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Are companies making more money from their customers?

We investigate claims companies’ markups are eight times bigger than they were forty years ago

Recent reports claimed the average global mark-up, the difference between the price of production and the price that product is sold for, rose from 7% in 1980 to 59% by 2020.

So is this true? Are some companies choosing to charge us more than ever for their products?

We investigate the accuracy of these claims, and which companies are responsible with the help of Jan Eeckhout a Professor of Economics at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona.

Presenter: Kate Lamble
Producer: Beth Ashmead Latham
Production co-ordinator: Katie Morrison
Sound mix: Neil Churchill
Editor: Richard Vadon

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9 minutes

Last on

Sun 18 Aug 202423:50GMT
BBC World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa

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Broadcasts

  • Sat 17 Aug 202404:50GMT
    BBC World Service except East and Southern Africa, Europe and the Middle East & West and Central Africa
  • Sat 17 Aug 202410:50GMT
    BBC World Service East and Southern Africa & Europe and the Middle East only
  • Sat 17 Aug 202415:50GMT
    BBC World Service News Internet
  • Sun 18 Aug 202408:50GMT
    BBC World Service West and Central Africa
  • Sun 18 Aug 202410:50GMT
    BBC World Service except East and Southern Africa, Europe and the Middle East & West and Central Africa
  • Sun 18 Aug 202422:50GMT
    BBC World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
  • Sun 18 Aug 202423:50GMT
    BBC World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa

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