Tracking online user behavior is essential for targeted advertising and is at the heart of the business model of major online platforms. We analyze tracker-specific web browsing data to show how the prediction quality of consumer profiles varies with data size and scope. We find decreasing returns to the number of observed users and tracked websites. However, prediction quality increases considerably ...
This paper analyzes a merger of large manufacturers with divestiture in the French coffee market. In contrast to previous approaches used to study the effects of upstream divestitures on prices and welfare, we model the vertical market structure. First, our results show that the standard policy recommendation to require divestiture to small recipient firms may not hold when asymmetric bargaining power ...
The use of gas will decline dramatically as part of the transition to net zero. Modeling at European levelsshows that by 2050 about 70% less gaseous fuels will be used. Significant regulatory reform is needed todeal with the impacts of this decline on the gas grid.
We discuss the main Theories of Harm in EU merger control and their evolution since the 1990s. We present stylised facts and trends using data extracted from EU merger decisions by natural language processing tools. EU merger policy has adapted over time, both in terms of legislation and theories of harm, as well as in terms of the investigative tools and evidence used. The introduction of the new ...
Whether or not Germany can be carbon-neutral by 2045 will also depend on whether hydrogen can be successfully utilised. The ramp-up of a green hydrogen economy which includes a substantial, industrial-scale supply of hydrogen by 2030 is an ambitious goal. The strong rise in the demand for green hydrogen and its synthesis products by industry (e.g. steel, chemical and glass industries), transport (shipping, ...
This paper analyzes M&A patterns of R&D projects in the antidiabetics industry. For this purpose, we construct a database with all corporate individual antidiabetics R&D projects over the period 1997 - 2017, and add detailed information on firms’ technology dimension using patent information, next to their position in product markets. This allows us to identify the identity of targets and acquirers ...
We analyse variation in firm performance as a function of the international diversification of ICT imports by firms. Drawing on administrative data from 2010 and 2014 on nearly 4000 German manufacturing firms, we find that firms with ICT sourcing that is diversified across multiple countries perform better than similar, less-diversified firms. This finding holds true for two performance metrics (value ...