On the welfare impact of mergers of complements: Raising rivals’ costs versus elimination of double marginalization

C-Tier
Journal: Economics Letters
Year: 2020
Volume: 195
Issue: C

Authors (4)

Akgün, Uğur (not in RePEc) Caffarra, Cristina (not in RePEc) Etro, Federico (Università degli Studi di Fire...) Stillman, Robert (not in RePEc)

Score contribution per author:

0.251 = (α=2.01 / 4 authors) × 0.5x C-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

A common view in antitrust analysis is that mergers of complements can have raising rivals’ costs and elimination of double marginalization effects, with the net effect on consumer welfare thus unclear. We revise this view in the context of a merger between a monopolist in one market and a duopoly producer of a complement good. With linear demand and imperfect substitutability, while such a merger increases the price of the monopolized component, elimination of double marginalization dominates any raising rivals’ costs effects, increasing consumer welfare. We discuss a variety of extensions.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:ecolet:v:195:y:2020:i:c:s0165176520302676
Journal Field
General
Author Count
4
Added to Database
2026-01-25