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When is concentration beneficial? Evidence from U.S. manufacturing

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Author Info
Rigoberto A. López () (Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Conneticut.)
Elena López () (Departamento de Fundamentos de Economía e H.E. , Universidad de Alcalá.)
Carmen Liron-Espana (System Planning, ISO-NE.)

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Abstract

This article estimates the impact of industrial concentration on market power and cost and then links the ensuing welfare changes to market structure characteristics using a sample of 232 U.S. manufacturing industries. Empirical results indicate that further increases in concentration would enhance welfare in 70% of the industries due to widespread efficiency gains, although these would generally not be passed on to consumers. From a social standpoint, further concentration is more likely to be beneficial in industries with economies of size, high export intensity, which are engaged in consumer-oriented goods, face larger markets, and have low or moderate levels of initial concentration.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Universidad de Alcalá, Departamento de Estadística, Estructura y O.E.I. in its series Alcamentos with number 0901.

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Length: pages 22
Date of creation: 2009
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Handle: RePEc:alc:alcamo:0901

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Related research
Keywords: Concentration; Welfare; Economies of size; Market power; Manufacturing.;

Find related papers by JEL classification:
L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
L60 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Manufacturing - - - General
D43 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure and Pricing - - - Oligopoly and Other Forms of Market Imperfection
D61 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Allocative Efficiency; Cost-Benefit Analysis
F12 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Models of Trade with Imperfect Competition and Scale Economies

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Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Cowling, Keith & Waterson, Michael, 1976. "Price-Cost Margins and Market Structure," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 43(171), pages 267-74, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Rigoberto Lopez & Azzeddine Azzam & Carmen Lirón-España, 2002. "Market Power and/or Efficiency: A Structural Approach," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 115-126, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Clarke, Roger & Davies, Stephen W, 1982. "Market Structure and Price-Cost Margins," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 49(195), pages 277-87, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Nick Feltovich, 2001. "Mergers, welfare, and concentration: Results from a model of stackelberg-cournot oligopoly," Atlantic Economic Journal, International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 29(4), pages 378-392, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Fabio Panetta & Dario Focarelli, 2003. "Are Mergers Beneficial to Consumers? Evidence from the Italian Market for Bank Deposits," CEIS Research Paper 10, Tor Vergata University, CEIS. [Downloadable!]
  6. Rigoberto A. Lopez & Elena Lopez, 2003. "The impact of imports on price-cost margins: An empirical illustration," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 28(2), pages 403-416, 04. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  7. Marc J. Melitz & Gianmarco I.P. Ottaviano, 2005. "Market Size, Trade, and Productivity," NBER Working Papers 11393, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  8. Dario Focarelli & Fabio Panetta, 2003. "Are Mergers Beneficial to Consumers? Evidence from the Market for Bank Deposits," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(4), pages 1152-1172, September. [Downloadable!]
  9. Holmes, Thomas J. & Stevens, John J., 2005. "Does home market size matter for the pattern of trade?," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(2), pages 489-505, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Pugel, Thomas A, 1980. "Foreign Trade and US Market Performance," Journal of Industrial Economics, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 29(2), pages 119-29, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Allen N. Berger & Timothy H. Hannan, 1998. "The Efficiency Cost Of Market Power In The Banking Industry: A Test Of The "Quiet Life" And Related Hypotheses," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 80(3), pages 454-465, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  12. Dickson, V. A. & Yu, Weiqiu, 1989. "Welfare losses in Canadian manufacturing under alternative oligopoly regimes," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 7(2), pages 257-267, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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