We analyze whether an association of firms to the dominant oligopoly of food retail groups is related to higher oligopoly market power. We apply a production function approach for the estimation of firm-level markups to a sample of 3,366 French food retailers over the period 2006-2014. The results suggest the presence of power imbalances between firms of the dominant oligopoly and fringe firms. We also detect a positive connection between markups and profitability pointing to a reduction in consumer welfare due to retailers’ oligopoly market power.     «

We analyze whether an association of firms to the dominant oligopoly of food retail groups is related to higher oligopoly market power. We apply a production function approach for the estimation of firm-level markups to a sample of 3,366 French food retailers over the period 2006-2014. The results suggest the presence of power imbalances between firms of the dominant oligopoly and fringe firms. We also detect a positive connection between markups and profitability pointing to a reduction in cons...     »