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Vertical Mergers and Input Foreclosure Lessons from the AT&T/Time Warner Case

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  • Carl Shapiro

    (University of California)

Abstract

This article offers a practical guide to analyzing vertical mergers using the general approach to input foreclosure and raising rivals’ costs that is described in the 2020 Vertical Merger Guidelines that were issued by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission. The step-by-step analysis described here draws lessons from how that theory of harm played out in the lone vertical merger case that has been litigated by the antitrust agencies in recent decades: the 2018 challenge by the Department of Justice to the merger between AT&T and Time Warner. I testified in court as the DOJ’s economic expert in that case. I explain here how to quantify the increase in rivals’ costs and the elimination of double marginalization that are caused by a vertical merger and how to evaluate their net effect on downstream customers. I also explain how this economic analysis fits into the three-step burden-shifting approach that the courts apply to mergers under Section 7 of the Clayton Act. Based on my experience in the AT&T/Time Warner case, I identify a number of shortcomings of the 2020 Vertical Merger Guidelines.

Suggested Citation

  • Carl Shapiro, 2021. "Vertical Mergers and Input Foreclosure Lessons from the AT&T/Time Warner Case," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 59(2), pages 303-341, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:revind:v:59:y:2021:i:2:d:10.1007_s11151-021-09826-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s11151-021-09826-x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Rubinstein, Ariel, 1982. "Perfect Equilibrium in a Bargaining Model," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 50(1), pages 97-109, January.
    2. William P. Rogerson, 2020. "Modelling and predicting the competitive effects of vertical mergers: The bargaining leverage over rivals effect," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 53(2), pages 407-436, May.
    3. Enghin Atalay & Ali Horta?su & Chad Syverson, 2014. "Vertical Integration and Input Flows," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(4), pages 1120-1148, April.
    4. Gregory S. Crawford & Ali Yurukoglu, 2012. "The Welfare Effects of Bundling in Multichannel Television Markets," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(2), pages 643-685, April.
    5. Chen, Yongmin, 2001. "On Vertical Mergers and Their Competitive Effects," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 32(4), pages 667-685, Winter.
    6. Carl Shapiro & Howard Shelanski, 2021. "Judicial Response to the 2010 Horizontal Merger Guidelines," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 58(1), pages 51-79, February.
    7. Coles, Melvyn G. & Muthoo, Abhinay, 2003. "Bargaining in a non-stationary environment," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 109(1), pages 70-89, March.
    8. Salop, Steven C & Scheffman, David T, 1983. "Raising Rivals' Costs," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 73(2), pages 267-271, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. William P. Rogerson, 2021. "The Upstream Pass-Through Rate, Bargaining Power and the Magnitude of the Raising Rivals’ Costs (RRC) Effect," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 59(2), pages 205-227, September.
    2. Federico Etro, 2023. "Hybrid Marketplaces with Free Entry of Sellers," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 62(2), pages 119-148, March.
    3. Roger D. Blair, 2021. "The 2020 Vertical Merger Guidelines," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 59(2), pages 133-138, September.
    4. Hendrik Döpper & Geza Sapi & Christian Wey, 2024. "A bargaining perspective on vertical integration," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 57(1), pages 199-224, February.
    5. Javier D. Donna & Pedro Pereira, 2024. "Structural Presumptions for Non-horizontal Mergers in the 2023 Merger Guidelines: A Primer and a Path Forward," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 65(1), pages 303-345, August.
    6. Pittman, Russell, 2024. "Should conditions regarding non-discrimination be imposed in vertical mergers? The Surface Transportation Board on the acquisition of the Kansas City Southern Railway by the Canadian Pacific," MPRA Paper 123063, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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