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The closed-loop effect and the profitability of horizontal mergers

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  • Hassan Benchekroun

Abstract

We study the profitability of horizontal mergers in a dynamic competition context with sticky prices. It is shown that, when firms use open-loop strategies, a merger is profitable only if the share of the market that merges is significant enough. In the case where firms use closed-loop strategies we provide a method to conduct analytically the study of the profitability of horizontal mergers. We first prove the existence of an equilibrium of the game when a subset of firms merges. When firms use feedback strategies, mergers are profitable even when the share of the market that merges is arbitrarily small.

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  • Hassan Benchekroun, 2003. "The closed-loop effect and the profitability of horizontal mergers," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 36(3), pages 546-565, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:cje:issued:v:36:y:2003:i:3:p:546-565
    DOI: 10.1111/1540-5982.t01-2-00002
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    1. Dockner, Engelbert J. & Gaunersdorfer, Andrea, 2001. "On the profitability of horizontal mergers in industries with dynamic competition," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 195-216, August.
    2. Farrell, Joseph & Shapiro, Carl, 1988. "Horizontal Mergers: An Equilibrium Analysis," Department of Economics, Working Paper Series qt0tp305nx, Department of Economics, Institute for Business and Economic Research, UC Berkeley.
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    4. Farrell, Joseph & Shapiro, Carl, 1990. "Horizontal Mergers: An Equilibrium Analysis," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 80(1), pages 107-126, March.
    5. Stephen W. Salant & Sheldon Switzer & Robert J. Reynolds, 1983. "Losses From Horizontal Merger: The Effects of an Exogenous Change in Industry Structure on Cournot-Nash Equilibrium," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 98(2), pages 185-199.
    6. Dockner, Engelbert J, 1992. "A Dynamic Theory of Conjectural Variations," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(4), pages 377-395, December.
    7. Fershtman, Chaim & Kamien, Morton I, 1987. "Dynamic Duopolistic Competition with Sticky Prices," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 55(5), pages 1151-1164, September.
    8. Dockner,Engelbert J. & Jorgensen,Steffen & Long,Ngo Van & Sorger,Gerhard, 2000. "Differential Games in Economics and Management Science," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521637329, September.
    9. Gaudet, Gerard & Salant, Stephen W, 1991. "Increasing the Profits of a Subset of Firms in Oligopoly Models with Strategic Substitutes," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 81(3), pages 658-665, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Agnieszka Wiszniewska-Matyszkiel & Marek Bodnar & Fryderyk Mirota, 2015. "Dynamic Oligopoly with Sticky Prices: Off-Steady-state Analysis," Dynamic Games and Applications, Springer, vol. 5(4), pages 568-598, December.
    2. Edilio Valentini & Paolo Vitale, 2022. "A Dynamic Oligopoly with Price Stickiness and Risk-Averse Agents," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 8(3), pages 697-718, November.
    3. Gamal Atallah, 2015. "Multi-Firm Mergers with Leaders and Followers," Working Papers E1501E, University of Ottawa, Department of Economics.
    4. Ulus Aysegul & Yildiz Halis M., 2012. "On the Relationship between Tariff Levels and the Nature of Mergers," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 12(1), pages 1-40, December.
    5. Colombo, Luca & Labrecciosa, Paola, 2021. "A stochastic differential game of duopolistic competition with sticky prices," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    6. Lambertini, Luca & Palestini, Arsen, 2014. "On the feedback solutions of differential oligopoly games with hyperbolic demand curve and capacity accumulation," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 236(1), pages 272-281.
    7. Berardino Cesi, 2010. "Horizontal Mergers: A Solution Of The Insiders' Dilemma," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(2), pages 171-180, April.
    8. Valentini, Edilio & Vitale, Paolo, 2019. "Uncertainty and Risk-aversion in a Dynamic Oligopoly with Sticky Prices," ETA: Economic Theory and Applications 285025, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    9. H. Esfahani & L. Lambertini, 2011. "The Profitability of Small Horizontal Mergers with Nonlinear Demand Functions," Working Papers wp728, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.
    10. Kenji Fujiwara, 2009. "Gains from Trade in a Differential Game Model of Asymmetric Oligopoly," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 17(5), pages 1066-1073, November.
    11. Mehdi Fadaee & Hamideh Esfahani, 2023. "Do oligopolistic firms benefit from being forced to act non‐strategically?," International Journal of Economic Theory, The International Society for Economic Theory, vol. 19(1), pages 127-147, March.
    12. BENCHEKROUN, Hassan & XUE, Licun, 2005. "Cartel Stability in a Dynamic Oligopoly," Cahiers de recherche 14-2005, Centre interuniversitaire de recherche en économie quantitative, CIREQ.
    13. L. Lambertini, 2010. "On the Feedback Solution of a Differential Oligopoly Game with Hyperbolic Demand and Capacity Accumulation," Working Papers 692, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.
    14. Evangelos Rouskas, 2023. "Mergers, multiperiod Cournot competition, and Coasian dynamics," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 75(2), pages 270-286, April.
    15. Cellini, Roberto & Lambertini, Luca, 2007. "A differential oligopoly game with differentiated goods and sticky prices," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 176(2), pages 1131-1144, January.
    16. Esfahani, Hamideh, 2019. "Profitability of horizontal mergers in the presence of price stickiness," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 279(3), pages 941-950.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D4 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design
    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets

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