Sven Heim

Mines Paris - PSL University

CERNA Center for Industrial Economics

ZEW Leibniz Center for European Economic Research Mannheim

News:

Our paper Support for Renewable Energy: The Case of Wind Power, joint with Ulrich Wagner (University of Mannheim) and Robert Germeshausen (TransnetBW), has been published in the Journal of Public Economics. 

Abstract

The rise of societal goals like climate change mitigation and energy security calls for rapid capacity growth in renewable electricity sources, yet citizens’ support is put to a test when such technologies emit negative local externalities. We estimate the impact of wind turbine deployment on granular measures of revealed preferences for renewable electricity in product and political markets. We address potentially endogenous siting of turbines with an IV design that exploits quasi-experimental variation in profitability induced by subsidies. We find that wind turbines significantly reduce citizens’ support locally, but this effect quickly fades with distance from the site. We assess policy instruments for enhancing citizens’ support for renewable energy in light of our results. 

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My proposal Minority Share Acquisitions, Innovation and Competition – MINCOM  (ANR‑23‑CE26‑0017) was accepted for funding by the French National Research Agency (ANR). The project, coordinated at Mines Paris, examines how minority equity stakes between competitors affect innovation incentives and competition, and how firms adjust their behavior following cartel breakdowns. Two PhD students are already working on the project, Emilie Feyler (external PhD student, NERA New York) and Santiago Espinosa Moyano. 

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The article The Anticompetitive Effects of Minority Share Acquisitions: Evidence from the Introduction of National Leniency Programs  (with Kai Hüschelrath, Ulrich Laitenberger and Yossi Spiegel) has been nominated for the Antitrust Writing Awards 2023 in the category "Economics".

Feel free to vote for it  :)

Antitrust Writing Awards 2023 

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The paper Incumbency Advantages: Price Dispersion, Price Discrimination and Consumer Search at Online Platforms, (with Klaus Gugler, Maarten Janssen and Mario Liebensteiner) has now been accepted for publication in the Journal of Political Economy Microeconomics.

Abstract

When lower prices are only available to consumers who search, firms can price discriminate based on search. We study local German electricity retail markets where non-searching consumers pay the incumbent's baseline tariff. To observe other prices, consumers access an online platform. Pricing and search patterns differ substantially across local markets. Using panel data, we show that in local markets with more search, incumbents have higher baseline tariffs, while incumbent's and entrants' online tariffs are lower. In a theoretical model, we discuss when an incumbent has an incentive to differentiate tariffs and the welfare properties of banning such price discrimination practices.

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My research on The Anticompetitive Effects of Minority Share Acquisitions: Evidence from the Introduction of National Leniency Programs  (with Kai Hüschelrath, Ulrich Laitenberger and Yossi Spiegel) has just been published in the American Economic Journal: Microeconomics Vol.14 No.1, February 2022 (p.366-410).

Abstract

We address the growing concern that minority shareholding (MS) in rival firms may lessen competition, using the introduction of national leniency programs (LPs) as a shock that destabilizes collusive agreements. Based on data from 63 countries, we find a large and significant immediate increase in domestic horizontal MS acquisitions once an LP is introduced but only in countries where the LP is deemed to be effective. There is no effect on non-horizontal or cross-border MS acquisitions. Our findings suggest that firms may use MS acquisitions to either stabilize collusive agreements or soften competition in the event that collusion breaks down. 

An interview on the topic can be found here .

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A recent working paper on the effect of night curfews  in Germany can be downloaded here:

Measuring the effects of COVID-19-related night curfews: Empirical evidence from Germany, with Sammy de Haas and Georg Götz (press coverage: FAZ, N-TV , RTL, SWR, BILD, ARD, Frankfurter Rundschau,  L'Express, CNEWS, Sydney Morning Herald,  The Age , ARD(TV), Welt  (TV), SAT 1 (TV))

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The book "Ex-post Economic Evaluation of Competition Policy: The EU Experience", Edited by the European Commission, Wolters Kluwer, Brussels, 311-344, 2020, has been published. It covers several chapters dealing with the ex post evaluation of individual merger interventions, antitrust decisions and State aid cases as well as the broader, macroeconomic impact of EU competition policy. Among those one by Kai Hüschelrath, Philipp Schmidt-Dengler, Maurizio Strazzeri and me.