VWJ1bnR1OnJlZ3VsYXI=
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
Of the money earned by companies, an increasing proportion is going to the owners by way of profits, and a decreasing proportion is paid out to both the owners of capital and the workers (Barkai, 2017). The redistribution that accompanies such an increase in market power has been directly linked to increasing inequality and its broader societal consequences (Piketty, 2015; Atkinson, 2015). A suggested reason for this trend is increasing market concentration, although no causal evidence exists as of yet. In this research project I investigate the causal effect on market power of a common shifter in market concentration: mergers and acquisitions. With the unique combination of large-scale CBS microdata, and novel empirical techniques, I can asses whether changes in market power due to mergers are based on efficiencies. This research project contributes to the academic understanding of mergers, which is now based on small-scale studies of particular industries, and relies on restrictive assumptions.
