Poder de mercado y digitalización en los sectores de la economía española

The growth of market power in Spain’s corporate sector has been accelerating since the financial crisis, and although there is no overall competition deficit in the Spanish economy, we can point to specific sectors where excessive market power may exist.

The goal of this publication is to identify, in as much detail as possible, the sectors of activity that are of potential concern due to their high market power and weight in the economy, with particular attention to the role of digitalization and how new technologies can create barriers to competition in those sectors where they have had the most disruptive effect, based on the “winner-takes-all” hypothesis. However, digitalization is not the only source of high margins, as Spain is also home to sectors with low levels of digitalization and traditional specialization that earn higher profit margins on the back of barriers to competition.

Using firm-level data, this monograph offers a precise picture of levels of concentration, markups and profitability across a very broad range of sectors (up to 500), identifying those in which market power may be present.

This publication will be of interest not only to researchers, economists and independent experts specializing in the analysis of market power, but also to the general public and public administrators, competition policy officials in particular, who may find in it insights that provide useful input to the design of public policies.