...Consider Singapore retail firms (retailers) and discuss if oligopoly or monopolistic competition best explains these retailers’ market behaviour. Does oligopoly or monopolistic competition better explain the market behaviour of Singapore retail firms? First, a few definitions are in order. First, retailers are firms that do not produce their goods that are sold, but only sell goods which are in turn manufactured by manufacturers or producers. Second, oligopoly is characterised by many buyers but few sellers, each of the sellers interacting strategically against their rivals, which are the other firms competing in the oligopolistic industry, and there are high barriers to entry, usually caused by high economies of scale. Third, monopolistic competition is a market structure where there are many buyers and sellers, few barriers to entry, and differentiated products that are quite different from other competitors, but psychologically or physically different. For example, NTUC and Giant hypermarket are examples of oligopoly while clothing retail shops such as Charles and Keith are examples of monopolistic competition. First, monopolistic competitive firms can make independent decisions on pricing and output, whereas oligopolies are mutually interdependent because they are rivals rather than competitors. There is price stickiness in oligopoly, shown by the oligopoly kinked demand curve model, which shows there is no incentive for firms to raise or lower prices as long...
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...THE IIS UNIVERSITY JAIPUR Indian Airlines- an oligopoly INDEX ACKNOWLEDGEMENT WHAT IS OLIGOPOLY? An oligopoly is a market form in which a market or industry is dominated by a small number of sellers (oligopolists). Oligopolies can result from various forms of collusion which reduce competition and lead to higher prices for consumers. Oligopoly has its own market structure.[1] With few sellers, each oligopolist is likely to be aware of the actions of the others. According to game theory, the decisions of one firm therefore influence and are influenced by decisions of other firms. Strategic planning by oligopolists needs to take into account the likely responses of the other market participants. The major characteristics of a market proving it to be an oligopoly are:- 1. Profit maximization conditions An oligopoly maximizes profits. 2. Ability to set price Oligopolies are price setters rather than price takers. 3. Entry and exit Barriers to entry are high. The most important barriers are government licenses, economies of scale, patents, access to expensive and complex technology, and strategic actions by incumbent firms designed to discourage or destroy nascent firms. Additional sources of barriers to entry often result from government regulation favoring existing firms making it difficult for new firms to enter the market. 4. Number of firms "Few" – a "handful" of sellers.[3] There are so few firms that the actions of one firm can influence...
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...OLIGOPOLY An oligopoly is a market structure in which a few firms dominate. When a market is shared between a few firms, it is said to be highly concentrated. Although only a few firms dominate, it is possible that many small firms may also operate in the market. Concentration ratios Oligopolies may be identified using concentration ratios, which measure the proportion of total market share controlled by a given number of firms. When there is a high concentration ratio in an industry, economists tend to identify the industry as an oligopoly. Characteristics 1.) There are few competing sellers but they are too large in the size of a giant company. 2.) Products are homogenous, others are differentiated. 3.) Entry of new firms can be very difficult. 4.) There is mutual interdependence among firms in the market 5.) Demand curve for oligopoly is kinked demand curve. Examples - Gasoline, cement, sugar and telecommunication are examples of products of homogenous oligopoly. - Cars and machines are products of differentiated oligopoly. - Oil and telecommunication (Globe, Smart, Sun Cellular) companies are examples of firms operating in an oligopolistic environment. Demand Curve KINKED DEMAND CURVE If the assumptions hold then: • The firm's marginal revenue curve is discontinuous (or rather, not differentiable), and has a gap at the kink • For prices above the prevailing price the curve is relatively elastic • For prices below the point the curve is relatively...
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...Market Structures ECO 204 Principles of Microeconomics Instructor: Christine Villasenor August 26th, 2013 Market Structures Every business throughout the business world will run their company in one of the four business structures. I am going to show the different examples of the different market structures of perfect competition, pure monopoly, monopolistic competition and oligopoly. Perfect competition is a big number of firms all making a familiar product that not one producer can affect the change in price. “If changes in nominal aggregate demand do not affect real output and employment, a financial crisis cannot be very important. However, the neutrality result does not really apply in the real world, either in the short or long runs.”(Ng, Y. 2009) An example of pure competition would be farms that produce common vegetables that we buy at the grocery store. There are so many farmers that produce fruits and vegetables that if one of them were to try to affect the market by lowering or raising prices, it would not really affect the prices of the rest of the market. But if a large portion of farmers where to work together about raising or lowering prices, we would see it affect the market more. “In reality, perfect competition is more theory than actual fact. While there are rare situations in which a marketplace functions with pure competition for a short period of time, the situation normally shifts as various factors change the stalemate created by...
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...Organization Forms of Industrial Organization In today’s business world companies operate within different market structures, which include pure competition, monopoly, monopolistic competition, and oligopoly. These market structures are characteristic descriptors that reflect the strength of buyers and sellers within the market. This writing will examine each of these market structures and identify a company which operates within the market structure. This writing also examines Quasar Computers, a fictitious company in which the authors participated in a software simulation. Throughout the simulation the Quasar evolved through the four market structures. This writing will identify the findings of that evolution through the life cycle of their products and the changes of buyers and sellers over time. Pure Competition In pure competition, a large number of independent sellers of standardized products characterize the market. Information is free flowing and free entry and exit exist. The seller is the price taker and not the price maker (McConnell & Brue). The firm in perfect competition is a structure that demonstrates the market under degrees of completion, given certain conditions. Pure competition is an unlikely scenario and is rare in the real-world; moreover, this market model is significantly important. One can learn from this model, from various markets, such as form agricultural, fish products, from foreign trade, and metals. The text illustrates pure competition...
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...Between Market Structures Econ 365 2/4/14 In the world today, the cell phone has become an item of necessity, according to the Pew research center “Cell phones are now being used by 91% of adults (Cell Phone Ownership ((2014)). This high demand has had a great effect on the wireless industry but with frequent advances in technology only a few organizations can even keep up. Among those few organizations is Verizon Wireless or Verizon Communications. Verizon is headquartered in New York and provides customers with service in more than 150 countries ("Verizon", (2013)). Verizon has become a leader in the wireless market, providing the nation’s largest 4G LTE network and being the largest U.S. wireless company. Although Verizon leads in wireless service, the organization does compete with three other main wireless carriers; Sprint, T-Mobile, and AT&T. This competition helps us to better understand the market structure at which Verizon competes in, oligopoly. Oligopoly is a market form in which a market or industry is dominated by a small number of carriers. Other characteristics that make us aware that Verizon operates in an oligopoly market structure are; high barriers, interdependence, and non-price competition. There are high barriers in the wireless industry making it difficult for entry for new businesses, this allows only a few carriers to dominate the market. Interdependence is extremely present within an oligopoly market structure, in the wireless market each...
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...Market Structure Econ 204 Instructor Taledo December 17, 2013 Market Structure Market Structure is defined as the number of firms that produce identical products. There are four theories that make up the market structure, they are perfect competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly, and monopoly. Each of these market structures is related to an increase or decrease in the price of a product and the purchaser’s response to the change. Throughout this paper, I will briefly describe each of the market structures listed and some its characteristics. Perfect competition also known as pure competition marginal cost equals marginal revenue. The industry is big and is made up of several small firms. Firms that participate in perfect competition is considered to be a price taker, neither the consumer or seller can cause an influence in the price of the product. In a perfect competition market structure there aren’t any barriers to enter or exit, so it is easier for firms to enter and exit the industry whenever they choose to. Secondly, there is the monopolistic competition. In monopolistic competition firms compete by selling differentiated products. Unlike perfect competition, firms in the monopolistic competition has a little control over the pricing of their products. Monopolistic competition is a non-price competition, the competition is based upon the differentiated products that each firm sells...
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...Perfect competition is “a market structure where competition is at its greatest possible level” (The Economic Times, 2016). In this market, entry and exit is very easy and also free as there are many firms, both sellers and buyers who all produce homogenous items. Firms are price takers because they cannot control the price of their products, as they are determined by the interaction of demand and supply in the entire market. Another characteristic in this market is that the producers and the consumers have total awareness of products including prices as well as the costs of the market, quantity and availability (Sloman, Hinde and Garratt, 2013), hence the mobility of the factors of production is perfect in the long run in this market. Being price takers, to achieve the aim of profit maximisation, firms produce a level of output where price equals marginal cost (MC) of producing an extra unit of product. Profit is maximised where marginal revenue (MR) is equal to MC because price is also the MR for competitive firms. Monopoly is the opposite of perfect competition due to a single firm owns and serves the entire market because there is no competition available. There is “only one provider of a good or service, great barriers to entry for seller, no barriers to entry for buyer” (Econ Guru, 2006). This often then leads to high prices and mediocre products being sold, however very unique. Monopolies are price makers because they control the market and their prices are set higher...
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...Market Structures Adam Timothy Rider ECO204: Principles of Microeconomics Evelyn Carlson 10/13/2014 When trying to gain insight into the local economy it is very important to understand the big picture of how the various market structures relate to each other. This can be accomplished by putting together some of the smaller pieces or characteristic of the market structure. These characteristics can be organizational, competitive or a variety of other features that categorize a firm as a specific market structure. Individual market structures can be described as the amount of firms producing identical goods and services. If you can identify the market structure you can often identify how they firms within the structure are going to price their products in the industry. The market structure will have an effect on the supply and demand of the different commodities in the market. The market structure will also influence barriers for entry and exit in the industry. In order to understand these structures in an economic community you must obtain an understanding of how they all work together to form the economic community. By the end of this report you will possess the necessary knowledge to understand the market structures in the micro economy. Before we begin to the inevitable breakdown of the individual market structures it is important to identify some of the key features of market structure in general. First it would be important to look at the...
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...the market”. (Thomas, Maurice 2010, p. 561). An oligopoly is described in the book as a “few relatively large firms, each with a substantial share of the market and all recognize their interdependence.” (Thomas, Maurice 2010, p. 512). Meaning, direct competitors understand their internal decisions will affect not only their profits and placement in the market, but also greatly their competitors. Price cutting or expensive advertisement plans will affect the firm’s profit margins, but also with strategically place the competing firm in a position to react. Even in small towns or multiple businesses in the same industries from restaurants to retail, need to be aware of how their decisions affect their own business, but also their market. Decisions should be systematically made and will economically affect a business along with the anticipation of competitor’s reaction to their precise move. Oligopolies are everywhere and can be detected from wheat that is managed by large agriculture groups to cell phone companies. Oligopolies How do firms in the industry compete? Managers within interdependent industries make decisions that will affect not only their firm, but they must consider the reaction to their competitor as well. Without this consideration, the rival’s reaction will certainly affect his or her own sales and profitability due to that decision, which may or may not be intended. An oligopoly can be formed when a selected few companies dominate a market, such...
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...Sunday, October 21, 2012 Market structures are the makeup of a particular market. Market structure can be described with reference to different characteristics of a market, including its size and strength, the number of buyers and sellers, form of competitions, extent of product differentiation, and ease of entry into and exit from the market. Markets are broken down into four various structures. These structures are perfect competition, monopolistic competition, monopolies, and oligopolies. The structure of each market is based on the traits of its business type. The attributes a business will display changes with the number of firms in that particular market. One of the four markets is a perfectly competitive market. This market is an opposite of a monopoly market, because it has many sellers, it has many buyers, and many products that are very similar. Similar products mean their competition is high, as there are many substitutes to choose from close by. Prices in a competitive market are determined by supply and demand, leaving the producers subject to price demands and very little influence; competitors in this market are also known as price takers. No participants are large enough to have the market power to set the price, but both consumers and producers can influence the price. There are very little barriers to entering the market. A perfectly competitive market plays an important role in the economy, as it is the market that carries many necessary items...
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...Market Structure and Maximizing Profits There are four structures that exist within a market. These four are perfect competition, monopolistic competition, monopoly, and oligopoly. I will explain each market structure, and define what they are. I will also discuss how each structure works, and how each form maximizes the companies’ profits. I will also explain how to find the maximum possible price for an object before the company will start to lose money. If the company is not making a profit the company may go bankrupt. The company must pay attention to its market structure along with its own profit margins. The following are some characteristics of a company’s market structure. “These characteristics are: (a) number of firms in the market, (b) control over the price of the relevant product, (c) type of the product sold in the market, (d) barriers to new firms entering the market, and (e) existence of non-price competition in the market” (Sahu, pg.1, 2010) By determining how many companies are in a specific market you can determine the amount of competition there is producing the same product. What the product is will determine if the item is being supplied in a competitive market structure or a monopoly. This will also determine the amount of profits made by the company on the item. There are a few barriers that can hinder a company from entering a market. These barriers are product availability, ownership, patents, and if the company owns the items original location...
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...Differentiating Between Market Structures Differentiating Between Market Structures The “Differentiating between Market Structures Simulation” applied all four of the market structures to four major divisions of a fictitious transportation company called as East-West Transportation. The four divisions for the various products they transport are Consumer Goods Division, Coal Division, Chemical Division, and Forest Products Division. This paper will summarize the advantages and limitations of supply and demand, the effectiveness of structure, and will analyze how each market structure maximized their profits. The market structures represented in this paper are Perfect Competition, Monopoly, Oligopoly, and Monopolistic Competition. Perfect Competition According to the simulation the Consumer Goods Division operated in a market that perfectly competitive. There were several buyers and sellers, each of the sellers being a price taker and there were no barriers to entry. The limitations or advantages of the Consumer Goods Division are as follows. The competition is high so the demand for their service will be low. Continuing to supply this service would mean the company would have to spend more on improving the quality of its service so as to maintain and increase the demand. In the simulation, the first decision made was whether to cease operations in the Consumer Goods Division or to continue operations and minimize any losses. Monopoly The second scenario in the simulation...
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...Forms of Industrial Organization Economists group industries into four distinct market structures: monopoly, oligopoly, monopolistic competition, and competitive market. These four market models differ in several respects: the number of firms in the industry, whether those firms produce a standardized product or try to differentiate their products from those of other firms, and how easy or how difficult it is for firms to enter the industry (McConnell & Brue, 2004). This paper further defines each market structure and provides an example of a company representing each market structure. Monopoly A monopoly exists when a specific individual or an enterprise has sufficient control over a particular product or service to determine significantly the terms on which other individuals shall have access to it, and what pricing can be charged for it. A great example of a monopoly was the company Standard Oil, which existed roughly from 1895 to 1911. Standard Oil grew by acquiring its competitors and forming secret agreements with railroad transport to allow them to undercut competitors. Because Standard Oil was able to sell its product cheaper than its competitors, consumers continued to purchase Standard Oil product, forcing the other companies to either go out of business or sell out to Standard Oil while there was still some value in the company. Marketshare soared and Standard Oil gained the ability to set what pricing it wanted on its product because other competitors...
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...a perfect market has a horizontal marginal revenue curve. Monopolies are firms with a majority share in the market. Monopoly firms set the price because there is less competition and high barriers to entry/exit because of the high start up costs into the industry. So the demand curve is downward sloping because they set the price so to attract more demand they can lower the price. In a perfect market the demand is perfectly inelastic because consumers have perfect information meaning that if a firm increases the price, demand will go down due to lots of competitors and low barriers to entry, so firms in a perfect market are price takers. 2. Explain why prices in oligopolies remain fixed in the long term. An oligopoly is where a few large firms have a majority of the market share. Prices in oligopolies remain fixed in the long term because if a firm lowers in the price, all companies will follow because demand is price elastic. Thus meaning that revenue will go down for each company. So due to price collusion the businesses each agree on a fixed price and instead compete with non financial methods instead, to prevent losses of the revenue. 3. Explain why a monopoly can achieve supernormal profits and a firm in a perfect market can only achieve normal profits. Monopolies are firms with a majority share in the market, usually 25% or more. They can achieve supernormal profits because there are extremely high barriers to entry/exit into the market due to high...
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