Thicker markets lead to better matching of goods with consumer tastes.
The article introduces a new way to model competition between businesses selling similar products. By considering consumers' preferences for specific product features, the researchers show that as the population grows, prices can change based on how much people value those features. With more people in the market, businesses become more concentrated in certain areas, leading to cost savings for consumers. This means that having a wider range of products doesn't always lead to more benefits - instead, matching products to individual tastes can be more important. The study suggests that allowing too many businesses to enter the market can actually be harmful in this scenario.