Industrialization and consolidation in the U.S. Food Sector:Implications for competition and welfare

Abstract

Much has been written recently about the evolution of the food processing and distribution sector toward ever higher levels of food manufacturer and retailer concentration and increasing vertical coordination across market stages. In some cases the changes have been sudden and dramatic. My objective is to consider what we have learned as a profession about the rapid consolidation in food processing and distribution. What are its implications for market power, economic efficiency, and the distribution of economic welfare among producers, consumers, and marketers?