As if dealing with airlines wasn’t enough of a hassle, now flyers have to deal with airline monopolies. A recent study by Jose Azar, Martin C. Schmalz, and Isabel Tecu found that five of the seven largest institutional shareholders of United Airlines were also among the largest shareholders of Southwest and Delta. The researchers showed that mergers among these giant shareholders, such as with BlackRock’s purchase of Barclays Global Investors, results in higher prices for consumers. Even more disturbing, such monopolies are on the rise in dozens of other industries.
The infographic above shows the growth of monopoly power in the United States: Industries are becoming more concentrated, more profitable for their owners, more concentrated in their ownership, and older in age. Tackling these monopolies must become a priority in the years ahead not just to control rising prices, but also to rein in their growing power over consumers.
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