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Convex Costs And The Merger Paradox Revisited

Author

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  • JOHN S. HEYWOOD
  • MATTHEW MCGINTY
Abstract
Returning to the contention that convex costs provide a resolution to the merger paradox, we show that for reasonable degrees of convexity, the minimum market share needed for merger to be profitable remains close to that associated with linear costs. Moreover, convex costs do not eliminate the free rider problem identified as part of the merger paradox. Finally, we retain convex costs while modeling a firm‐by‐firm sequential merger process, showing that the paradox constrains a larger share of potential mergers. These findings help reduce the relevance of convex costs as a resolution to the merger paradox. (JEL L12, L13)

Suggested Citation

  • John S. Heywood & Matthew Mcginty, 2007. "Convex Costs And The Merger Paradox Revisited," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 45(2), pages 342-349, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ecinqu:v:45:y:2007:i:2:p:342-349
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1465-7295.2006.00010.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Luciano Fanti & Nicola Meccheri, 2016. "Non-Rigid Wages And Merger Profitability Reversal Under Convex Costs And Centralized Unionization," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 68(4), pages 383-395, October.
    2. Artz, Benjamin & Heywood, John S. & McGinty, Matthew, 2009. "The merger paradox in a mixed oligopoly," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(1), pages 1-10, March.
    3. Luciano Fanti & Domenico Buccella, 2020. "Social Responsibility in a Bilateral Monopoly with Downstream Convex Technology," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 761-776, December.
    4. John S. Heywood & Matthew McGinty, 2008. "Leading and Merging: Convex Costs, Stackelberg, and the Merger Paradox," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 74(3), pages 879-893, January.
    5. Duarte Brito & Margarida Catalão‐Lopes, 2019. "Are Larger Merger Synergies Bad News for Consumers? Endogenous Post‐Merger Internal Organization," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 121(4), pages 1728-1756, October.
    6. Yoshio Kamijo & Yasuhiko Nakamura, 2009. "Stable market structures from merger activities in mixed oligopoly with asymmetric costs," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 98(1), pages 1-24, September.
    7. Omkar Palsule-Desai, 2016. "Impact of equity and equality on stability and collusion in a decentralized network," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 238(1), pages 411-447, March.
    8. Eric Langlais & Andreea Cosnita-Langlais & Tim Friehe, 2024. "Product Liability Influences Incentives for Horizontal Mergers," EconomiX Working Papers 2024-10, University of Paris Nanterre, EconomiX.
    9. Luciano Fanti & Nicola Meccheri, 2012. "Differentiated Duopoly and Horizontal Merger Profitability under Monopoly Central Union and Convex Costs," Working Paper series 05_12, Rimini Centre for Economic Analysis.
    10. Fanti, Luciano & Meccheri, Nicola, 2014. "Profits and competition under alternative technologies in a unionized duopoly with product differentiation," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(2), pages 157-168.
    11. Heywood, John S. & McGinty, Matthew, 2011. "Cross-border mergers in a mixed oligopoly," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 28(1-2), pages 382-389, January.
    12. Fanti, Luciano & Buccella, Domenico, 2018. "A note on the social responsibility in a bilateral monopoly," MPRA Paper 88162, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Luca Gori & Luciano Fanti, 2022. "Endogenous codetermination," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(1), pages 272-285, January.
    14. repec:ebl:ecbull:v:12:y:2007:i:12:p:1-7 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Hassan, Ibne & Chidlow, Agnieszka & Romero-Martínez, Ana M., 2016. "Selection, valuation and performance assessment: Are these truly inter-linked within the M&A transactions?," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 255-266.
    16. Margarida Catalão-Lopes & Duarte Brito, 2021. "Post-merger internal organization in multitier decentralized supply chains," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 132(3), pages 251-289, April.
    17. Luciano Fanti & Nicola Meccheri, 2012. "Profits and Competition in a Unionized Duopoly Model with Product Differentiation and Labour Decreasing Returns," Working Paper series 06_12, Rimini Centre for Economic Analysis.
    18. Gelves, J. Alejandro & Heywood, John S., 2013. "Privatizing by merger: The case of an inefficient public leader," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 69-79.
    19. Omkar D. Palsule-Desai, 2016. "Impact of equity and equality on stability and collusion in a decentralized network," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 238(1), pages 411-447, March.
    20. Luciano Fanti & Domenico Buccella, 2020. "Pareto-Superiority of Corporate Social Responsibility in Unionised Industries," Arthaniti: Journal of Economic Theory and Practice, , vol. 19(2), pages 131-150, December.
    21. Marc Escrihuela-Villar, 2019. "On Mergers in a Stackelberg Market with Asymmetric Convex Costs," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 21-32, March.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • L12 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Monopoly; Monopolization Strategies
    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets

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