ABSTRACT
Global oligopolies, so pervasive in practice, have largely been evaded by theorists. Since the days of Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations, most economists have clung to the law of large numbers. They argue, incorrectly, that they need not ‘open the box’, relating to the behaviour of individual corporations. Game theories, pertinent to oligopolistic behaviours as players react to each other’s moves, are fun, popular, and readily comprehensible; but empirical evidence in relation to real world global oligopolies has so far proved elusive.1 Anyone can have a theory, but, if it is not evidence-based, it is not science.
