Does America Have an Antitrust Problem?
Markets are becoming more concentrated and, arguably, less competitive.
Does America Have an Antitrust Problem?What Does Using Search Engines and Social Media Really Cost You?
Chicago Booth researchers are exploring what our personal data is worth to the tech giants—and if we’re giving too much away.
Every day, millions of Americans use Facebook, Google, and other platforms, without paying anything to do so. Yet these services are anything but free.
Facebook and Google have used profits made from mining user data to capture an ever-greater share of their markets, stifling competitors and buying up promising startups before they become serious rivals. Concentration in many industries has been growing for decades, well before there was a Google or Facebook, argues Chicago Booth’s Sam Peltzman. Low interest rates offer opportunities for newcomers, but the behemoths have used them to concentrate their own power, according to Chicago Booth’s Amir Sufi.
The result? Chicago Booth’s Luigi Zingales says that unchecked market concentration can stifle competition. He is concerned that their power—much like that of Microsoft before it dealt with antitrust measures—will distort both markets and the political system.
Line of Inquiry
Listen to Luigi Zingales discuss what we give up when we use Google and Facebook for free.
Luigi Zingales: It's also true that the monetary price that we pay for Google Service is zero. It's also true that we give a lot of data in exchange. So the zero price is fictitious because we pay a cost, and a pretty significant cost, that's due with our privacy.
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Are Google and Facebook Monopolies?
Chicago Booth’s Luigi Zingales and George Mason University’s Tyler Cowen discuss the market power wielded by digital platforms, and how to promote competition.
Are Google and Facebook Monopolies?
Booth Researchers are Answering Questions and Questioning Answers
Through their data-driven insights, our researchers are tackling some of the world's biggest global issues. Explore more research from Booth.
Should Companies Focus on Profits?
Booth researchers are exploring what should drive corporate decisions in the twenty-first century.
Should Companies Focus on Profits?
Why Is the Glass Ceiling So Tough to Crack?
Booth researchers are investigating how cultural norms and expectations affect women’s progress.
Why Is the Glass Ceiling So Tough to Crack?
Should We Text Less and Talk More?
Booth researchers are exploring how less text-based messaging and more talking could improve communication.
Should We Text Less and Talk More?Questioning Answers in the Classroom
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George J. Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State
The Stigler Center promotes and disseminates research on regulatory capture, crony capitalism, and the various distortions that special interest groups impose on capitalism.
George J. Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the StateShare With Your Network
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