Subjects
Barriers to Competition:
The Evolution of the Debate
Ana Rosado Cubero
Perspectives in Economic and Social History
978 1 85196 644 8: 234x156mm: £60.00/$99.00
978 1 85196 673 8
‘Barriers to entry’ as an economics concept was defined by Joe Bain (Berkeley) in his 1956 book Barriers to New Competition. Bain’s analysis focused on the ways in which various industries functioned within the market: whether there were few or many firms in each industry, how labour-intensive/expensive they were, and whether or not there was collusion among existing firms to prevent the entry of new, competing ones.
From the 1970s, economic analysis of barriers to entry began to distinguish between collusion between firms as a business strategy, and more general political and economic barriers. During the 1980s, analysis of barriers took place within the framework of game theory, and research suggested that the strategic behaviour of companies was not determined by the rules of free competition. In the current climate, it can be seen that barriers are now disappearing, as a result of economic globalization.
This is the first book to focus on the different methods that economic science has employed in order to detect and measure barriers to entry. A chronological analysis is presented as well as an in-depth look at the competing Harvard and Chicago Schools’ interpretation of this phenomenon.
Readership
Economics