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The degree of concentration and market power in South African markets has been the topic of much policy discussion. However, there has been little evidence on what drives market power and the impact of the degree of competition in South African markets on economic outcomes. This paper improves on previous markup estimates for South Africa using a methodology developed by De Loecker and Warzynski (2012) applied to tax administrative data for 2010-14. The paper then explores the firm-level determinants of the estimated markups and assesses the link between competition and firm-level outcomes, including productivity, employment, and wages. The analysis finds that average markups across the economy appear to have risen between 2010 and 2014. Larger firms, higher-intensity exporters, and firms with greater sales shares charge higher markups than comparator firms in South Africa, even after controlling for efficiency. Moreover, lower product market competition has a significant, negative effect on productivity growth, employment growth, and wage growth in South African manufacturing industries. Higher sales-weighted and value-added-weighted average industry-level markups are associated with lower industry-level entry rates. The findings highlight the importance of implementing sound pro-competition government interventions and the significant economic benefits associated with such policies.

Competition Policy --- Job Creation --- Labor Markets --- Market Competition --- Private Sector Development --- Private Sector Economics --- Productivity --- Social Protections and Labor --- Wage Growth --- Wages, Compensation and Benefits

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This paper provides evidence that commercial lenders in Peru free ride off their peers' screening efforts. Leveraging a discontinuity in the loan approval process of a large bank, the study finds that competing lenders responded to additional loan approvals by issuing approvals of their own. Competing lenders captured almost three-quarters of the new loans to previously financially excluded borrowers, greatly diminishing the profits accruing to the initiating bank. Lenders may therefore underinvest in screening new borrowers and expanding financial inclusion, as their competitors reap some of the benefit. The results highlight that information spillovers between lenders may operate outside credit registries.

Access to Credit --- Access to Finance --- Asymmetric Information --- Banking --- Credit Market Competition --- Finance and Financial Sector Development --- Financial Inclusion --- Private Sector Development --- Small and Medium Size Enterprises --- SME Finance

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The rapid pace of economic growth in China has been unprecedented since the start of economic reforms in late 1970s. It has delivered higher incomes and made the largest single contribution to global poverty reduction. Measured by international poverty lines, from 1978-2004, the absolute poor population in rural areas has dropped from 250 million to 26.1 million. Such gains are impressive and have been driven largely by a set of market-oriented institutional reforms, strong investment, and effective adoption and application of various knowledge and technologies, especially foreign ones through trade and foreign direct investment. While enjoying tremendous success, China also faces many challenges that need to be addressed to sustain its long-term development. These include weak institutions, low overall educational attainment, weak indigenous innovation capacity, poor links between research and development and industries, and so on. This paper provides an analysis of some strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges to China's knowledge economy in the areas of economic incentives and institutional regime, human capital, innovation system, and information infrastructure.

Debt Markets --- E-Business --- Economic development --- Economic growth --- Economic incentives --- Emerging Markets --- Environment --- Environmental Economics and Policies --- Farms --- Finance and Financial Sector Development --- Health, Nutrition and Population --- Labor force --- Market competition --- Policy environment --- Policy instruments --- Population Policies --- Private Sector Development --- Property rights --- Quotas

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Mainstream economics views demographic changes in the structure of households as of little relevance for the behavior of firms or the functioning of markets. The present paper dispels this view by arguing that changes in the number of non-workers could affect the intensity with which consumers search for best prices and therefore the level of competition. The author also analyzes the relationship between income and competition, which some studies suggest is negative. The author argues that the negative relationship is most likely due to the demographic factors discussed.

Economic Theory and Research --- Education --- Emerging Markets --- Knowledge for Development --- Labor market --- Labor Policies --- Macroeconomics and Economic Growth --- Market competition --- Markets and Market Access --- Price setting --- Private Sector Development --- Product markets --- Retail --- Retail stores --- Retailing --- Social Protections and Labor --- Spread --- Suppliers --- Tying

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In the past decade, the World Bank has promoted improving business environments as a key strategy for development, which has resulted in a significant amount of investment in collecting firm-level investment climate surveys across countries. What lessons have emerged from the papers using these new data? The key finding is that the effects of business environments are heterogeneous and depend crucially on industry, initial conditions, and complementary institutions. Some elements of the business environment, such as labor flexibility, low entry and exit barriers, and a reasonable protection from the "grabbing hands" of the government, seem to matter a great deal for most economies. Other elements, such as infrastructure and contracting institutions (courts and access to finance), hinge on their initial status and the size of the market.

Access to Finance --- Corporate taxes --- Debt Markets --- Developed countries --- Economic activity --- Economic circumstances --- Economic development --- Economic growth --- Emerging Markets --- Empirical studies --- Environment --- Environmental Economics & Policies --- Environments --- Finance and Financial Sector Development --- Labor Policies --- Market competition --- Policy makers --- Private property --- Private Sector Development --- Producers --- Production costs --- Property rights --- Public goods --- Retained earnings --- Social Protections and Labor --- Tax rates --- Transaction costs --- Unemployment --- Wages