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Market Definition

Encyclopedia of Law and Economics

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Synonyms

Antitrust market; Relevant market

Definition

Market definition is the analysis of determining the products which compete with each other and the geographic area where that competition takes place. The attention is paid, on one hand, to the concept of substitution among potential competitive products and, on the other, to the existence of joint market power by the firms which operate in the market especially for antitrust purposes.

Introduction

Market definition consists in the delineation of the market boundaries in the product and geographic dimensions from a competitive perspective. The interest for the researchers in the field of Law and Economics has led to the formulation of empirical tests of market definition, and much discussion has arisen mainly regarding their compatibility with the market definition test which rules in the US antitrust legislation for merger control, known as the “hypothetical monopolist” (or SSNIP) test. The analysis of market definition has been...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain

    Javier Elizalde

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  1. Javier Elizalde
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Correspondence to Javier Elizalde .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Montpellier, France

    Alain Marciano

  2. Dept DiGSPES, Univ del Piemonte Orientale Dept DiGSPES, Alessandria, Italy

    Giovanni Battista Ramello

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Elizalde, J. (2021). Market Definition. In: Marciano, A., Ramello, G.B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Law and Economics. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7883-6_311-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7883-6_311-2

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  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-7883-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-7883-6

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Market Definition
    Published:
    26 May 2021

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7883-6_311-2

  2. Original

    Market Definition
    Published:
    21 August 2017

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7883-6_311-1

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