Orris C. Herfindahl

Orris C. Herfindahl was an economist known for creating the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI), a tool used to measure market concentration. The HHI calculates how competitive or monopolized a market is by summing the squares of the market shares of all firms within that industry. A higher HHI indicates less competition, suggesting market dominance by a few firms, while a lower HHI reflects a more competitive market with many participants. This measure helps regulators evaluate the potential impact of mergers and acquisitions on competition.