Summary of the Papers – Microeconomics 1990

Martin Neil Baily

Martin Neil Baily Senior Fellow Emeritus - Economic Studies, Center on Regulation and Markets

THE PAPERS in this issue of Brooking Papers on Economic Activity:
Microeconomics have two main themes. The first five papers look at
mergers, takeovers, and restructurings, and the implications of these
for antitrust policy. Sanjai Bhagat, Andrei Shleifer, and Robert Vishny
examine a sample of takeovers and mergers to assess the effect on
employment and investment and to assess the extent of asset selloffs.
Bronwyn Hall looks at the effects on research and development spending
of these same changes and also considers the results for debt restructurings.
Michael Katz and Janusz Ordover take up the same theme of
R&D and technology development, but they consider the policy implications
of joint ventures and consortia such as Sematech. Oliver Hart
and Jean Tirole use analytical models to explain the motivations for
vertical integration and whether there are likely to be efficiency gains
or anticompetitive consequences from such mergers. And Michael Salinger
considers the relationship between profits and concentration to
see whether it is useful for antitrust policy.