Network Structure and the Efficiency Gains from Mergers: Evidence from US Freight Railroads

• 成果类型: Article; Early Access
• 署名作者: Chen, Yanyou
• 署名单位: University of Toronto
• 刊物名称: RAND JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0741-6261
• DOI: 10.1111/1756-2171.70043
• 发表日期: 2026
• 关键词: MARKET POWER; economies; transportation; consolidation; COMPETITION; demand

摘要

The trade-off between market power and efficiency gains is central to antitrust analyses of mergers, but empirical evidence quantifying efficiencies remains limited. Using transaction-level data from U.S. freight railroads (1985-2005), this article quantifies merger-induced cost efficiencies, driven mainly by eliminating inter-railroad interchange costs and reoptimization of routing and resource allocation within integrated networks. I develop a spatial equilibrium model with oligopolistic competition to assess equilibrium merger effects. Counterfactual analyses show mergers reduce shipment costs by 12.9% and prices by 8.8%. Markups increase by 7.2%, driven primarily by non-merging firms reallocating resources away from regions where merged firms achieve large cost reductions.