Monopoly rights: A barrier to riches

SL Parente, EC Prescott - American Economic Review, 1999 - aeaweb.org
SL Parente, EC Prescott
American Economic Review, 1999aeaweb.org
Our thesis is that poor countries are poor because they employ arrangements for which the
equilibrium outcomes are characterized by inferior technologies being used, and being used
inefficiently. In this paper, we analyze the consequences of one such arrangement. In each
industry, the arrangement enables a coalition of factor suppliers to be the monopoly seller of
its input services to all firms using a particular production process. We find that eliminating
this monopoly arrangement could well increase output by roughly a factor of 3 without any …
Abstract
Our thesis is that poor countries are poor because they employ arrangements for which the equilibrium outcomes are characterized by inferior technologies being used, and being used inefficiently. In this paper, we analyze the consequences of one such arrangement. In each industry, the arrangement enables a coalition of factor suppliers to be the monopoly seller of its input services to all firms using a particular production process. We find that eliminating this monopoly arrangement could well increase output by roughly a factor of 3 without any increase in inputs. (JEL D58, O11, O41)
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