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Global Market Power

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  • Jan De Loecker
  • Jan Eeckhout

Abstract

To date, little is known about the evolution of market power for the economies around the world. We extract data from the financial statements of over 70,000 firms in 134 countries, and we analyze and document the evolution of markups over the last four decades. We show that the average global markup has gone up from close to 1.1 in 1980 to around 1.6 in 2016. Markups have risen most in North America and Europe, and least in emerging economies in Latin America and Asia. We discuss the distributional implications of the rise in global market power for the labor share and for the profit share.

Suggested Citation

  • Jan De Loecker & Jan Eeckhout, 2018. "Global Market Power," NBER Working Papers 24768, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:24768
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    1. Weche John P. & Wambach Achim, 2021. "The Fall and Rise of Market Power in Europe," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 241(5-6), pages 555-575, November.
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    5. Jan De Loecker & Jan Eeckhout & Gabriel Unger, 2020. "The Rise of Market Power and the Macroeconomic Implications [“Econometric Tools for Analyzing Market Outcomes”]," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 135(2), pages 561-644.
    6. Bresnahan, Timothy F., 1989. "Empirical studies of industries with market power," Handbook of Industrial Organization, in: R. Schmalensee & R. Willig (ed.), Handbook of Industrial Organization, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 17, pages 1011-1057, Elsevier.
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E0 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General
    • K0 - Law and Economics - - General
    • L0 - Industrial Organization - - General

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