Dr. Varas focuses on the economic analysis of antitrust and other competition issues. He has conducted economic studies in the healthcare, life science, telecommunication, and retail industries.
Washington, DC
Pablo Varas focuses on the economic analysis of antitrust and other competition issues. He has conducted economic studies in the healthcare, life sciences, telecommunication, and retail industries. His topics of interest include antitrust, damages, and fair market value.
Dr. Varas is fluent in English and Spanish.
An Overview of Market Definition in the 2023 Merger Guidelines
On December 18, 2023 the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice (collectively, the Agencies) released the 2023 Merger Guidelines. The new guidelines are a modification of the draft Merger Guidelines published in July 2023 and replace the 2010 Horizontal Merger Guidelines and the 2020 Vertical Merger Guidelines.
An Overview of Market Definition in the Draft Merger Guidelines
In this client alert, Secretariat’s economic experts share their perspectives on how the description of market definition has changed in the recently issued a draft version of new Merger Guidelines from The United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). The authors outline the four “tools” included in the Guidelines that “demonstrate that a market is a relevant antitrust market.” They also outline key elements that are absent and discuss concepts that have been expanded, including Bundled Product Markets and One-Stop Shops in Markets.
Countervailing Market Power, Hospital Reviews, and Market Definition
Some academic studies find that increases in concentration caused by hospital mergers are associated with higher hospital prices. However, few of these studies account for the structure of the health insurance market and how this structure affects hospitals’ bargaining leverage and negotiating power.