Detecting Market Competition in the Japanese Beer Industry

We investigate various characteristics, including firm-level panel data, of the Japanese beer market over time (over 30 years) to determine the level and nature of competition. Next, we conduct two sets of regressions using market share and firm-level accounting data in a variation of Boone’s (Econ J 118:1245–1261, 2008a; J Inst Theor Econ 164:587–611, 2008b) measure of competition. While traditional indicators (very high market concentration, little or no overt price competition) suggest that Japanese beer firms do not compete, Boone-style regressions yield strong evidence of competitive behavior.