A new data set on competition in national banking markets

We estimate the degree of competition in the banking sectors of 148 countries worldwide over the period 1997-2010. We employ three methods, namely those of Lerner (1934), Koetter, Kolari and Spierdijk (2012) and Boone (2008a). For the estimation of marginal cost required under all methods, we use the semi-parametric methodology of Delis (2012) that allows increasing the flexibility of the functional form imposed on the cost function. All three indices show that the competitive conditions in banking have deteriorated on average during the period 1997-2006. This trend reverses until 2008, while in 2009 and 2010 market power again increases. Thus, we provide evidence that the competitive conditions are correlated with financial stability. The empirical results also highlight important differences between regional and income groups of countries. On average, the banking systems of Sub-Saharan Africa and subsequently of East Asia and Pacific are the least competitive, while the banking systems of Europe and Central Asia and South Asia seem to be the most competitive ones. Further, the non-OECD countries characterized by either high- or low-income levels have less competitive banking sectors, while middle-income countries have more competitive banking sectors. For the OECD countries the results of the Lerner-type indices and the method by Boone (2008a) give conflicting results.