Rising market power in the United States has resulted in higher corporate profits, more concentrated markets in various sectors, and less economic competition. Roosevelt Institute Chief Economist Joseph Stiglitz wrote this week about how the Biden administration is seriously addressing these threats to the dynamism of the US economy—and to the well-being of workers.
Federal antitrust authorities have successfully pressured companies to halt mergers, such as last month’s failed effort by Adobe to acquire Figma. In December, the Department of Justice also released updated merger guidelines that place both horizontal and vertical consolidation under increased scrutiny.
“We all suffer from market power because it distorts markets in ways that reduce overall productivity and allows firms to raise prices, thus lowering standards of living,” Stiglitz writes. “At the same time, the combination of growing market power and weakening worker power has held down wages, eroding living standards still further.”
Read more in “The Biden Administration’s Recent Antitrust Wins Help Us All.”
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