This event addressed a number of key questions regarding firms and inequality.
Downloads
Jan Eeckhout's Presentation
PDF | 799.25 KB
Rachel Griffith's Presentation
PDF | 103.86 KB
John van Reenen's Presentation
PDF | 1.09 MB
Jean Tirole's Presentation
PDF | 119.94 KB
Firms are at the centre of our economy: they make the things we buy, set prices, invent new things and provide jobs. They also differ widely in their size, their productivity, their innovativeness, and the wages and conditions they offer.
To what extent have UK firms become more widely varying in their productivity and wage levels, as has been seen in the US? What are the likely implications for wage inequality across individuals and for overall productivity? What has been happening to the market power enjoyed by firms, and with what implications for the prices that they charge consumers and the wages that they pay workers? What is the role of firm-level innovation in creating ‘good jobs’ and driving social mobility on the one hand, and creating rents and market power which drive up and entrench income inequality on the other? How can policy towards firms and competition strike the right balance in the face of these forces?
These are some of the key questions our expert panel addressed at this event.
This event was chaired by Paul Johnson, IFS, and featured talks from:
- Jan Eeckhout, UPF Barcelona
- Rachel Griffith, IFS and University of Manchester
- John van Reenen, LSE
- Jean Tirole, Toulouse School of Economics
Authors
CPP Co-Director, IFS Research Director
Rachel is Research Director and Professor at the University of Manchester. She was made a Dame for services to economic policy and education in 2021.
Research Associate Pompeu Fabra University and Barcelona Graduate School of Economics
Jan is an IFS Research Associate, a Research Professor at the Barcelona School of Economics and an ICREA Research Professor at the UPF Barcelona.
John Van Reenen
Research Fellow Toulouse School of Economics
Jean Tirole is a Research Fellow of the IFS and a honorary chairman of the Foundation JJ Laffont-Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
Presentation details
- Publisher
- IFS
Suggested citation
Eeckhout, J et al. (2022). 'Firms, market power, innovation and inequality' [Presentation]. London: IFS. Available at: https://ifs.org.uk/publications/firms-market-power-innovation-and-inequality (accessed: 28 March 2024).
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