E.E.C. & Keunen, S. & Klein, T.J. & Michielsen, T.O. & Wileur, J., 2010. "Mergers in Two-Sided Markets - A Report to the NMa," Other publications TiSEM f901d1fe-8878-444e-a685-8, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    8. 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.
    9. Ramboll & The Evaluation Partnership & Europe Economics, 2015. "Economic Study on Publications on all Physical Means of Support and Electronic Publications in the context of VAT," Taxation Studies 0057, Directorate General Taxation and Customs Union, European Commission.
    10. Lapo Filistrucchi, 2008. "A SSNIP test for two-sided markets: the case of media," Working Papers 08-34, NET Institute, revised Oct 2008.
    11. 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.
    12. Sendhil Mullainathan & Andrei Shleifer, 2005. "The Market for News," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(4), pages 1031-1053, September.
    13. Gaynor, Martin & Town, Robert J., 2011. "Competition in Health Care Markets," Handbook of Health Economics, in: Mark V. Pauly & Thomas G. Mcguire & Pedro P. Barros (ed.), Handbook of Health Economics, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 499-637, Elsevier.
    14. Belleflamme,Paul & Peitz,Martin, 2015. "Industrial Organization," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107687899, September.
    15. Louis-Sidois, Charles & Mougin, Elisa, 2023. "Silence the media or the story? Theory and evidence of media capture," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    16. Ralf Dewenter & Ulrich Kaiser, 2006. "Horizontale Fusionen auf zweiseitigen Märkten am Beispiel von Printmedien," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 7(3), pages 335-353, August.
    17. Bakker, Gerben, 2014. "How they made news pay: news traders’ quest for crisis-resistant business models," Economic History Working Papers 59304, London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Economic History.
    18. Bignon, Vincent & Flandreau, Marc, 2014. "The Price of Media Capture and the Debasement of the French Newspaper Industry During the Interwar," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 74(3), pages 799-830, September.
    19. Gu, Yiquan & Rasch, Alexander & Wenzel, Tobias, 2022. "Consumer salience and quality provision in (un)regulated public service markets," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    20. Gerhard Clemenz & Klaus Gugler, 2009. "Locational choice and price competition: some empirical results for the austrian retail gasoline market," Studies in Empirical Economics, in: Giuseppe Arbia & Badi H. Baltagi (ed.), Spatial Econometrics, pages 223-244, Springer.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    entry; investment; coverage; number of competitors; competition; variable profits;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D43 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Oligopoly and Other Forms of Market Imperfection
    • L1 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance
    • L41 - Industrial Organization - - Antitrust Issues and Policies - - - Monopolization; Horizontal Anticompetitive Practices
    • L51 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Economics of Regulation
    • L9 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities

    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:pra:mprapa:54079. 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: Joachim Winter (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/vfmunde.html .

    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.