Corporate Power and Inequality
How the rise of mega-corporations, declining competition, and shareholder primacy have concentrated economic power and widened inequality.
The Concentration Surge
Across industry after industry, a handful of firms dominate. The four largest meatpackers control 85% of the US beef market. Three companies control 80% of the global seed market. Five tech companies -- Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta -- have a combined market capitalization exceeding the GDP of every country except the US and China. This concentration has accelerated since 2000, driven by mergers, network effects, and the winner-take-all dynamics of digital markets.
Market concentration affects inequality through several channels. Monopolistic firms charge higher prices, which functions as a regressive tax -- lower-income consumers spend a larger share of income on goods and services from concentrated industries. Dominant employers suppress wages by reducing competition for workers -- monopsony power. And concentrated markets generate outsized profits that flow to shareholders and executives, who are overwhelmingly wealthy.
