The use of quantitative technique in merger control

Abstract

The European Commission's Directorate General for Competition often relies on quantitative economic techniques in its review of complex mergers (UPP analysis, merger simulation, direct estimation of past entry events or mergers, analysis of tender data, analysis of patent data). This analysis is typically developed during in-depth investigations (so-called Phase II reviews). This lecture discusses the use of these quantitative techniques and explains the rationale for the reliance on these methods