Havlicek Memorial Lecture - Sofia Berto Villas-Boas

Sofia Berto Villas-Boas, Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of California, Berkeley, will present "Retail Mergers and Food Prices".  The impact of a merger in the French supermarket industry on food prices will be discussed.  Villas-Boas' work analyzes the impact of a merger in the French supermarket industry on food prices. Using consumer panel data, we compare the changes in prices for merging and rival firms in affected and comparison markets. We use a novel definition of affected markets when some firms have a local pricing strategy and others a more centralized pricing strategy. We find that prices increase significantly following the merger, and that the merging firms lose market shares. For the rivals, the price increases are larger in local markets, in which concentration increased and differentiation changed after the merger.

The Lecture and a reception that begins at 10:00am will be hosted by the Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics (AEDE) in room 250A, Agricultureal Administration Building, 2120 Fyffe Road, Columbus, Ohio 43210.  This event is open to the public. RSVPs are not required.

For those who cannot attend in person, here are the instructions to join remotely via ZOOM:  Sep 1, 2017 10:30 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Please click the link below to join the webinar: https://osu-cfaes.zoom.us/j/761276926

Or iPhone one-tap (US Toll): +14086380968,,761276926# or +16465588656,,761276926#

Or Telephone: Dial: +1 408 638 0968 (US Toll) or +1 646 558 8656 (US Toll)

Webinar ID: 761 276 926

International numbers available: https://osu-cfaes.zoom.us/zoomconference?m=M7NUXHqdUunnzZoWELB3rbNlh57Ti7kq

History of the Havlicek Memorial Fund…

The Havlicek Memorial Seminar is sponsored by funds from the Havlicek Memorial Fund, which honors Joseph Havlicek, Jr., former AEDE Professor and Chair. Professor Havlicek, who was at different points in his well-accomplished life, a student, a faculty member, a leader and a researcher at Ohio State, focused on price analysis and applied econometrics in his career. The yearly seminar named after him focuses on new research in this field to continue Professor Havlicek’s dedication to this topic of study.