[go: up one dir, main page]
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hhs/bergec/2008_002.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Mergers and capital flight in unionised oligopolies: Is there scope for a 'national champion' policy?

Author

Listed:
Abstract
Many policy makers seem to prefer domestic alternatives to cross-broder mergers. Can such sentiments make sense? We contruct a model where cross-border mergers drive down union-set wages, where domestic mergers have larger non-labour cost synergies than international ones, and where policy evaluators care more about workers than capital owners. Apparently, the stage is set for national champion policies to be sensible. However, we also introduce the possibility of capital ?ight in the sense that a domestic ?rm can physically move its production out of the country. Restrictive cross-border merger policies can then seriously back?re, since they do not necessarily bring about a domestic merger - but capital flight instead.

Suggested Citation

  • Lommerud, Kjell Erik & Meland, Frode & Straume, Odd Rune, 2008. "Mergers and capital flight in unionised oligopolies: Is there scope for a 'national champion' policy?," Working Papers in Economics 02/08, University of Bergen, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:bergec:2008_002
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://ekstern.filer.uib.no/svf/2008/wp02-08.pdf
    File Function: Full text
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. J.Peter Neary, 2002. "Foreign Competition and Wage Inequality," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(4), pages 680-693, November.
    2. Neary, J. Peter, 2009. "Trade costs and foreign direct investment," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 207-218, March.
    3. Ari Hyytinen & Frode Steen & Otto Toivanen, 2018. "Cartels Uncovered," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 10(4), pages 190-222, November.
    4. Walde, Klaus & Wei[ss], Pia, 2007. "International competition, downsizing and wage inequality," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(2), pages 396-406, November.
    5. Raff, Horst & Ryan, Michael & Stähler, Frank, 2009. "The choice of market entry mode: Greenfield investment, M&A and joint venture," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 3-10, January.
    6. Heyman, Fredrik & Sjoholm, Fredrik & Tingvall, Patrik Gustavsson, 2007. "Is there really a foreign ownership wage premium? Evidence from matched employer-employee data," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(2), pages 355-376, November.
    7. Horn, Henrik & Persson, Lars, 2001. "Endogenous mergers in concentrated markets," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 19(8), pages 1213-1244, September.
    8. Sourafel Girma & Holger Görg, 2016. "Evaluating the foreign ownership wage premium using a difference-in-differences matching approach," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: MULTINATIONAL ENTERPRISES AND HOST COUNTRY DEVELOPMENT Volume 53: World Scientific Studies in International Economics, chapter 2, pages 17-32, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    9. Kjell Erik Lommerud & Frode Meland & Lars S¯rgard, 2003. "Unionised Oligopoly, Trade Liberalisation and Location Choice," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 113(490), pages 782-800, October.
    10. Olivier Blanchard & Francesco Giavazzi, 2003. "Macroeconomic Effects of Regulation and Deregulation in Goods and Labor Markets," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(3), pages 879-907.
    11. J. Peter Neary, 2007. "Cross-Border Mergers as Instruments of Comparative Advantage," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 74(4), pages 1229-1257.
    12. Andreas Haufler & Christian Schulte, 2007. "Merger Policy and Tax Competition," CESifo Working Paper Series 2157, CESifo.
    13. Lommerud, Kjell Erik & Straume, Odd Rune & Sorgard, Lars, 2005. "Downstream merger with upstream market power," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(3), pages 717-743, April.
    14. Hartmut Egger & Udo Kreickemeier, 2017. "International Fragmentation: Boon or Bane for Domestic Employment?," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: International Trade and Labor Markets Welfare, Inequality and Unemployment, chapter 9, pages 237-263, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    15. Gugler, Klaus & Yurtoglu, B. Burcin, 2004. "The effects of mergers on company employment in the USA and Europe," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 481-502, April.
    16. Stephen W. Salant & Sheldon Switzer & Robert J. Reynolds, 1983. "Losses From Horizontal Merger: The Effects of an Exogenous Change in Industry Structure on Cournot-Nash Equilibrium," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 98(2), pages 185-199.
    17. Almeida, Rita, 2007. "The labor market effects of foreign owned firms," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(1), pages 75-96, May.
    18. Dhillon, Amrita & Petrakis, Emmanuel, 2002. "A generalised wage rigidity result," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 20(3), pages 285-311, March.
    19. Mugele, Christian & Schnitzer, Monika, 2008. "Organization of multinational activities and ownership structure," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 26(6), pages 1274-1289, November.
    20. Barros, Pedro P. & Cabral, Luis, 1994. "Merger policy in open economies," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 38(5), pages 1041-1055, May.
    21. McGuckin, Robert H. & Nguyen, Sang V., 2001. "The impact of ownership changes: a view from labor markets," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 19(5), pages 739-762, April.
    22. Lommerud, Kjell Erik & Meland, Frode & Straume, Odd Rune, 2009. "Can deunionization lead to international outsourcing?," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(1), pages 109-119, February.
    23. Lommerud, Kjell Erik & Olsen, Trond E. & Straume, Odd Rune, 2006. "Cross border mergers and strategic trade policy with two-part taxation: is international policy coordination beneficial? [Grenzüberschreitende Fusionen und strategische Handelspolitik mit zweiseiti," Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Market Processes and Governance SP II 2006-24, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    24. Steffen Huck & Kai A. Konrad, 2004. "Merger Profitability and Trade Policy," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 106(1), pages 107-122, March.
    25. Saint-Paul, Gilles, 2007. "Making sense of Bolkestein-bashing: Trade liberalization under segmented labor markets," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(1), pages 152-174, September.
    26. Naylor, Robin, 1998. "International trade and economic integration when labour markets are generally unionised," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 42(7), pages 1251-1267, July.
    27. Kjell Erik Lommerud & Odd Rune Straume & Lars Sørgard, 2006. "National versus international mergers in unionized oligopoly," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 37(1), pages 212-233, March.
    28. Andreas Haufler & Søren Bo Nielsen, 2008. "Merger policy to promote 'global players'? A simple model," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 60(3), pages 517-545, July.
    29. Horn, Henrik & Persson, Lars, 2001. "The equilibrium ownership of an international oligopoly," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(2), pages 307-333, April.
    30. Marie‐Françoise Calmette, 2008. "The Effects of Trade Liberalization between Heterogeneous Countries on Endogenous Mergers," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(5), pages 874-892, November.
    31. Nocke, Volker & Yeaple, Stephen, 2007. "Cross-border mergers and acquisitions vs. greenfield foreign direct investment: The role of firm heterogeneity," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(2), pages 336-365, July.
    32. Keith Head & John Ries, 1997. "International Mergers and Welfare under Decentralized Competition Policy," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 30(4), pages 1104-1123, November.
    33. Alan J. Auerbach, 1988. "Corporate Takeovers: Causes and Consequences," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number auer88-1.
    34. Norback, Pehr-Johan & Persson, Lars, 2007. "Investment liberalization -- Why a restrictive cross-border merger policy can be counterproductive," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(2), pages 366-380, July.
    35. Straume, Odd Rune, 2003. "International mergers and trade liberalisation: implications for unionised labour," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 21(5), pages 717-735, May.
    36. Klaus Wälde & Pia Weiss, 2004. "International Competition, Slim Firms and Wage Inequality," CESifo Working Paper Series 1254, CESifo.
    37. repec:bla:reviec:v:10:y:2002:i:4:p:680-93 is not listed on IDEAS
    38. Meland, Frode, 2002. "Unions and Market Integration in Contests," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 112(3-4), pages 293-304, September.
    39. Raymond Deneckere & Carl Davidson, 1985. "Incentives to Form Coalitions with Bertrand Competition," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 16(4), pages 473-486, Winter.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Maria Bas & Juan Carluccio, 2009. "Wage Bargaining and the Boundaries of the Multinational Firm," CEP Discussion Papers dp0963, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    2. Fernando Alexandre & Miguel Portela & Carla Sá, 2008. "Admission conditions and graduates' employability," NIPE Working Papers 16/2008, NIPE - Universidade do Minho.
    3. Kjell Lommerud & Trond Olsen & Odd Straume, 2010. "Company Taxation and Merger Incentives in International Oligopoly: on International Policy Coordination with Strategic Trade," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 10(2), pages 161-186, June.
    4. Alcalde, Nuria & Powell, Ronan, 2022. "Government intervention in European mergers and acquisitions," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    5. Paulo Bastos & Natália P. Monteiro, 2011. "Managers and Wage Policies," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(4), pages 957-984, December.
    6. Domenico Buccella, 2011. "Labor unions and economic integration: A review," Económica, Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, vol. 0, pages 25-89, January-D.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kjell Erik Lommerud & Odd Rune Straume & Lars Sørgard, 2006. "National versus international mergers in unionized oligopoly," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 37(1), pages 212-233, March.
    2. Lommerud, Kjell Erik & Olsen, Trond E. & Straume, Odd Rune, 2006. "Cross border mergers and strategic trade policy with two-part taxation: is international policy coordination beneficial? [Grenzüberschreitende Fusionen und strategische Handelspolitik mit zweiseiti," Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Market Processes and Governance SP II 2006-24, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    3. Andreas Haufler & Christian Schulte, 2007. "Merger Policy and Tax Competition," Working Papers 035, Bavarian Graduate Program in Economics (BGPE).
    4. Arijit Mukherjee & Umut Erksan Senalp, 2021. "Firm‐productivity and cross border merger," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(4), pages 838-859, September.
    5. Kjell Lommerud & Trond Olsen & Odd Straume, 2010. "Company Taxation and Merger Incentives in International Oligopoly: on International Policy Coordination with Strategic Trade," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 10(2), pages 161-186, June.
    6. Aron Berg & Pehr-Johan Norbäck & Lars Persson, 2017. "Cross-border mergers & acquisitions with financially constrained owners," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 153(3), pages 433-456, August.
    7. Lommerud, Kjell Erik & Straume, Odd Rune & Sorgard, Lars, 2005. "Downstream merger with upstream market power," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(3), pages 717-743, April.
    8. Andreas Haufler & Søren Bo Nielsen, 2008. "Merger policy to promote 'global players'? A simple model," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 60(3), pages 517-545, July.
    9. Joel Stiebale & Michaela Trax, 2011. "The effects of cross‐border M&As on the acquirers’ domestic performance: firm‐level evidence," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 44(3), pages 957-990, August.
    10. Persson, Lars & Norbäck, Pehr-Johan, 2007. "Globalization and Profitability of Cross-border Mergers & Acquisitions," CEPR Discussion Papers 6102, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    11. Ray Chaudhuri, A., 2011. "Cross-Border Mergers and Market Segmentation (Replaces CentER DP 2010-096)," Discussion Paper 2011-112, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    12. Jens Südekum, 2010. "National champions and globalization," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 43(1), pages 204-231, February.
    13. Yasuhiko Nakamura, 2011. "Strategic managerial delegation and cross-border mergers," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 104(1), pages 49-89, September.
    14. Olivier Bertrand & Katariina Nilsson Hakkala & Pehr‐Johan Norbäck & Lars Persson, 2012. "Should countries block foreign takeovers of R&D champions and promote greenfield entry?," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 45(3), pages 1083-1124, August.
    15. Amrita Ray Chaudhuri, 2014. "Cross-Border Mergers and Market Segmentation," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(2), pages 229-257, June.
    16. Lommerud, Kjell Erik & Meland, Frode & Rune Straume, Odd, 2006. "Globalisation and union opposition to technological change," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 1-23, January.
    17. Andreas Haufler & Christian Schulte, 2011. "Merger policy and tax competition: the role of foreign firm ownership," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 18(2), pages 121-145, April.
    18. Becker, Johannes & Fuest, Clemens, 2011. "Tax competition -- Greenfield investment versus mergers and acquisitions," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(5), pages 476-486, September.
    19. Bertrand, Olivier & Nilsson Hakkala, Katariina & Norbäck, Pehr-Johan & Persson, Lars, 2008. "Should R&D Champions be Protected from Foreign Takeovers?," Working Paper Series 772, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    20. Pehr-Johan Norbäck & Lars Persson, 2008. "Cross-Border Mergers & Acquisitions Policy in Service Markets," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 8(3), pages 269-293, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Cross-border merger; national champions; greenfield FDI; trade unions;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F16 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Labor Market Interactions
    • F21 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Investment; Long-Term Capital Movements
    • J51 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Trade Unions: Objectives, Structure, and Effects
    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:hhs:bergec:2008_002. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Kjell Erik Lommerud (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/iouibno.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.