What can be Expected from Mergers After Deregulation? The Case of the Long-Distance Bus Industry in France

Thierry Blayac and Patrice Bougette ()
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Patrice Bougette: GREDEG - Groupe de Recherche en Droit, Economie et Gestion - UNS - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (1965 - 2019) - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UniCA - Université Côte d'Azur

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Abstract: This study estimates the competitive effects of horizontal mergers in the French long-distance bus industry. We examine the two mergers that followed the 2015 Deregulation Act (the Macron Law); we use an exclusive and exhaustive dataset that covers eight consecutive quarters. We analyze the merger effects by comparing bus links that were affected by mergers with those that were unaffected; we use difference-in-differences estimations. We find that the two mergers are associated with price increases of about 13.5% immediately that then moderate to 5.3%; and with the frequency decreases from − 21.5 to − 25.7%; we observe no effects on load factors. These findings show evidence of short-run anticompetitive effects, while the mergers under study were not scrutinized by the French competition agency, as they were below the notification thresholds.

Date: 2022-08-22
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Published in Review of Industrial Organization, 2022, 62 (1), pp.63-97. ⟨10.1007/s11151-022-09878-7⟩

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Journal Article: What can be Expected from Mergers After Deregulation? The Case of the Long-Distance Bus Industry in France (2023)
Working Paper: What Can Be Expected from Mergers after Deregulation? The Case of the Long-Distance Bus Industry in France (2022)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04015789

DOI: 10.1007/s11151-022-09878-7

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