Re:Want to rescue rural America? Bust monopolies
by shkkmo on Sunday April 23, 2017 @07:14PM
(#14180962)
> so where is the cutoff between "monopolies" and simple economies of scale?
If a market is closed to new entrants purely because the economies of scale make the established players products cheaper, then that is one thing.
That is rarely the case. Usually, as described here, there are also deliberate attempts by the established players to exclude new entrants via other means.
"The primary supplier of syringes, which controlled 80 percent of the market, structured an arrangement with a vast network of hospitals that essentially closed our industry to new firms for good."
> The author claims 6 seed companies are worse than hundreds of seed companies, but doesn't give a single fact to support that claim.
Yes, he does:
"The result is that the farmer’s share of each retail dollar of food has been collapsing, while consumers pay either the same or higher prices. Mega-corporations in the middle exploit their dominant market positions to reap all the profits."
If a market is closed to new entrants purely because the economies of scale make the established players products cheaper, then that is one thing.
That is rarely the case. Usually, as described here, there are also deliberate attempts by the established players to exclude new entrants via other means.
"The primary supplier of syringes, which controlled 80 percent of the market, structured an arrangement with a vast network of hospitals that essentially closed our industry to new firms for good."
> The author claims 6 seed companies are worse than hundreds of seed companies, but doesn't give a single fact to support that claim.
Yes, he does:
"The result is that the farmer’s share of each retail dollar of food has been collapsing, while consumers pay either the same or higher prices. Mega-corporations in the middle exploit their dominant market positions to reap all the profits."