Aggregate Concentration in the Global Economy: Issues and Evidence
36 Pages Posted: 18 Sep 2003
There are 2 versions of this paper
Aggregate Concentration in the Global Economy: Issues and Evidence
Aggregate Concentration in the Global Economy: Issues and Evidence
Date Written: 2003
Abstract
In this paper I present new and original evidence concerning global aggregate concentration. To my knowledge, this evidence constitutes the first systematic effort to measure global aggregate concentration. The data are available only for the years 1994-2001 and require some compromises and approximations.
For 2001, the largest 500 global companies' employment accounted for 1.60% of the world labor force, or 9.92% of OECD employment. These companies' profits amounted to 0.94% of world GDP or 4.16% of world gross domestic savings (GDS); their profits also amounted to 1.18% of OECD GDP or 5.62% of OECD gross national saving (GNS). Similar estimates are available for the largest 50 global companies.
The time trends for 1994-2001 show a mixed picture. If employment is the basis for the measurements, the largest 50 global companies accounted for a slightly decreasing share of aggregate employment over time. If, instead, profits are the basis for the measurements, then the 50 largest companies accounted for an increasing share over these same years. But this latter trend is likely overstated and is unlikely to be sustained. Future years will yield more data that can be used to check these trends and refine these measurements.
Keywords: aggregate concentration, mergers, global
JEL Classification: L11, L19
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?
Recommended Papers
-
The Cross Border Mergers and Acquisitions Wave of the Late 1990s
-
The First International Merger Wave (and the Fifth and Last U.S. Wave)
-
The Responsibility Paradox: Multinational Firms and Global Corporate Social Responsibility
By Gerald F. Davis, Marina V. N. Whitman, ...
-
What's Been Happening to Aggregate Concentration in the United States? (And Should We Care?)
-
What's Been Happening to Aggregate Concentration in the United States? (And Should We Care?),
-
Aggregate Concentration in the Global Economy: Issues and Evidence
-
The New Triad Power: Key Players in the Promise of Global CSR