MULTIMARKET MARKET POWER ESTIMATION - THE AUSTRALIAN RETAIL MEAT SECTOR

A new technique for estimating market power in several markets simulta neously is developed and applied to the Australian retail beef, lamb, and pork markets. The hypotheses that market power is zero and that ma rket power is the same for each meat cannot be rejected. Nor is there evidence that market power increased over the period of analysis. Litt le bias is created by examining markets is isolation, rather than with in a system, when markets are competitive, but that bias can be large when market power exists in some markets in the system.