# The Great Reversal: How America Gave Up on Free Markets

1 Books October 29, 2019 ![Book cover of "The Great Reversal"](/sites/default/files/styles/246w/public/assets/images/The%20Great%20Reversal%20Article.jpg?itok=sEFdS8hq) By Thomas Philippon >

Why are cell-phone plans so much more expensive in the United States than in Europe? It seems a simple question. But the search for an answer took [Thomas Philippon](https://www.stern.nyu.edu/faculty/bio/thomas-philippon) on an unexpected journey through some of the most complex and hotly debated issues in modern economics. Ultimately he reached his surprising conclusion: American markets, once a model for the world, are giving up on healthy competition. Sector after economic sector is more concentrated than it was twenty years ago, dominated by fewer and bigger players who lobby politicians aggressively to protect and expand their profit margins. Across the country, this drives up prices while driving down investment, productivity, growth, and wages, resulting in more inequality. Meanwhile, Europe―long dismissed for competitive sclerosis and weak antitrust―is beating America at its own game.

Philippon did not expect these conclusions in the age of Silicon Valley start-ups and millennial millionaires. But the data from his research proved undeniable. In this compelling tale of economic detective work, we follow him as he works out the basic facts and consequences of industry concentration in the U.S. and Europe, shows how lobbying and campaign contributions have defanged antitrust regulators, and considers what all this means for free trade, technology, and innovation. For the sake of ordinary Americans, he concludes, government needs to return to what it once did best: keeping the playing field level for competition. It’s time to make American markets great―and free―again. ##
To learn more, visit [Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/Great-Reversal-America-Gave-Markets/dp/0674237544)

## More from Thomas Philippon

- [The US Inflation Reduction Act: How the EU Is Affected and How It Should React.](https://www.stern.nyu.edu/experience-stern/faculty-research/us-inflation-reduction-act-how-eu-affected-and-how-it-should-react)
- [SVB and Beyond: The Banking Stress of 2023](https://www.stern.nyu.edu/experience-stern/faculty-research/svb-and-beyond-banking-stress-2023)
- [The UK Reined in Rupert Murdoch. Why Can’t We Stop Vincent Bolloré in France?](https://www.stern.nyu.edu/experience-stern/faculty-research/the-uk-reined-in-rupert-murdoch-why-can-t-we-stop-vincent-bollor-in-france)
- [How Should We Assess Economic Growth?](https://www.stern.nyu.edu/experience-stern/faculty-research/how-should-we-assess-economic-growth)
- [Economics and Politics of Measures to Stop Financing Russian Aggression Against Ukraine](https://www.stern.nyu.edu/experience-stern/faculty-research/economics-and-politics-of-measures-to-stop-financing-russian-aggression-against-ukraine)