Examining the Structure and the Degree of Concentration of the Global Arms Market

This study examines the structure and the degree of concentration of the global arms market during the 2015-2021 period. To achieve this purpose, it draws on the SIPRI arms industries database concerning the sales of the top 100 arms-producing and military services companies in the world to determine the market share of various countries during the years under review. Accordingly, to determine the degree of market concentration and the structure of the global arms market at the country level, the study analyses various absolute and relative concentration indices including the concentration ratio of the top k-country, Herfindahl-Hirschman index, Hanna-Kay index, Hall-Tiedman index, Rosenbluth index, the extensive industrial concentration index, Hause index, U index, relative entropy index, logarithmic variance of country size and Gini coefficient.The results obtained indicate that based on concentration indicators, market concentration in the arms industry has increased slightly during the period understudy. Furthermore, the intensity of market concentration in the arms industry is very high and the structure of the arms market can be described as a closed multilateral monopoly.