IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bpj/bejeap/vtopics.3y2003i1n2.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Horizontal Mergers Without Synergies May Increase Consumer Welfare

Author

Listed:
  • Stennek Johan

    (IUI and CEPR)

Abstract

In imperfectly competitive markets firms with high costs produce positive output. The market's ability to minimize costs is also constrained by the fact that firms' costs are often private information. Mergers in such markets play a dual role. They reduce competition but they also generate an efficiency gain associated with the pooling of information. This paper shows that not only may costs be reduced as a result of merger, the price level may also decline and consumers may thus gain.

Suggested Citation

  • Stennek Johan, 2003. "Horizontal Mergers Without Synergies May Increase Consumer Welfare," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 3(1), pages 1-14, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:bejeap:v:topics.3:y:2003:i:1:n:2
    DOI: 10.2202/1538-0653.1074
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.2202/1538-0653.1074
    Download Restriction: For access to full text, subscription to the journal or payment for the individual article is required.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.2202/1538-0653.1074?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. Janice Ballou & Matthew Mishkind & Geraldine Mooney & Welmoet van Kammen, "undated". "National Science Foundation Report on Efficiency of Grant Size and Duration: Principal Investigator FY 2001 Grant Award Survey and Institutional Survey," Mathematica Policy Research Reports bdadbcef4daf4bf8b94a0fb7f, Mathematica Policy Research.
    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. Shieh Shiou & Huang Chi-Fei & Chen Hsiao-Chi, 2013. "Can Horizontal Mergers Without Synergies Increase Consumer Welfare? Cournot and Bertrand Competition Under Uncertain Demand," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 13(1), pages 453-484, April.
    2. Marco Pagnozzi & Antonio Rosato, 2014. "Entry by Takeover: Auctions vs. Negotiations," CSEF Working Papers 353, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy.
    3. Harrington, Joseph E., 2021. "There may be no pass through of a merger-related cost efficiency," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    4. Banal-Estanol, Albert, 2007. "Information-sharing implications of horizontal mergers," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 31-49, February.
    5. Tuinstra Jan & in ’t Veld Daan L., 2014. "Market-Induced Rationalization and Welfare-Enhancing Cartels," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 14(1), pages 189-202, January.
    6. Charles J. Thomas, 2021. "Profitable Horizontal Mergers Without Efficiencies Can Increase Consumer Surplus," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 69(3), pages 730-741, September.
    7. Luis Gautier & Mahelet G. Fikru, 2022. "The Welfare Impact of New Firm Acquisitions," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 535-559, December.
    8. Tuinstra Jan & in ’t Veld Daan L., 2013. "Market-Induced Rationalization and Welfare-Enhancing Cartels," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 14(1), pages 189-202, October.
    9. Kojun Hamada, 2012. "Uncertainty and Horizontal Mergers," Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics (JITE), Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 168(2), pages 252-265, June.
    10. Pagnozzi, Marco & Rosato, Antonio, 2016. "Entry by takeover: Auctions vs. bilateral negotiations," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 68-84.
    11. Mariana Cunha & Paula Sarmento & Hélder Vasconcelos, 2014. "Uncertain Efficiency Gains and Merger Policy," FEP Working Papers 527, Universidade do Porto, Faculdade de Economia do Porto.

    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. Amuedo-Dorantes Catalina & De la Rica Sara, 2006. "The Role of Segregation and Pay Structure on the Gender Wage Gap: Evidence from Matched Employer-Employee Data for Spain," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 5(1), pages 1-34, April.
    2. Bureau Jean-Christophe & Salvatici Luca, 2004. "WTO Negotiations on Market Access in Agriculture: a Comparison of Alternative Tariff Cut Proposals for the EU and the US," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 4(1), pages 1-35, March.
    3. Taber Christopher, 2002. "Tax Reform and Human Capital Accumulation: Evidence from an Empirical General Equilibrium Model of Skill Formation," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 2(1), pages 1-38, October.
    4. Graff Zivin Joshua & Small Arthur, 2005. "A Modigliani-Miller Theory of Altruistic Corporate Social Responsibility," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 5(1), pages 1-21, May.
    5. Anderberg Dan & Perroni Carlo, 2003. "Time-Consistent Policy and Politics: Does Voting Matter When Individuals Are Identical?," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 3(1), pages 1-19, March.
    6. Jonathan Gruber & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2006. "Do Cigarette Taxes Make Smokers Happier?," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Yew-Kwang Ng & Lok Sang Ho (ed.), Happiness and Public Policy, chapter 6, pages 109-146, Palgrave Macmillan.
    7. Scarpa Riccardo & Thiene Mara & Marangon Francesco, 2007. "The Value of Collective Reputation for Environmentally-Friendly Production Methods: The Case of Val di Gresta," Journal of Agricultural & Food Industrial Organization, De Gruyter, vol. 5(1), pages 1-28, September.
    8. Nelson Jon P., 2003. "Cigarette Demand, Structural Change, and Advertising Bans: International Evidence, 1970-1995," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 2(1), pages 1-29, August.
    9. Loranth Gyongyi & Sciubba Emanuela, 2006. "Relative Performance, Risk and Entry in the Mutual Fund Industry," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 6(1), pages 1-28, September.
    10. Finel-Honigman Irene, 2004. "EU Enlargement and Anti-Globalization: New Paradox or Old Paradigm," Global Economy Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 4(1), pages 1-19, October.
    11. Leigh Andrew, 2007. "Intergenerational Mobility in Australia," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 7(2), pages 1-28, December.
    12. Hultberg Patrik T & Barbier Edward B, 2003. "Cross-Country Policy Harmonization with Rent-Seeking," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 3(2), pages 1-22, December.
    13. Mechoulan Stéphane, 2004. "HIV Testing: a Trojan Horse?," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 4(1), pages 1-26, August.
    14. Civan Abdulkadir & Maloney Michael T., 2006. "The Determinants of Pharmaceutical Research and Development Investments," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 5(1), pages 1-38, September.
    15. Anand Alok & Mittelhammer Ron C & McCluskey Jill J, 2007. "Consumer Response to Information and Second-Generation Genetically Modified Food in India," Journal of Agricultural & Food Industrial Organization, De Gruyter, vol. 5(1), pages 1-20, October.

    More about this item

    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:bpj:bejeap:v:topics.3:y:2003:i:1:n:2. 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: Peter Golla (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.degruyter.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.