Schedule

Schedule for the previous edition of this course. Instructors, topics, and schedule are subject to change.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

*In video conference from the University of Pennsylvania

Click to view the program in more detail

The following is a more detailed description of the topics that will be covered during this intensive course. In each session the lecturers will make reference to recent high-profile case studies.

1. Unilateral effects, I

• The effects of mergers in general
• Merger in a differentiated goods industry
• Measuring upward pricing pressure: UPP, GUPPI, CMCR and merger simulations

2. Mergers in European mobile telecom markets

• Brief description of the cases and of the industry
• The application of quantitative techniques to mobile mergers
• Cases: H3G Austria/Orange AT, Three Ireland/O2 IE, Telefónica DE/E-Plus, TeliaSonera/Telenor, H3G/Telefónica UK, H3G ITA/Wind

3. Coordinated effects

• Collusion: what is it, what factors facilitate it, and how to identify possible coordinated effects of mergers
• Development of a standard by Commission/European Courts
• Comparison with the US approach to coordinated effects
• Cases: Nestlé/Perrier, Airtours/First Choice, Sony/BMG/Impala, ABF/GBI

4. Effects on investments and innovations

• A simple framework to understand effects on investments
• When could mergers promote investment and innovation?
• Cases: mobile mergers (see above), Dow Chemical/DuPont, Novartis/GSK Oncology

5. Non-horizontal mergers

• Vertical foreclosure and conglomerate effects
• Possible theories of harm (input foreclosure, customer foreclosure, bundling)
• Possible efficiencies from vertical integration and from breadth and scope of production
• Cases: Tetra Laval/Sidel, GE/Honeywell, Tom/Tom TeleAtlas, Google/Double Click, ASL/Arianespace

6. Unilateral effects, II

• Bidding markets: Impact of information structure and auction format; Evaluating merger effects
• Homogenous markets: Capacity-constrained competition; Role of cost asymmetries and geographical differentiation
• Cases: GE/Alstom, Outokumpu/Inoxum, Ineos/Solvay, Ball/Rexam, EDF/British Energy

 7. Empirical methods, I

• The role of quantitative analysis; descriptive analysis v. causal inference; structural v. treatment effect/reduced form approaches
• Descriptive analysis: Closeness of competition in bidding markets; Pricing tests; Pivotality
• Cases: Amadeus/Navitaire, Ferromex/Globe, Holcim/Cemex

8. Empirical methods, II

• Reduced-form approaches – price concentration studies: Entry and exit; Past mergers; Incorporating efficiencies; Bidding analysis
• Structural modelling: Assessing closeness of competition with demand analysis; Simulating the effects of a merger
• Cases: Ryanair/Aer Lingus, Ineos/Solvay, UPS/TNT, GE/Alstom, Friesland/Campina, Kraft/Cadbury, Unilever/Sara Lee, TomTom/TeleAtlas

9. Dealing with efficiency gains

• Type of efficiencies: static vs dynamic
• Assessing verifiability and merger-specificity
• Balancing efficiencies and harm
• Cases: Mobile mergers (see above), UPS/TNT, Fedex/TNT, GE/Alstom, Ineos/Solvay, Deutsche Borse/Euronext, Ryanair/Aer Lingus

10. US perspective. The use of empirical work in litigation: a few case studies

• The use of empirical methods to define markets, compute competitive harm and evaluate offsetting factors
• Evaluation of the methods used by courts and by the competition authorities
• Cases: Aetna/Humana, American Airlines/ US Airways, ATT-Direct TV

11. Merger remedies

• Structural vs. conduct remedies
• Scale and scope issues in structural remedies 
• Designing conduct remedies 
• Cases: Ineos/Solvay, Ball/Rexam, Dow/DuPont, GE/Alstom, Munksjo/Ahlstrom