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- Title
What can be Expected from Mergers After Deregulation? The Case of the Long-Distance Bus Industry in France.
- Authors
Blayac, Thierry; Bougette, Patrice
- Abstract
This study estimates the competitive effects of horizontal mergers in the French long-distance bus industry. We examine the two mergers that followed the 2015 Deregulation Act (the Macron Law); we use an exclusive and exhaustive dataset that covers eight consecutive quarters. We analyze the merger effects by comparing bus links that were affected by mergers with those that were unaffected; we use difference-in-differences estimations. We find that the two mergers are associated with price increases of about 13.5% immediately that then moderate to 5.3%; and with the frequency decreases from − 21.5 to − 25.7%; we observe no effects on load factors. These findings show evidence of short-run anticompetitive effects, while the mergers under study were not scrutinized by the French competition agency, as they were below the notification thresholds.
- Subjects
FRANCE; MERGERS &; acquisitions; BUS industry; DEREGULATION; PRICE increases
- Publication
Review of Industrial Organization, 2023, Vol 62, Issue 1, p63
- ISSN
0889-938X
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s11151-022-09878-7