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Review of Industrial Organization

, Volume 20, Issue 2, pp 115–126 | Cite as

Market Power and/or Efficiency: A Structural Approach

  • Rigoberto A. Lopez
  • Azzeddine M. Azzam
  • Carmen Lirón-España
Article

Abstract

This article separates oligopoly-power and cost-efficiency effects ofchanges in industrial concentration and assesses their impact on output prices in 32 food-processing industries. Empirical results indicate that although concentration inducescost efficiency in one-third of the industries, oligopoly-power effects either dominate cost efficiencyor reinforce inefficiency, resulting in higher output prices in most industries. The articlealso provides fresh econometric estimates of oligopoly power and economies of size for the industriesin question.

Economies of scale food processing industrial concentration industrial organization oligopoly power 
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Copyright information

© Kluwer Academic Publishers 2002

Authors and Affiliations

  • Rigoberto A. Lopez
    • 1
  • Azzeddine M. Azzam
    • 1
  • Carmen Lirón-España
    • 1
  1. 1.Department of Agricultural and Resource EconomicsUniversity of ConnecticutStorrsU.S.A.

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