Retail Mergers and Food Prices: Evidence from France
利用消费者面板数据，研究法国超市并购对食品价格的影响，发现并购后价格显著上涨，并购企业市场份额下降，竞争对手在本地市场价格涨幅更大。
Abstract This paper analyzes the impact of a merger in the French supermarket industry on food prices. Using consumer panel data, we compare the changes in prices for merging and rival firms in affected and comparison markets. We use a novel definition of affected markets when some firms have a local pricing strategy and others a more centralized pricing strategy. We find that prices increase significantly following the merger, and that the merging firms lose market shares. For the rivals, the price increases are larger in local markets, in which concentration increased and differentiation changed after the merger.