Global Giants and Local Stars: How Changes in Brand Ownership Affect Competition

Vanessa Alviarez, Keith Head and Thierry Mayer

American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, 2025, vol. 17, issue 1, 389-434

Abstract: Large beer and spirits makers expanded abroad mainly by acquiring local brands. Exploiting market share data in 76 countries and changes in brand ownership from 2007 to 2018, we estimate that owners matter little for brand performance, except via a negative consumer response to foreign ownership. Counterfactuals indicate that market power increases were large enough to yield higher profits for most mergers without relying on fixed-cost savings. Emulating procompetition policies used by the United States and European Union could have saved South American consumers up to 18 percent. US beer prices would be 3–4 percent higher without DOJ-enforced divestitures.

JEL-codes: F23 G34 K21 L13 L25 L66 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Related works:
Working Paper: Global Giants and Local Stars: How Changes in Brand Ownership Affect Competition (2021)
Working Paper: Global Giants and Local Stars: How Changes in Brand Ownership Affect Competition (2021)
Working Paper: Global Giants and Local Stars: How Changes in Brand Ownership Affect Competition (2021)
Working Paper: Global Giants and Local Stars: How Changes in Brand Ownership Affect Competition (2021)
Working Paper: Global giants and local stars: How changes in brand ownership affect competition (2020)
Working Paper: Global Giants and Local Stars: How Changes in Brand Ownership Affect Competition (2020)
Working Paper: Global giants and local stars: How changes in brand ownership affect competition (2020)
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DOI: 10.1257/mic.20210244

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