Are US industries becoming more concentrated?

Since the late 1990s, over 75% of US industries have experienced an increase in concentration levels. We find that firms in industries with the largest increases in product market concentration show higher profit margins and more profitable mergers and acquisitions deals. At the same time, we find n...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Grullon, G. (Author), Larkin, Y. (Author), Michaely, R. (Author)
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Oxford University Press 2019
Subjects:
Online Access:View Fulltext in Publisher
LEADER 01590nam a2200205Ia 4500
001 10.1093-rof-rfz007
008 220511s2019 CNT 000 0 und d
020 |a 15723097 (ISSN) 
245 1 0 |a Are US industries becoming more concentrated? 
260 0 |b Oxford University Press  |c 2019 
856 |z View Fulltext in Publisher  |u https://doi.org/10.1093/rof/rfz007 
520 3 |a Since the late 1990s, over 75% of US industries have experienced an increase in concentration levels. We find that firms in industries with the largest increases in product market concentration show higher profit margins and more profitable mergers and acquisitions deals. At the same time, we find no evidence for a significant increase in operational efficiency. Taken together, our results suggest that market power is becoming an important source of value. These findings are robust to the inclusion of (i) private firms; (ii) factors accounting for foreign competition; and (iii) the use of alternative measures of concentration. We also show that the higher profit margins associated with an increase in concentration are reflected in higher returns to shareholders. Overall, our results suggest that the US product markets have undergone a shift that has potentially weakened competition across the majority of industries. © The Author(s) 2019. 
650 0 4 |a Concentration levels 
650 0 4 |a Market power 
650 0 4 |a Mergers and acquisitions 
650 0 4 |a Product market competition 
700 1 |a Grullon, G.  |e author 
700 1 |a Larkin, Y.  |e author 
700 1 |a Michaely, R.  |e author 
773 |t Review of Finance