▪ Despite widespread claims of widespread monopolization, just 4 percent of U.S. industries are highly concentrated, and the share of industries with low levels of concentration grew by around 25 percent from 2002 to 2017.

▪ Overall, Census data show U.S. industries have not become more concentrated: The average C4 ratio (the share of sales that the top four firms capture in an industry) increased just 1 percentage point from 2002 to 2017.

▪ The more concentrated industries were in 2002, the more likely they were to become less concentrated by 2017.

▪ Prices rose less in industries with higher levels of concentration than they did in the overall economy from 2002 to 2017.

▪ There was no relationship between industry concentration and profitability in that period.

▪ In short, the widely accepted narrative that monopolization is increasing to crisis levels is not supported by the facts. Overall, the U.S. economy remains vibrantly competitive.