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The Effect of Antitrust Enforcement on Venture Capital Investments

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  • Wentian Zhang

Abstract

This paper studies the effect of antitrust enforcement on venture capital (VC) investments and VC-backed companies. To establish causality, I exploit the DOJ's decision to close several antitrust field offices in 2013, which reduced the antitrust enforcement in areas near the closed offices. I find that the reduction in antitrust enforcement causes a significant decrease in VC investments in startups located in the affected areas. Furthermore, these affected VC-backed startups exhibit a reduced likelihood of successful exits and diminished innovation performance. These negative results are mainly driven by startups in concentrated industries, where incumbents tend to engage in anticompetitive behaviors more frequently. To mitigate the adverse effect, startups should innovate more to differentiate their products. This paper sheds light on the importance of local antitrust enforcement in fostering competition and innovation.

Suggested Citation

  • Wentian Zhang, 2023. "The Effect of Antitrust Enforcement on Venture Capital Investments," Papers 2312.13564, arXiv.org, revised May 2024.
    • Handle: RePEc:arx:papers:2312.13564
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Laura Bottazzi & Marco Da Rin & Thomas Hellmann, 2016. "Editor's Choice The Importance of Trust for Investment: Evidence from Venture Capital," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 29(9), pages 2283-2318.
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    3. Christian C Opp, 2019. "Venture Capital and the Macroeconomy," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 32(11), pages 4387-4446.
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    6. Bittlingmayer, George & Hazlett, Thomas W., 2000. "DOS Kapital: Has antitrust action against Microsoft created value in the computer industry?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(3), pages 329-359, March.
    7. Babina, Tania & Barkai, Simcha & Jeffers, Jessica & Karger, Ezra & Volkova, Ekaterina, 2023. "Antitrust Enforcement Increases Economic Activity," HEC Research Papers Series 1488, HEC Paris.
    8. Sudipto Dasgupta & Alminas Žaldokas, 2019. "Anticollusion Enforcement: Justice for Consumers and Equity for Firms," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 32(7), pages 2587-2624.
    9. Bayar, Onur & Chemmanur, Thomas J., 2012. "What drives the valuation premium in IPOs versus acquisitions? An empirical analysis," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 451-475.
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    Cited by:

    1. Matteo Aquilina & Giulio Cornelli & Marina Sanchez del Villar, 2024. "Regulation, information asymmetries and the funding of new ventures," BIS Working Papers 1162, Bank for International Settlements.

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