MFS chief economist on the 'winner-takes-all world'

Stockmarket is more concentrated

Eric Weisman, chief economist at MFS, discusses how the global stockmarket has become more concentrated thanks to disruptive technologies but that does not necessarily mean less competition.

In recent years, markets have become more concentrated as dominant players such as Amazon, Facebook and Google have disrupted entire industries. Those dusty economic textbooks many of us have moldering in our attics tell us that increased market concentration means less competition, which should result in higher prices. But what we have seen lately suggests the opposite may be happening. Even though there are fewer, larger competitors on the playing field, these giants are competing on price, as they are often more concerned with growing scale rather than their bottom lines — particul...