1 / 8

AAEC 3315 Fundamentals of Ag Economics

AAEC 3315 Fundamentals of Ag Economics. Chapter 12 Imperfectly Competitive Markets. Imperfectly Competitive Markets. There are three categories of imperfect competition among sellers Monopoly Monopolistic Competition Oligopoly. Monopolies. Characteristics of monopolies are:

livana
Download Presentation

AAEC 3315 Fundamentals of Ag Economics

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. AAEC 3315Fundamentals of Ag Economics Chapter 12 Imperfectly Competitive Markets

  2. Imperfectly Competitive Markets • There are three categories of imperfect competition among sellers • Monopoly • Monopolistic Competition • Oligopoly

  3. Monopolies • Characteristics of monopolies are: • Single seller • Unique Product, i.e., there are no close substitutes • Ability to Set Prices (monopolist is a price maker; discriminating monopolists charge different prices to different classes of consumers) • Barriers to Entry (a monopoly generally has an economic, legal or technical barrier to entry to other firms)

  4. Monopoly • Strictly speaking, a pure monopoly - a one firm industry - is rare. • Monopolies may arise because sometimes it is the most efficient way to organize production and marketing activities. • Instead of breaking up monopolies in the US, it has been common policy to regulate them. • The government has established many agencies to protect consumers from the adverse consequences of oligopolies & monopolies • Interstate Commerce Commission regulates transportation • Federal Communication Commission regulates telephone rates, tv, radio, etc. • State & Local Power Commissions regulate local utilities

  5. Monopolistic Competition • Monopolistic Competition differs from Perfect Competition in the following ways: • Differentiated Products (main difference from pure competition. • Many firms, but fewer than under perfect competition • Limited control over prices • A firm cannot increase prices significantly without losing customers to competitors.

  6. Monopolistic Competition • Limited or restricted entry • Entry is more difficult than in a perfectly competitive market • Firms are fairly large, and capital requirements are substantial • Advertising dollars alone can create a barrier to entry • Emphasis on brand names associated with higher quality

  7. Oligopolies • Oligopoly means “few sellers” • Characteristics of Oligopolies are: • Few Sellers - (ex. auto manufactures, oil industries, etc.) • Some control over prices • Control over prices is limited due to interdependence with other firms (to avoid price wars) • Among oligopolistic industries are: • Major farm machinery companies • Farm chemical companies • Major meat packers

  8. Oligopolies • Oligopolistic industries can result from: • More extreme product differentiation • Higher entry costs • Greater dependence on costly & long-term research & development efforts • Easier access to major financial markets • Aggressive merger & acquisition strategies

More Related