Concentration Screens for Horizontal Mergers / Volker Nocke, Michael D. Whinston.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Nocke, Volker.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Whinston, Michael D.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w27533.

NBER working paper series no. w27533

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2020.

Summary:

Concentration-based screens for horizontal mergers, such as those employed in the US DOJ and FTC Horizontal Merger Guidelines, play a central role in merger analysis. However, the basis for these screens, in both form and level, remains unclear. We show that there is both a theoretical and an empirical basis for focusing solely on the change in the Herfindahl index, and ignoring its level, in screening mergers for whether their unilateral effects will harm consumers. We also argue, again both theoretically and empirically, that the levels at which the presumptions currently are set may allow mergers to proceed that cause consumer harm.

Notes:

Print version record

July 2020.