Summary:Prices and concentration in the German food retailing industryIn almost all studies the food retail market in Germany is described despite a high national and even higher regional concentration as a competitive market. Small sale returns are taken as an expression of small margins and signs of a tough competition. The present article deals with the relation between sales returns and competition. Using a Cournot model the hypo thesis is expressed that with increasing concentration in the German food retail industry the food prices increase. Underlying a quadratic function for the concentration measure, it could be shown that from a specific concentration food prices significantly increase. In addition, high concentration ratios have a different influence on prices depending on product categories.
