During World War I, hundreds of small companies were taken over, or merged with larger corporations. This made competition nearly nonexistent, allowing companies to charge whatever they desired for their products or services. Furthermore, companies combined, forming trusts, or groups of large corporations. These trusts further reduced competition by discussing, and then fixing prices of certain products.
Lack of competition resulted in two hundred major companies controlling nearly fifty percent of America's executive holdings. An inevitable outcome of this concentration of corporate power was the downfall of the economy; if only a small number of corporations were to fold as a result of the Stock Market Crash of 1929, the entire economy would suffer a massive collapse.
Unequal Distribution of Wealth
Poorly Structured Banking
Foreign Balance of Payments
American Economic Beliefs
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