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Well, the Massachusetts Fed found that pass-throughs are 25% higher in a highly concentrated market, that these price increases last for longer, and that indust
by ameister14 4y ago
Well, the Massachusetts Fed found that pass-throughs are 25% higher in a highly concentrated market, that these price increases last for longer, and that industries in the US are 50% more concentrated than they were in 2005.
https://www.bostonfed.org/publications/current-policy-perspectives/2022/cost-price-relationships-in-a-concentrated-economy.aspx https://www.bostonfed.org/publications/current-policy-perspe...
So essentially, in more concentrated markets cost shocks are more likely to result in extended periods of inflation.
Why are things more concentrated? A lot of reasons, but a big one is that there were almost no effective antitrust actions for decades, and courts weakened the ability of the DOJ and FTC to enforce competitive guidelines. At the same time, Congress weakened the regulatory controls.