Working Paper: NBER ID: w28745
Authors: C. Lanier Benkard; Ali Yurukoglu; Anthony Lee Zhang
Abstract: This paper measures concentration in narrowly defined product markets for a broad range of consumer goods and services in the U.S. from 1994 to 2019. We document two main empirical facts. First, concentration levels are high. 44.4% of the markets in our sample are “highly concentrated” as defined by U.S. regulators. Second, market concentration has been decreasing since 1994. The median HHI falls from 2362 to 2045. These findings stand in stark contrast to the prior literature, which uses market definitions that are aggregated to a level that is typically too broad to accurately reflect competition in consumer markets.
Keywords: Market Concentration; Antitrust; Consumer Goods; Economic Competition
JEL Codes: L1; L4
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| narrow market definition (D49) | higher concentration levels (D30) |
| time (1994-2019) (C41) | concentration levels (D30) |
| local market concentration (L19) | national concentration (D30) |