Imports, Exports, and the Impact of Mergers on Domestic Markets: A Case Study from Japan's Copper Tube Industry

This paper empirically examines the role of imports in the assessment of domestic mergers. It constructs and estimates a structural model of demand and supply to describe Japan's copper tube, taking an explicit account of cross-border transactions. Obtained simulation results show that the merger would have raised domestic price significantly, implying that import pressure was not as significant as was considered at the time of the merger.