Herfindahl-Hirschman index

Herfindahl-Hirschman index (HHI), in economics and finance, a measure of the competitiveness of an industry in terms of the market concentration of its participants.

Developed by the American economist Orris C. Herfindahl and the German economist Albert O. Hirschman, it is based on the following formula: HHI = s₁² + s₂² + ⋯ + s_n² where n is the number of firms in the market and s_n denotes the market share of the nth firm. Higher values of the index indicate higher market concentration and monopoly power as well as decreased competitiveness. For example, if there is only one firm in a market with 100 percent market share, then the value of the index would equal 10,000 (100²). The index decreases when a market is made up of a larger number of firms, each with a smaller market share.

The HH index is very easy to calculate and has a wide practical application. In the United States, government institutions that deal with antitrust issues—such as the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)—use the HH index to asses how a proposed or actual merger or acquisition would change or has changed the market concentration in a particular industry. Proposed mergers that raise the index substantially are flagged as concerns and brought before the government’s antitrust institutions for further scrutiny.