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When one company has the control over the entire market for a product, usually because of barriers to entry. With the ability of price control and supply setting, this monopoly is extremely rare in any sort of market unless it is a government granted monopoly because of some inherent factors that make it crucial for a monopoly to exist. Otherwise, it may exist under certain circumstances, such as; a patent created monopoly which gives the company unilateral control over the extire market for a product, a cartel or illegal trust monopoly, or a natural monopoly where the supply for a product comes from one source because of natural barriers to entry that makes it nearly impossible for others to enter the market and survive.
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What is a Pure Monopoly Market?
Consisting of one seller for an entire product existing in a competitive arena where one company has control over the entire market for a product. One such monopoly for example would be the United States Postal Service (a government regulated monopoly existing in the private sector). Even in a monopoly such as the U.S. Postal Service, specialized parcel shipping companies have found their way into this monopolized market to where they can sustain a profit and effectively compete. This is a factor inherent in all markets. However, considering the effects of monopolistic competition, a market with complete control is still existant within the U.S. Postal Service. They are the ultimate processor of standard letter mail in the United States of America. Although, other companies have entered the market, they have yet to take control of this specialized sector of the segment allowing certain companies of a puremonopoly status to exist in perceived market competition. Although some companies act as if they were puremonopoly, it is imperitive to understand that a puremonopoly market is the most rare of monopolies. Even if a monopoly seems to exist in puremonopoly, that may not be the case.
What is a monopoly market?
Consisting of one seller for an entire product existing in a competitive arena where one company has control over the entire market for a product. One such monopoly for example would be the United States Postal Service (a government regulated monopoly existing in the private sector). Even in a monopoly such as the U.S. Postal Service, specialized parcel shipping companies have found their way into this monopolized market to where they can sustain a profit and effectively compete. This is a factor inherent in all markets. However, considering the effects of monopolistic competition, a market with complete control is still existant within the U.S. Postal Service. They are the ultimate processor of standard letter mail in the United States of America. Although, other companies have entered the market, they have yet to take control of this specialized sector of the segment allowing certain companies of a puremonopoly status to exist in perceived market competition. Although some companies act as if they were puremonopoly, it is imperitive to understand that a puremonopoly market is the most rare of monopolies. Even if a monopoly seems to exist in puremonopoly, that may not be the case.
What are the effects of an monopoly on a society?
Without monopoly society would flatline, where economic growth would slow to a stop and socio-economics would die. This is because in order to have a positively functioning society one must promote growth. Competition must exist in society in order for growth to occur and be more effective. Monopoly is the process by which a firm competes in a market sector with other firms in a fight for control toward a puremonopoly.
What are the benefits of a natural monopoly?
A monopoly is the means by which competive markets interact. An intermediary of competition among driving forces in any market sector. Some advantages of having a monopoly are; the ability to function in a complex market mechanism by ways of competition towards a puremonopoly, profit sharing firms exist in monopoly as they strive toward puremonopoly, oligopolistic competition, competitive edges cause markets to increase their barriers to entry and promote future advances in market sectors thereby promoting growth in economics. Without a monopoly, production will cease to be effective and supply/demand will flatline.
What happens during a monopoly?
Depends. In a town of 100, the local store owner is a "monopoly", but no one minds, as it's obvious that the town can't support two stores. Then there's the Post Office, but that's the government, so monopoly laws are waived. Then there's various religious organizations. The Catholic Church has a monopoly on who gets to be a Catholic. Of course, every other religious organization has a monopoly on who gets to call themselves a member, so no one minds. (On occassion, some do mind, which is why you see some churches called "reformed" or "restored".) Then there's corporations that dominate their field, such that there is no meaningful competition. However, it is sometimes the case that they are just so darned good at it that no one complains, because there actually isn't anyone who could do it better or cheaper anyway. Eventually someone always complains, though. Then, when someone complains, oft times because the originally "good" monopoly company got a bit out of hand, then the government will file an "anti-trust" suit against them. It can be settled with a voluntary correction, or in extreme cases a mandated break up can occur.
What is a oligopolies?
An oligopoly is an economic condition in which there are so few independent suppliers of a particular product that competitive pricing does not take place. Oligopoly is a form of market where there is domination of a limited number of suppliers and sellers called Oligopolists. A situation in which a particular market is controlled by a small group of firms.An oligopoly is much like a monopoly, in which only one company exerts control over most of a market. In an oligopoly, there are at least two firms controlling the market. An oligopoly is a market dominated by a few large suppliers. The degree of market concentration is very high. Firms within an oligopoly produce branded products and there are also barriers to entry. Another important characteristic of an oligopoly is interdependence between firms. This means that each firm must take into account the likely reactions of other firms in the market when making pricing and investment decisions. This creates uncertainty in such markets - which economists seek to model through the use of game theory. The retail gas market is a good example of an oligopoly because a small number of firms control a large majority of the market. Economics is much like a game in which the players anticipate one another's moves. Game theory can also be applied in this situations as if decision makers must take into account the reasoning of other decision makers. It has been used, for example, to determine the formation of political coalitions or business conglomerates, the optimum price at which to sell products or services, the best site for a manufacturing plant, and even the behavior of certain species in the struggle for survival.The ongoing interdependence between businesses can lead to implicit and explicit collusion between the major firms in the market. Collusion occurs when businesses agree to act as if they were in a monopoly position. KEY FEATURES OF OLIGOPOLY - A few firms selling similar product - Each firm produces branded products - Likely to be significant entry barriers into the market in the long run which allows firms to make supernormal profits. - Interdependence between competing firms. Businesses have to take into account likely reactions of rivals to any change in price and output THEORIES ABOUT OLIGOPOLY PRICING There are four major theories about oligopoly pricing: (1) Oligopoly firms collaborate to charge the monopoly price and get monopoly profits (2) Oligopoly firms compete on price so that price and profits will be the same as a competitive industry (3) Oligopoly price and profits will be between the monopoly and competitive ends of the scale (4) Oligopoly prices and profits are "indeterminate" because of the difficulties in modelling interdependent price and output decisions Distinct features of an oligopolistic market: - An oligopolistic market comprises a handful of firms, engaged in selling analogous products - All oligopolistic markets increase mutual dependence among the firms involved in similar competition. It also prepares businessmen to accept the outcomes arising from rivalries with respect to alterations in the production and prices of goods. - In near future, an oligopolistic market is likely to impose restrictions on admission, in an attempt to incur abnormal profits. - Each of the business houses involved with this market produces branded goods THE IMPORTANCE OF PRICE AND NON-PRICE COMPETITION Firms compete for market share and the demand from consumers in lots of ways. We make an important distinction between price competition and non-price competition. Price competition can involve discounting the price of a product (or a range of products) to increase demand. Non-price competition focuses on other strategies for increasing market share. Consider the example of the highly competitive UK supermarket industry where non-price competition has become very important in the battle for sales - Mass media advertising and marketing - Store Loyalty cards - Banking and other Financial Services (including Travel Insurance) - In-store chemists / post offices / creches - Home delivery systems - Discounted petrol at hyper-markets - Extension of opening hours (24 hour shopping in many stores) - Innovative use of technology for shoppers including self-scanning machines - Financial incentives to shop at off-peak times - internet shopping for customers Price leadership: Oligopolistic market The dominance of one firm in the oligopolistic market results in price leadership. Firms having less market shares only follow the prices fixed by leaders. Oligopolistic competition: Effects - Oligopolistic competition in most cases leads to collaboration of the business firms on issues like raising the prices of various goods and subdue production process. - Under other given market conditions, the competition between the sellers acquires a violent form, on the grounds of lowering the prices and increasing the production. - Collaboration of various firms also brings about stabilization in the unsteady markets. PRICE LEADERSHIP IN OLIGOPOLISTIC MARKETS When one firm has a dominant position in the market the oligopoly may experience price leadership. The firms with lower market shares may simply follow the pricing changes prompted by the dominant firms. We see examples of this with the major mortgage lenders and petrol retailers. In reality, it is the Oligopoly market which exists, having a high degree of market concentration. This indicates that a huge percentage of the Oligopoly market is occupied by the leading commercial firms of a country. These firms require strategic planning to consider the reactions of other participants existing in the market. This is precisely why an oligopolistic market is subject to greater risk of connivances.By: Schafaq ChohanAn oligopoly is a market form in which a market or industry is dominated by a small number of sellers. Barriers to entry are high.
