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The Relationship between Knowledge Intensity and Market Concentration in European Industries: An inverted U-Shape

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  • Krap, Niels
  • Stephan, Johannes

Abstract

This paper is motivated by the European Union strategy to secure competitiveness for Europe in the globalising world by focussing on technological supremacy (the Lisbon - agenda). Parallel to that, the EU Commission is trying to take a more economic approach to competition policy in general and anti-trust policy in particular. Our analysis tries to establish the relationship between increasing knowledge intensity and the resulting market concentration: if the European Union economy is gradually shifting to a pattern of sectoral specialisation that features a bias on knowledge intensive sectors, then this may well have some influence on market concentration and competition policy would have to adjust not to counterfeit the Lisbon-agenda. Following a review of the available theoretical and empirical literature on the relationship between knowledge intensity and market structure, we use a larger Eurostat database to test the shape of this relationship. Assuming a causality that runs from knowledge to concentration, we show that the relationship between knowledge intensity and market structures is in fact different for knowledge intensive industries and we establish a non-linear, inverted U-curve shape.

Suggested Citation

  • Krap, Niels & Stephan, Johannes, 2008. "The Relationship between Knowledge Intensity and Market Concentration in European Industries: An inverted U-Shape," IWH Discussion Papers 3/2008, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:iwhdps:iwh-3-08
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    market structure; knowledge intensity; competition policy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L16 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Industrial Organization and Macroeconomics; Macroeconomic Industrial Structure
    • L40 - Industrial Organization - - Antitrust Issues and Policies - - - General
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

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