Horizontal mergers and innovation

This paper discusses the effects of horizontal mergers on innovation. We rely on the existing academic literature and our own research work to present the various positive and negative effects of mergers on innovation. Our analysis shows that, even in the absence of technological spillovers and R&D complementarities, the overall impact of a merger on innovation may be positive. We derive a number of policy implications regarding the way innovation effects should be handled by competition authorities in merger control and highlight the differences with the analysis of price effects