Mergers and Competition in the Dutch Healthcare Sector

Over the past 15 years, all but one hospital mergers have been granted permission by the Dutch competition authority to be consummated. Because ongoing hospital consolidation is at odds with the objectives of increased competition into the Dutch hospital market, merger activity over the past decade has fuelled a debate regarding the consequences of mergers and the desirability of further concentration. This thesis studies the effect of the introduction of price competition and merger activity in healthcare. First, the thesis studies the why and how of the several merger waves that have occurre... Mehr ...