The structure, conduct, and performance of Nevada's slot route industry
The four largest firms in the Nevada slot route industry control over 70 percent of the industry. Its structure was shown to be highly concentrated using the Herfindahl-Herschman index; The individual slot route operators appear to conduct themselves in a non-competitive manner by differentiating their respective products. Each firm in the industry established their own niche either through product or service differentiation; Firms in concentrated industries tend to earn monopoly profits. Yet, using Tobin's q and Jensen's coefficient, we show that Nevada's slot route firms did not earn excess profits, despite the high degree of industrial concentration; The presence of a high level of industrial concentration, non-competitive product differentiation, and the lack of economic profits may be explained in large measure by competition from casinos. The inclusion of slot route firms within a more broadly defined Nevada gaming industry would decrease concentration measures consistent with competitive market performance conditions found in this study.
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