Contestable Markets

1. Contestable Markets A2 Economics

2. Aims: • Identify the key characteristics / assumptions of a contestable market • Critically apply these characteristics to the case study material • Appreciate how contestability can affect the behaviour of firms • Understand reasons why many markets are becoming more contestable

3. Do the different market structures exist? • Need to consider how realistic each sector of the market structure really is! • Very few Perfectly Competitive Firms or Monopolies…. Many oligopolies and lots of firms operating in Monopolistic Competition. • However, many businesses have aims which are to continue to expand & grow….. Towards a market structure that is contestable.

4. Syllabus requirements • You should be able: • to discuss the significance of market contestabilityfor the performance of an industry. • You should be familiar with concepts, such as sunk costsand hit and run competition. • You should understand how the threat of new entrants affects the behaviour of existing (incumbent) firms.

5. So which markets face this? What is a Contestable Market? • Contestable markets are imperfectly competitive markets in which firms face real and potential competition • The threat of “hit and run entry” from new rivals may be sufficient to keep the industry operating at a competitive price and output • The key requirement for a contestable market is the absence of sunk costs • A perfectly contestable market occurs only when entry and exit into is perfectly costless

6. Importance of degree of contestability… virtually every market is contestable to some degree • … even when it appears that the monopoly position of a dominant seller is unassailable. • This can have important implications for the competitive behaviour (conduct) of existing firms and clearly then affects the performance of a marketfrom an economic efficiency viewpoint

7. Baumol defined contestable markets as existing where “an entrant has access to all production techniques available to the incumbents, is not prohibited from wooing the incumbent’s customers, and entry decisions can be reversed without cost” If an industry is contestable then incumbent firms may be forced to act as if they are in competition and be satisfied with making only normal profits because of the threat of hit and run tactics Baumol on market contestability (1982)

8. There are 3 conditions for market contestability • The ability and or legal right to use the best available technology – production techniques. So new entrants would have the same costs as existing firms. • Legal freedom to enter a market • The relative absence of sunk costs / exit costs – barriers to enter and exit. Fewer barriers mean greater contestability Perfect knowledge No barriers

9. Contestable markets have ‘absent’ sunk costs Reminder about Sunk Costs • Sunk costs are those costs which are irrecoverable to the owners of the firm should it decide (a) to close down or (b) leave the market • A sunk cost is a past expense or loss that cannot be altered by current or future actions e.g. advertising or goodwill. • Sunk costs represent a barrier to entry in an industry because they scare potential entrants from entering – i.e. if they fail then these costs will be wasted. • When sunk costs are high a market is more likely to behave like a monopoly. Same if there are high barriers to entry.

10. Contestability - how incumbent firms behave • The theory of contestable markets argues that it is not the number of firms in an industry which is key but rather the degree of barriers to entry and sunk costs. • If businesses are technically monopolies or oligopolies but other firms could enter the market relatively easily then the existing firms will behave much more like competitive firms. • The threat of competition has a similar effect to actual competition.

11. Hit and Run • A contestable market allows hit and run entry. • If a monopoly is making supernormal profits then (assuming low entry and exit costs) new entrants will be tempted to enter the market and take some of this profit before leaving the market. • To stop this the monopolist will have to lower its price to where ATC = AR ie it is only making normal profits. • Thus the threat of competition will lead to a higher output and lower price than under traditional monopoly theory.

12. Hit and Run entry and cream-skimming • Hit and run entry • Short run entry into a contestable market seeking to take some of the monopoly profits available and then get out quickly • Possible when the entry and exit costs are low • Possible when the existing firms are charging high prices relative to cost • Cream-skimming • This strategy involves finding segments of the market that are high in value added (or high profit margins) and exploiting those markets by selling only to the most profitable parts of the business • E.g. business post rather than household mail e.g. EOS.

13. CASE STUDY: Low cost airlines

14. Phase 1 • Identify the key characteristics of a contestable market. • Perfect knowledge • no competitive disadvantages • Access to best available technologies • No barriers to entry / exit • No sunk costs / irrecoverable set up costs • Legal freedom • Number of firms? • Many or few!

15. As is often the case with many industries that you come across in economics, you may not know a great deal of detail about them. • A detailed knowledge of the industry is not necessary but you can think about what the basic business activities of firms within such industries are. • Think about the following questions:

16. Phase 2 • Identify what you would consider to be the 5 main airline firms based in the UK. • Identify the main UK airports from which they fly. • What are the main destinations to which they fly? • (A general outline will be sufficient - you do not need to go into great detail here!)

17. Info • The whole market might be classed as the 'market for airline travel', but within that area there may be lots of what could be called 'micro-markets', each of which is subject to competition. • For example, the London to Dublin route could be seen as being one market whilst the Birmingham to Malaga route another. • In this case, therefore, there might be many markets making up the 'whole market', each of which could contribute to the firm's overall profits and which can be subject to entry and exit relatively easily. • What may make things even trickier is that larger airline carriers could also be competing on these routes; British Airways, for example, may well see opportunities to increase its scope for developing its business by using some of its spare capacity to fill profitable routes it does not yet fly.

18. Phase 3 • Think about the types of costs a firm might incur in running a four times daily service to and from Bristol and Edinburgh. • What might be the key factors determining the demand for such a route? • Identify the key market segments in flying routes within the UK and to key destinations in Europe. • Let's now return to the key characteristics of contestable markets and ask whether the behaviour of firms in this industry seems to match with the predictions of the theory.

19. Phase 4 • Make brief notes on what you think might be the price structures of the five main airlines you identified in Phase 2? • Then take a look at the notes provided.

28. Competitive response • Today, major airline carriers are judged according to their "low-cost" label. As a result, the biggest impact of Low Cost Carriers (LCCs) on business travel might soon lie in the reactions of traditional airlines. To fight back against the cheap fares advertised by LCCs, major carriers have adopted two parallel strategies: • First, they have focused on the quality of their service (their line is, in short: we do not skimp on service). • Second, they have launched low fares of their own to meet the LCCs in the price war. • This has been understood more quickly in the UK than anywhere else in Europe. For companies, the issue of "low-cost carriers" is "out of date". The focus is now about leveraging traditional airlines low fares. Large German and Dutch companies are also heading in this direction. Potential cost cutting is likely to grow in the months ahead. Major savings opportunities await companies, providing they are able to take full advantage of them." Source: Quote taken from What benefits do low-cost carriers really bring to business travel in Europe?, a 'White Paper' report from Carlson Wagonlit Travel [PDF, 260 KB]

29. To what extent is entry and exit in the market 'costless'? • As Baumol comments, no market entry or exit is completely costless but the key principle is the how far an entrant would suffer damage as a result of entering and subsequently leaving the market. This is where the work you did on 'micro-markets' above will be relevant. • How would you describe the market structure of the low cost airlines industry? • Looking at the pricing strategies of each company in this market, is there evidence that fierce competition is succeeding in driving prices down as we might expect in a perfectly competitive market structure? • What response are the traditional airlines making to the impact of the low-cost carriers? (The quote and link below may be of help in pointing you in the right direction).

30. Homework • Read Anderton p361-363 for tomorrow

31. Plenary: What is that “Next” tablet computer about? • Extend brand? • Short-term profits to be had? • Hit and run?