ECO410H1F:
Mergers and Competition Policy: NOT OFFERED FOR 2022/23
Prof. Murdock
Syllabus (Fall 2017) |
Schedule: Topics, readings, assignments, etc. (Fall 2017) |
Last updated: April 20,
2022
Announcements:
Alternatives to ECO410H: The Economics Department offers a host of excellent 400-level
courses. (While most do not have syllabi posted during the summer, you can
check out the 2021/22
syllabi.) Of particular interest is a course in competition policy offered
since 2019/20 with Professor Soboleva ECO422H1F
Special Topics in Economics: Competition Policy. [posted April 20, 2022]
Days and Dates |
Event |
Topic; Required reading (RR) to be completed before
class; Supplemental reading (SR) reinforce topics as needed; Ungraded
practice questions (PQ) to be completed after class |
Thursday, Sept. 7 |
Overview
of ECO410H and Introduction to Horizontal Merger Assessment “With Competition in Tatters, the Rip of
Inequality Widens” NYT, July 2016 Episode
438: Mavericks, Monopolies And Beer RR: (1) Contents,
Introduction and “The Economic and Legal Context”
in The Antitrust Revolution, Sixth
Edition pp. vii - ix, 1 – 33; (2) Introduction
and Chapter 1 “Economic Evidence in Antitrust:
Defining Markets and Measuring Market Power” in the Handbook of Antitrust Economics pp. ix
– xxii, 1 – 42; (3) “The Lerner Index of Monopoly Power: Origins and Uses”
Elzinga and Mills (2011) pp. 558 – 564 SR: (1) “Merger
Analysis at the Federal Trade Commission: Two Recent Retail Cases”
Thompson (2007) pp. 1 – 7; (2) “Teaching Strategies for Reading Comprehension”
Freedman (2012) pp. 1 – 4 paying particular attention to 1, 9, 11 – 18 |
|
Tuesday, Sept. 12 |
TA Tutorial 1 (See portal for
slides) |
Microeconomic
Theory Review SR: (1) Your
ECO200Y/ECO204Y/ECO206Y textbook and notes; (2) Chapter
2 “The Welfare Economics of Market Power” in Industrial
Organization: A Strategic Approach pp. 19 – 47 (especially Sections
2.4 and 2.5) |
Thursday, Sept. 14 |
Classic
Oligopoly Models: Bertrand and Cournot SR: (1) Chapter 7 “Game
Theory I” in Industrial Organization: A
Strategic Approach pp. 211 – 230; (2) Chapter 8 “Classic Models of Oligopoly” in Industrial Organization: A
Strategic Approach pp. 231 – 279;
(3) “Unilateral Competitive Effects of
Horizontal Mergers I: Basic Concepts and Models” Werden (2008) pp.
1319 – 1341 |
|
Tuesday, Sept. 19 |
Merger
Simulation: Cournot with Linear Demand Handout Linear Cournot Merger Simulation
Spreadsheet (quantities observed) Compatibility check: here Linear Cournot Merger
Simulation Spreadsheet (marginal costs observed) Compatibility check: here Note: Everyone with a laptop with Excel, please
bring it to this workshop assignment #1 GIVEN |
|
Thursday, Sept. 21 |
Antitrust Markets: Hypothetical Monopolist
Test RR: (1)
Chapter
19 “The Theory of the Market” in Industrial Organization: A
Strategic Approach pp. 599 –
620; (2) Sections 1 – 4 (pp. 1 – 15) of U.S.
Horizontal Merger Guidelines SR: (1)
pp.
5 – 16 of “Commentary
on the Horizontal Merger Guidelines” DOJ and FTC (2006): section entitled
“Market Definition and Concentration”; (2)
“Economic Analyses of Mergers at the FTC: The
Cruise Ships Mergers Investigation” Coleman et al (2003) pp. 121 – 155 |
|
Tuesday, Sept. 26 |
Merger
Simulation: Bertrand with Linear Demand Handout Linear Bertrand Merger Simulation
Spreadsheet (prices observed) Compatibility check: here Linear Bertrand Merger
Simulation Spreadsheet (marginal costs observed) Compatibility check: here Note: Everyone with a laptop with Excel, please
bring it to this workshop assignment #1 DUE BY
11:10am (sharp) assignment #2 GIVEN |
|
Thursday, Sept. 28 |
Assessing Horizontal Mergers Handout: Outline of
Prof. Murphy’s expert economic report for the Whole Food and Wild Oats merger;
The original report is publically available here Note: Everyone with a laptop with Excel, please
bring it to this class to access the original expert report of Professor
Murphy RR: (1)
Chapter
23 “Horizontal Mergers” in Industrial Organization: A
Strategic Approach pp. 715 –
743; (2) Sections 5 – 13 of
U.S.
Horizontal Merger Guidelines (pp. 15 – 34); (3) “Mergers with
Differentiated Products” Shapiro (1996) pp. 23 – 30; (4) “A Robust Test for Consumer
Welfare Enhancing Mergers Among Sellers of Differentiated Products”
Werden (1996) pp. 409 – 413 SR: (1)
pp.
17 – 59 of “Commentary
on the Horizontal Merger Guidelines” DOJ and FTC (2006): sections
entitled “The Potential Adverse Competitive Effects of Mergers,” “Entry
Analysis,” and “Efficiencies”; (2) “Choosing Among Tools for
Assessing Unilateral Merger Effects” Werden and Froeb
(2011) pp. 1 – 28; OR: (1)
“Merger Simulation in Competition Policy: A Survey” Budzinski and Ruhmer (2009) pp. 277 – 319; (2) “From Research on Mergers to
Merger Policy” Sørgard (2014) pp. 37 – 42; (3) “Hart-Scott-Rodino Annual Report: Fiscal Year 2013” US FTC and US
DOJ (2013) pp. 1 – 49; (4) “Unilateral Competitive Effects of Horizontal Mergers”
Werden and Froeb (2008)
in Handbook of Antitrust Economics
pp.43 – 104 PQ: Practice Questions 4 (Solutions) Presentation preference survey opens: Replies
DUE by Friday, Sept. 29, 4:00pm (see portal
announcement) |
|
Tuesday, Oct. 3 |
Workshop 3 (no
slides) |
Research Session with Library (90 minutes)
and Preparation for Team Presentations (20 minutes) Note: We will meet in a
computer lab in Robarts
Library, room 4033; Session will be run Public Services Librarian Holly
Inglis (holly.inglis@rotman.utoronto.ca)
and me. Presentation
schedule resolved in workshop and then posted on the portal General Presentation Skills
Rubric
(use when practicing your presentation and giving feedback to your teammates) Guide for Giving Effective Feedback
to Presenters (use
when practicing your presentation and giving feedback to your teammates) Team
Presentation Outline and Checklist Template (.docx and .pdf) (completed hardcopy
required before BOTH dry-run and class presentation) Guiding Marking Rubrics for Dry-Run and Class Presentations (to help you understand how your presentations will be marked) Marking Rubric for Class Participation (to help you understand how your class participation during team
presentation weeks will be marked) assignment #2 DUE BY
11:10am (sharp) |
Thursday, Oct. 5 |
Econometric Analysis and Endogeneity RR: (1) Chapter 4 “Guide to Merger Analysis Using Difference in Differences”
in Mergers, Merger Control, and Remedies pp. 57 – 70 SR: (1) Logarithms
in Regression Analysis (an ECO220Y1Y textbook supplement) (2) Your ECO220Y/ECO227Y textbook and
notes: especially on multiple regression analysis OR: (1) “The
Effect of Mergers on Consumer Prices: Evidence from Five Mergers on the
Enforcement Margin” Ashenfelter and Hoskin
(2010) pp. 417 – 466; (2) “The Effect of
Mergers on Consumer Prices: Evidence from Five Selected Case Studies” Ashenfelter and Hoskin (2008) pp. 1 – 58
(working paper version of first optional reading) PQ: Practice Questions 5 (Solutions);
Collins and Preston (1966) data |
|
Tuesday, Oct. 10 |
TA Tutorial 2 |
Econometrics Review |
Thursday, Oct. 12 |
Econometric Analysis: Hausman and Leonard
(2002) and Hosken et al (2011) RR: (1)
“The Competitive Effects of a New Product Introduction: A Case
Study” Hausman
and Leonard (2002) pp. 237 – 263 and appendix; (2) “Does Concentration Matter?
Measurement of Petroleum Merger Price Effects” Hosken
et al (2011) pp. 45 – 50 PQ: Practice Questions 6 (Solutions) assignment #3 GIVEN |
|
Tuesday, Oct. 17 |
Dry-Run Presentations |
Team 1 only: rest of class does NOT attend |
Thursday, Oct. 19 |
Team 1 Presentation
with Q&A |
Proposed Merger of Staples and Office Depot
in 1997 (Office Supply Superstores) RR: (1) “Prices,
Market Definition, and the Effects of a Merger: Staples-Office Depot (1997)” pp. 52 – 72 in The Antitrust Revolution, Fourth Edition; (2) “Economic
Analysis of Retail Mergers at the Competition Bureau” Competition Bureau
(2014) pp. 1 – 8 SR: (1) “Empirical Methods in Merger Analysis: Econometric
Analysis of Pricing in FTC v. Staples” Ashenfelter
et al (2006) pp. 265 – 279; (2) “Documents
versus Econometrics in Staples” Hausman and Leonard (1997) pp. 1 –
16 OR: (1) “Prices and Endogenous Market Structure in Office
Supply Superstores” Manuszak and Moul (2008) pp. 94 – 112; |
Tuesday, Oct. 24 |
Dry-Run Presentations |
Team 2 only: rest of class does NOT attend |
Thursday, Oct. 26 |
Team 2 Presentation
with Q&A |
Office Supply Superstore Mergers in 1997,
2013, 2016 (Office Supply Superstores) RR: (1) “Prices,
Market Definition, and the Effects of a Merger: Staples-Office Depot (1997)” pp. 166 – 193 in The Antitrust Revolution, Sixth Edition (Note: Emphasize pp. 186 – 193, which
are new since last week’s RR); (2) “The
Role of Economists and Economic Evidence in Merger Analysis” The Merger
Working Group (2013), specifically Section 3.4.3.8 “Upward Pricing Pressure
Measures” on p. 30 and the glossary entry “Upward pricing pressure (UPP)” on
pp. 58 – 59; (3) “Statement
of the Federal Trade Commission Concerning the Proposed Merger of Office
Depot, Inc. and OfficeMax, Inc.” FTC (2013) pp. 1 – 3; (4) In “FTC
v. Staples/Office Depot” case filings 2015 – 16 see “Proposed
Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law of Plaintiffs”, specifically the
“Table of Contents” on pp. i – iii SR: (1) “Antitrust
Evaluation of Horizontal Mergers: An Economic Alternative to Market
Definition” Farrell and Shapiro (2010); (2) “Competition
Bureau challenges a merger between Canada’s two largest office supply
companies” Competition Bureau (2015)
pp. 1 – 3 OR: (1) In “FTC
v. Staples/Office Depot” case filings 2015 – 16 see “Proposed
Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law of Plaintiffs” pp. 1 – 108; (2) “The
Commissioner of Competition v. Staples, Inc. Staples AMS, Inc. and Office
Depot Inc.” case filings at the Competition Tribunal 2015-16, see “Notice
of Application,” “Response
of Staples,” “Response
of Office Depot,” and “Reply
of the Commissioner of Competition”; (3)
In “In
the Matter of Staples/Office Depot” case filings at the FTC 2015-16, see “Administrative
Complaint,” “Answer
and Defenses of Respondent Office Depot,” and “Respondent
Staples, Inc’s Answer and Affirmative Defenses To Complaint”; (4) Ruling
of District Court Judge in FTC v. Staples and Office Depot 2016, pp. 1 –
75 |
Tuesday, Oct. 31 |
TA Office Hours |
11:10 – 1:00, LA 211 assignment #3 DUE BY
4:00pm (sharp) |
Thursday, Nov. 2 |
Writing and Revising Your Final Paper, Part 1 RR: (1) All four topics
under “Using
Sources” on the “University of Toronto: Writing Advice” website including
“How Not to Plagiarize,” “Standard Documentation Formats” (please focus on
APA, which is what we use), “Using Quotations,” and “Paraphrase and Summary” |
|
Nov. 6 – Nov. 10 |
READING WEEK |
No classes and no tutorials, but office hours
continue as usual |
Tuesday, Nov. 14 |
Dry-Run Presentations |
Team 3 only: rest of class does NOT attend |
Thursday, Nov. 16 |
Team 3 Presentation
with Q&A |
Merger Retrospective: Waterstone’s and Ottakar’s (Booksellers in U.K. and Quebec) RR: (1) “Ex Post Merger
Evaluation in the U.K. Retail Market for Books” Aguzzoni
et al (2016) pp. 170 – 200; (2) “Competition
Bureau statement regarding the acquisition by Renaud-Bray of Archambault
retail stores” Competition Bureau (2015) pp. 1 – 5. SR: (1) “Supplemental Materials for Aguzzoni
et al (2016)” pp. 1 – 40; (2)
“Inconvenient
Truths and Constructive Suggestions on Merger Retrospective Studies”
Werden (2013) pp. 1 – 8 EIGHT aNNOTATED
SOURCES for final paper – HARDCOPY – dUE BY 11:10AM (sharp) |
Tuesday, Nov. 21 |
Dry-Run Presentations |
Team 4 only: rest of class does NOT attend |
Thursday, Nov. 23 |
Team 4 Presentation
with Q&A |
Merger Retrospective: Miller and Coors Merger
(Beer) RR: (1) “Efficiencies Brewed: Pricing and Consolidation in the
U.S. Beer Industry” Ashenfelter et al (2015)
pp. 328 – 361 SR: (1)
US
DOJ 2013 Complaint
against Anheuser-Busch InBev and Grupo Modelo pp. 1
– 27; (2) US DOJ 2008 Complaint against
Anheuser-Busch and InBev pp. 1 – 10 OR: (1)
US
DOJ 2008 press
release closing investigation of Miller and Coors; (2) “Antitrust
Guidelines for Collaborations Among Competitors” US DOJ and FTC (2000)
Section 3.1 pp. 4 – 5 ONLY; (3) “Roundtable
on Impact Evaluation of Merger Decisions: Note by the United States”
(2011) pp.1 – 8; (4) “The Year in Review: Economics at the Antitrust
Division, 2008–2009” Heyer et al (2009) pp.
3 – 4 ONLY; (5) “Difference-in-Difference
Analysis in Antitrust: A Cautionary Note” Simpson and Schmidt (2008)
pp. 623 – 635; (6) “Efficiencies Brewed: Pricing and Consolidation
in the U.S. Beer Industry” Ashenfelter et al
(2013) pp. 1 – 42 (working paper version of required reading) |
Tuesday, Nov. 28 |
Dry-Run Presentations |
Team 5 only: rest of class does NOT attend |
Thursday, Nov. 30 |
Team 5 Presentation
with Q&A |
Proposed Merger of Echostar
and DirecTV (Satellite TV) RR: (1) “Sky Wars: The Attempted Merger of EchoStar and DirecTV
(2002)” pp. 115 – 139 in The
Antitrust Revolution, Fifth Edition SR: (1) “Declaration
of Dr. Robert D. Willig” (2001) p. 1 – 28; (2) US
DOJ 2002 Complaint
against Echostar and Hughes (DirecTV) pp. 1 – 33; (3)
“Antitrust
Evaluation of Horizontal Mergers: An Economic Alternative to Market
Definition” Farrell and Shapiro (2010); (4) “The Consumer Gains from Direct
Broadcast Satellites and the Competition with Cable TV” Goolsbee and Petrin (2004) pp.
351 – 381 |
Tuesday, Dec. 5 |
Workshop 5 (no
slides) |
Writing and Revising your Final Paper, Part 2 SIXTEEN aNNOTATED
SOURCES for final paper – HARDCOPY – dUE BY 11:10AM (sharp) |
Thursday, Dec. 7 |
(no class meeting) |
FINAL PAPER –
ELECTRONIC AND HARDCOPY – Due BY 4:00pM (SHARP) |
Course is Complete (there
is no final examination) |