“Monopoly power is growing across the developed world — and it’s hurting workers, IMF finds”

“Growing monopoly power is seen across the developed world, which could be a contributor to ills ranging from lackluster investment growth to growing income inequality, a new International Monetary Fund report finds.

The IMF paper, released ahead of its World Economic Outlook, finds that firms’ price markups over marginal costs rose by close to 8% since 2000 in advanced countries. The study looked at nearly 1 million firms across 27 countries. It didn’t find the same markups in the emerging markets it studied…”

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/monopoly-power-is-growing-across-the-developed-world-and-hurting-workers-imf-finds-2019-04-03

Monopolies are bad for the economy. The U.S. used to bust them up and for good reason. Once they gain control prices skyrocket and barriers to entry are levied so up and comers can’t compete.