Macroeconomics and Market Power: Context, Implications, and Open Questions

Chad Syverson

Journal of Economic Perspectives, 2019, vol. 33, issue 3, 23-43

Abstract: This article assesses several aspects of recent macroeconomic market power research. These include the ways market power is defined and measured; the use of accounting data to estimate markups; the quantitative implications of theoretical connections among markups, prices, costs, scale elasticities, and profits; and conflicting evidence on whether greater market power has led to lower investment rates and a lower labor share of income. Throughout this discussion, I characterize the congruencies and incongruencies between macro evidence and micro views of market power and, when they do not perfectly overlap, explain the open questions that need to be answered to make the connection complete.

JEL-codes: D21 D43 E25 L13 L25 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
Note: DOI: 10.1257/jep.33.3.23
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (141)

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