above the market

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

a condition in which an institution, firm, or individual is positioned or perceived as exempt from the normal competitive pressures, accountability mechanisms, and resource constraints that discipline other market participants; in political economy the phrase describes the position of systemically important financial institutions whose size and interconnectedness grants them implicit government guarantees, effectively placing them above ordinary market discipline because their failure would be too catastrophic to permit; more broadly it describes any actor — a monopoly, a state-owned enterprise, a politically connected firm — that enjoys protection from competitive market forces through privilege, scale, or political connection; being above the market is associated with reduced efficiency, rent-seeking behaviour, and the accumulation of economic and political power that undermines competitive dynamism