> though I think if the costs drop, it at least part of the time means the demand is not being met by some other competitor
Massively false, in fact you've got it exactly backwards. See: very well recorded 50 years of industrial revolution era history.
The price of consumer goods, and the cost of producing them, dropped aggressively for decades during that time. It was not due to the lack of competition (demand not being met by another company); competition was the reason for it. Specifically, competition competes the margin away.
Input costs and end consumer prices would rise if the demand were being left unfilled by other companies (ie if the market were, for some reason, totally or partially devoid of competition), until competition arrived again. The lack of competition tends to inflate costs across the entire supply chain.
Massively false, in fact you've got it exactly backwards. See: very well recorded 50 years of industrial revolution era history.
The price of consumer goods, and the cost of producing them, dropped aggressively for decades during that time. It was not due to the lack of competition (demand not being met by another company); competition was the reason for it. Specifically, competition competes the margin away.
Input costs and end consumer prices would rise if the demand were being left unfilled by other companies (ie if the market were, for some reason, totally or partially devoid of competition), until competition arrived again. The lack of competition tends to inflate costs across the entire supply chain.