Lesotho's banking industry is highly concentrated and is perceived to be uncompetitive. However, high market concentration does not necessarily imply a lack of competition in the market. Until now, there is no evidence supporting the view that the industry is uncompetitive. Therefore, this paper uses monthly bank-level data from 2013:10 to 2019:5, and employs the Panzar-Rosse H-statistic and the Boone indicator to examine competition in Lesotho's banking industry. We find that the industry acts as a ‘monopoly’ or a ‘perfectly colluding oligopoly’. We, therefore, argue that policy makers should set up the long anticipated antitrust agency to oversee conduct in this industry, and all other industries to improve societal welfare.

中文翻译：

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莱索托的市场结构和银行行为

莱索托的银行业高度集中，被认为缺乏竞争力。然而，市场集中度高并不一定意味着市场缺乏竞争。到目前为止，没有证据支持该行业缺乏竞争力的观点。因此，本文使用 2013:10 至 2019:5 的月度银行级数据，并采用 Panzar-Rosse H统计量和 Boone 指标来检验莱索托银行业的竞争情况。我们发现该行业充当“垄断者”或“完全勾结的寡头垄断者”。因此，我们认为政策制定者应该设立期待已久的反垄断机构来监督该行业和所有其他行业的行为，以改善社会福利。