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Cited by 134Merger and Competition AnalysisGlobal trade and economicsConsumer Market Behavior and Pricing

Mark-ups in the digital era

Open access
Sara Calligaris, Chiara Criscuolo, Luca Marcolin·2018·OECD Science, Technology and Industry Working Papers
DOI 10.1787/4efe2d25-en
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Abstract

This paper examines the evolution of firm mark-ups across 26 countries for the period 2001-14. It also discusses and investigates empirically how this can be related to the degree of digital transformation in sectors. Four main facts emerge: i) mark-ups are increasing over the period, on average across country; ii) this result is driven by firms at the top of the mark-up distribution, while the bottom half of the distribution exhibits a flat trend over time; (iii) mark-ups are higher in digital-intensive sectors than in less-digitally intensive sectors; (iv) mark-up differentials between digitally-intensive and less-digitally-intensive sectors have increased significantly over time.

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Cites

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  • The rise in weighted average markup appears largely driven by a reallocation of sales and value-added towards firms with high markups (and low labor shares).

    “This pattern appears largely driven by a reallocation of sales and value-added towards firms with high markups (and low labor shares).”

    From The Fall of the Labor Share and the Rise of Superstar Firms* (2020) · cites this paper as Calligaris et al, 2018

    Section 4.1 reports that rising average mark-ups were mainly driven by increases among firms in the highest mark-up decile. But it describes unconditional firm-level averages, not a weighted average driven by sales or value-added shifting toward those firms, and it does not establish that they had low labor shares. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • On average across countries, the weighted average markup has risen.

    “On average across countries, the weighted average markup has risen.”

    From The Fall of the Labor Share and the Rise of Superstar Firms* (2020) · cites this paper as Calligaris et al, 2018

    Section 4.1 reports that average mark-ups rose across the paper’s country sample over 2001–14. But its figure describes unconditional averages of firm-level log mark-ups, not a weighted average; the claimed weighting is unsupported. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Cites

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3 of the 40 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. by J. Heckman and E. Leamer, Vol. 6, chap. 63.

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Related

Authors
Calligaris, S., Criscuolo, C., & Marcolin, L.
Affiliations
Organisation de Coopération et de Développement Economiques (FR)
ORCID
Venue
OECD Science, Technology and Industry Working Papers
Publisher
Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD)
Published
2018-04-25
ISSN
1815-1965 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1787/4efe2d25-en
OpenAlex
W2802380058
Cited by
121
References
40
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 29 · 2021: 20 · 2020: 21 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 3 · 2013: 1
Type
report
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • OECD science, technology and industry working papers (publishedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • London School of Economics and Political Science Research Online (London School of Economics and Political Science) (submittedVersion)
  • London School of Economics and Political Science Theses Online (London School of Economics and Political Science) (submittedVersion)
Funders
Economic and Social Research Council
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Merger and Competition Analysis
  • Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › General Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Global trade and economics
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Consumer Market Behavior and Pricing
Keywords
digital transformation, firm productivity, cross-national comparison

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