Abstract
The term ‘market structure’ relates to the number and size distribution of firms in a market. Markets dominated by a few large firms are said to be ‘concentrated’. This article offers a brief review of the modern literature that sets out to explain differences in concentration levels across different industries.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Bibliography
Bain, J. 1956. Barriers to new competition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Dasgupta, P., and J.E. Stiglitz. 1980. Industrial structure and the nature of innovative activity. Economic Journal 90: 266–293.
Demsetz, H. 1973. Industry structure, market rivalry, and public policy. Journal of Law and Economics 20: 113–124.
Katz, M.L., and C. Shapiro. 1985. Network externalities, competition and compatibility. American Economic Review 75: 424–440.
Schmalensee, R. 1989. Inter-industry studies of structure and performance. In Handbook of industrial organization, ed. R. Schmalensee and R. Willig, vol. 2. Amsterdam: North-Holland.
Shaked, A., and J. Sutton. 1986. Product differentiation and market structure. Journal of Industrial Economics 36: 131–146.
Sutton, J. 1991. Sunk costs and market structure. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Sutton, J. 1998. Technology and market structure. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Sutton, J. 2007. Market structure: Theory and evidence. In Handbook of industrial organization, ed. M. Armstrong and R. Porter, vol. 3. Amsterdam: North-Holland.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Copyright information
© 2018 Macmillan Publishers Ltd.
About this entry
Cite this entry
Sutton, J. (2018). Market Structure. In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95189-5_960
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95189-5_960
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-95188-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-95189-5
eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences