Increasing competition in the aggregate quarrying industry: a framework for assessing geographic concentration and policy recommendations [Hebrew]

Abstract

This paper presents a methodology developed to evaluate spatial competition in the aggregate quarrying market. We develop a measure of geographical concentration from the perspective of downstream concrete plants, and offer several recommendations. The main recommendations stress the need to increase aggregate supply and to consider the implications of allocating a quarry in a tender (and more specifically the royalties offered by the participants) on the competition in that area. In addition, the report suggests that in areas where concrete plants face high concentration levels, eliminating cross ownership of quarries should be considered.