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Trends in Market Concentration of Australian Industries

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  • Sasan Bakhtiari

Abstract

A host of industrialised countries have seen concentration in their industries grow. This trend is fuelling concerns about falling competition. This article focuses on the changing pattern of market concentration in Australia from 2002 to 2017. On average, market concentration has been rising. However, beneath the aggregate statistics, the pattern is rather mixed, with concentration falling in several sectors. The study also detects a pattern of strong productivity growth alongside a shift towards capital intensive operation and increasing trade where concentration is growing. Overall, the implications of these findings point to the possibility that rising market concentration in some industries is technology driven and not due to a lack of competition.

Suggested Citation

  • Sasan Bakhtiari, 2021. "Trends in Market Concentration of Australian Industries," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 54(1), pages 57-75, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:ausecr:v:54:y:2021:i:1:p:57-75
    DOI: 10.1111/1467-8462.12393
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Donsimoni, Marie-Paule & Geroski, Paul & Jacquemin, Alexis, 1984. "Concentration Indices and Market Power: Two Views," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(4), pages 419-434, June.
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    3. Van Reenen, John, 2018. "Increasing differences between firms: market power and the macro-economy," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 91698, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    4. David Hansell & Bilal Rafi, 2018. "Firm†Level Analysis Using the ABS’ Business Longitudinal Analysis Data Environment (BLADE)," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 51(1), pages 132-138, March.
    5. Sasan Bakhtiari, 2012. "Markets and the non‐monotonic relation between productivity and establishment size," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 45(1), pages 345-372, February.
    6. Sasan Bakhtiari, 2019. "Entrepreneurship Dynamics in Australia: Lessons from Micro‐data," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 95(308), pages 114-140, March.
    7. Mark Doms & Eric J. Bartelsman, 2000. "Understanding Productivity: Lessons from Longitudinal Microdata," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 38(3), pages 569-594, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Andrew Leigh & Adam Triggs, 2021. "Common Ownership of Competing Firms: Evidence from Australia," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 97(318), pages 333-349, September.
    2. Jonathan Hambur, 2023. "Product Market Competition and its Implications for the Australian Economy," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 99(324), pages 32-57, March.

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