The Impact of SuperStar Firms on Competition & Competitiveness in the UK & Europe

在历史上有许多时期，公司对个人拥有巨大的权力，但可以说，从来没有一个像今天的一些所谓的“超级明星公司”（SSF）那样有如此大的影响力。技术的最新发展，包括自动化、机器学习和算法数据处理，以及机器人技术的更高精度和可扩展性，再加上日益全球化和经济体之间的普遍相互依存，创造了一个市场上最好的公司可以完全主导整个世界的产品或服务供应的世界。这种主导地位的两个最明显的例子是Uber和谷歌。我的论文将在Autor等人的工作基础上进行扩展，并在三个大部分中研究超级明星公司模型。第一个是重新评估Autor等人的方法，使用更加细分的、因此可以说更加准确的进口商集中/竞争衡量标准。第二部分将包括一些竞争主管机构的案例研究，以了解社会保障机构如何被指控滥用其地位，而其他机构可能也在这样做，以及竞争主管机构对社会保障机构的惩罚的有效性。第三部分将根据社会保障框架研究市场内的生产率。这将涵盖社会保障基金内如何以不同方式使用劳动力，以及随着社会保障基金获得更多市场份额，市场内资本与劳动力投入的总体比例如何变化。如果我们继续在自动化和人工智能领域取得进展，这将使这些超级明星公司受益最多，而牺牲劳动力。第三部分可能会深入了解这些发展对世界各地工人的潜在危害。SSF模型仅在2017年提出，因此这是一个相对较新的领域，但它已经引起了人们的极大兴趣。在许多人质疑全球化和技术进步的好处的时候，我们调查那些受益最多的人是很重要的。我的研究将揭示资源的重新分配发生了什么，并像Autor等人一样，可以解释许多发达国家劳动力占GDP的份额下降。

There have been a number of periods in history in which firms have held tremendous power over individuals, but an argument could be made that none have ever had as much influence as some so called 'superstar firms' (SSFs) have today. Recent developments in technology, including automation, machine learning and algorithmic data processing as well as greater precision and scalability in robotics, combined with increasing globalisation and general interdependence between economies, have created a world in which the best firm in a market can completely dominate the entire world's supply of a product or service. Two of the clearest examples of this kind of dominance are Uber and Google. My thesis will expand upon the work of Autor et al and examine the Superstar firm model across three broad sections. The first will be a re-estimation of Autor et al's methodology using a more disaggregated, and therefore arguably more accurate, measure of importer concentration/competition. The second will cover a number of competition authority (CA) case studies to see how SSFs have already been accused of abusing their position, where others might be doing the same, and the effectiveness of punishments by CAs against SSFs. The third section will investigate productivity within markets in light of SSFs. This will cover how labour is used differently within SSFs and how, as more market share is gained by an SSF, the overall ratio of capital to labour input within a market changes. If we continue to make progress in the fields of automation and artificial intelligence, it will benefit these Superstar firms the most, at the expense of labour. This third section may provide an insight into the potential harms of these developments to workers across the world. The SSF model was only put forward in 2017 so this is a relatively new field but it has already garnered great interest. In a time in which many are questioning the merits of globalisation and technological progress it is important we investigate those who have benefited the most. My research will shed light on what has happened to the re-distribution of resources and, as in Autor et a, could explain the fall in labour's share of GDP seen in many developed countries.