Merger Simulation in Competition Policy: A Survey

Oliver Budzinski and Isabel Ruhmer ()
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Isabel Ruhmer: CDSE,University of Mannheim, Germany

No 82/09, Working Papers from University of Southern Denmark, Department of Sociology, Environmental and Business Economics

Abstract: Advances in competition economics as well as in computational and empirical methods have offered the scope for the employment of merger simulation models in merger control procedures during the past almost 15 years. Merger simulation is, nevertheless, still a very young and innovative instrument of antitrust and, therefore, its ‘technical’ potential is far from being comprehensively exploited and teething problems in its practical use in the antitrust environment prevail. We provide a classification of state-of-the-art merger simulation models and review their previous employment in merger cases as well as the problems and limitations currently associated with their use in merger control. In summary, merger simulation models represent an important and valuable extension of the toolbox of merger policy. However, they do not qualify as a magic bullet and must be combined with other, more traditional instruments of competition policy in order to comprehensively unfold its beneficial effects. The authors thank Ulrich Schwalbe, Wolfgang Kerber, Arndt Christiansen and Niels Vestergaard for valuable comments on earlier versions of the paper, the participants of the 30th Hohenheimer Oberseminar (Nuernberg, April 2008) for helpful discussion, and Barbara Güldenring for valuable editorial assistance.

Keywords: Merger simulation; merger control; antitrust; oligopoly theory; auction models; mergers & acquisitions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C15 K21 L40 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 76 pages
Date: 2009-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cmp, nep-com and nep-ind
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (16)

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Related works:
Journal Article: MERGER SIMULATION IN COMPETITION POLICY: A SURVEY (2010)
Working Paper: Merger Simulation in Competition Policy: A Survey (2008)
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