Microeconomic principles of market concentration research

Abstract

Methods. The study is based on a system of general scientific and specific research methods, including: abstraction – used to determine the essence of the main indicators of concentration; grouping – applied to improve the classification of concentration indicators; analysis and synthesis – when establishing the relationship between market concentration studies and microeconomic analysis of market structures. Results. The article describes the most common indicators used to study market concentration. An improved classification in which concentration indicators are divided into absolute and relative is presented, where the former assess the number of firms on the market and the total share they account for, while the latter characterize the degree of uneven distribution of market shares and the ratio of individual firms to each other. Along with this, the relative indicators make it possible to form an idea about the possibilities of influence of each of the firms on the general conditions of circulation of goods in the corresponding market. Prognostic capabilities and limitations of market concentration indicators are shown. The importance of combining the processes of market concentration research and microeconomic approaches to the analysis of market structures is demonstrated. Novelty. The indicators that are used in world practice to examine the concentration of markets are systematized. Their classification has been improved based on the division of indicators according to their suitability to estimate the number of firms by aggregate market share, on the one hand, and the ability of indicators to characterize the degree of uneven distribution of market shares and the ratio of individual firms to each other. Practical value. The results of the research will allow more systematic analysis of market concentration, as well as the formation and implementation of market strategies.