Industrial Structure, Concentration and the Speed of Price Adjustment.

Abstract

It is argued that the relationship between market structure and the speed of price adjustment involves two distinct forces with opposing directions: "t he leadership effect" and the "industry profitability effect." The direction of the relationship will depend on the relative importance of these effects. Estimation of an equation explaining the speed of price adjustment in terms of industrial concentration and the length of the production period provided evidence of negative effects for bo th the above variables. Copyright 1988 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.