...Evaluate whether amazon should be regulated due to its monopoly power (12) Amazon should be regulated due to its monopoly power, as the working conditions for its employees are awful. The company treat workers abusively- an example of this being where Amazon hired paramedics to revive workers suffering from heat-related problems rather than buy air conditioners. Due to their dominance in the book market, amazon have become a 21st century monopoly and thus seem to only care about their profits as a posed to the conditions of their workers. The consequence of this is that Amazon may have a negative image in the media and may lose repeat customers due to their unethical ways. Secondly, Amazon should be regulated due to the brutal way that they also deal with suppliers. Amazon have frequent and on-going fights between their publisher ‘Hatchette’ over the pricing of eBooks. With amazon holding 65% of the e-book market, the company tried to level the pricing of e-books across the board- however other companies objected. Amazon also squeezed the publisher by delaying delivery of its books- sometimes by week. This difficult relationship between amazon, its suppliers and competitors means that the company is isolating itself. This could be a negative as suppliers may not be willing to give them their supplies if they become more and more inconvenient. Also, having good relations with other possible competitors could increase profits for the company as they may be able to work together...
Words: 512 - Pages: 3
...Discuss the view that monopoly power is the natural result for firms who ‘win the game’ of competition? Monopoly power or market power is the ability for a business to earn high levels of profit by being able to choose their pricing strategies in their market and being able to raise to what they want in the same market and don’t have to worry about to losing costumers if they have true monopoly power then price still shouldn’t effect there demand. Being a monopoly means they are the only supplier in that market. They are able to keep their prices high for a sustainable amount of time. There are only certain companies that are able to higher prices for measurable periods of time these companies have little or no competition in the market so that by increasing the prices wouldn’t mean a loss of costumers and income because there is no competition in there market. It lies at one end of the spectrum of perfect competition it means that there is only one seller in that market that they are able to be the dominant firm and exert a considerable amount of power. (William J. Baumol EconomicsPrinciplesP264-269) There are no preliminary assumptions about the bargaining power of any of the players, and, in particular, no player is assumed a priori to have any price setting power. Provide general core results for monopoly, and their results suggest the following conclusions. First, if the seller has the capacity to supply all of the buyers, the outcome is almost completely...
Words: 2732 - Pages: 11
...monopoly is a type of market where there is only one firm producing a good or service for that particular market. Pure monopoly is wen there is a sole supplier with no close substitutes, which rarely happens. A more common thing to happen is monopoly power. Monopoly power can even occur in oligopolistic markets: a market with a few dominating firms producing goods or services. Monopoly power is when a firm can behave independently of competition pressures, due to it’s large share in the market. To have monopolistic powers, a firm should own 25% or more of the market it’s in. One of the main sources of monopoly power are barriers to entry. these are obstacles that prevent other smaller firms from entering the market because it’d be too difficult or expensive. Barriers to entry can either be set up deliberately or their occur naturally. Deliberate barriers to entry, also known as artificial barriers to entry, occur when monopolistic markets set their prices. Unlike hims in perfect competition where they are price takers, monopolistic and oligopolistic firms are price makers. Therefore firms with monopoly power have the advantage of limit pricing: lower prices with higher output. They create a price lower than the average total cost (ATC) of potential entrants into the market. Using their better knowledge of the market, they use this mechanism to send signals saying that it’s impossible for other firms to make profits. They do this because if they set price where MC=MR, also...
Words: 426 - Pages: 2
...MICROECONOMICS FOR MBAS PPC CMYBLK ................................................................................................................ 10 Monopoly power and firm pricing decisions If monopoly persists, monopoly will always sit at the helm of government … its bigness is an unwholesome inflation created by privileges and exemptions which it ought not to enjoy. If there are men in this country big enough to own the government of the United States, they are going to own it. Woodrow Wilson That competition is a virtue, at least as far as enterprises are concerned, has been a basic article of faith in the American Tradition, and a vigorous antitrust policy has long been regarded as both beneficial and necessary, not only to extend competitive forces into new regions but also to preserve them where they may be flourishing at the moment. G. Warren Nutter and Henry Alder Einhorn t the bottom of almost all arguments against the free market is a deep-seated concern about the distorting (some would say corrupting) influence of monopolies. People who are suspicious of the free market fear that too many producers are unchecked by the forces of competition, but instead hold considerable monopoly power or control over market outcomes. Unless the government intervenes, these firms are likely to exploit their power for their own selfish benefit. This theme has been fundamental to the writings of economist John Kenneth Galbraith: The initiative in deciding what is produced comes...
Words: 12857 - Pages: 52
...------------------------------------------------- Monopoly From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This article is about the economic term. For the board game, see Monopoly (game). For other uses, seeMonopoly (disambiguation). "I Like a Little Competition"—J. P. Morgan by Art Young. Cartoon relating to the answer J. P. Morgan gave when asked whether he disliked competition at the Pujo Committee.[1] A monopoly (from Greek monos μόνος (alone or single) + polein πωλεῖν (to sell)) exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity (this contrasts with a monopsony which relates to a single entity's control of a market to purchase a good or service, and with oligopoly which consists of a few entities dominating an industry).[2]Monopolies are thus characterized by a lack of economic competition to produce the good or service and a lack of viable substitute goods.[3] The verb "monopolise" refers to the process by which a company gains the ability to raise prices or exclude competitors. In economics, a monopoly is a single seller. In law, a monopoly is a business entity that has significant market power, that is, the power to charge high prices.[4] Although monopolies may be big businesses, size is not a characteristic of a monopoly. A small business may still have the power to raise prices in a small industry (or market).[4] A monopoly is distinguished from a monopsony, in which there is only one buyer of a product or service; a monopoly may also have monopsony control...
Words: 10774 - Pages: 44
... Debate Are government controlled monopolies better than perfectly competitive markets? yes government controlled monopolies are better than perfectly competitive markets:- 1. The reason that governments tolerate monopolies is because they are also one themselves. They have ultimate monopolistic control and the legitimate use of power and force. Whether it’s criminal justice, police, military or mail almost all government agencies function as a monopoly. They also like to give out monopoly favor to some of their well connected friends. 2. Monopsony power. A firm with monopoly selling power may also be in a position to exploit monopsony buying power. For example, supermarkets may use their dominant market position to squeeze profit margins of farmers. source:- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_monopoly no government controlled monopolies are not better than perfectly competitive markets:- 1. I think the formation of monopoly is very important , especially during the time of recession. They can push out infant firms and became internationally competitive. The fact that they have an EOS can reflect cheaper prices of their products. However they have to earn abnormal profits , therefore they have to minimize total costs , to do that they have to pay less to their employees. That is the only disadvantage. 2. A monopoly is allocatively inefficient because in monopoly the price is greater than MC. P > MC. In a competitive market...
Words: 272 - Pages: 2
...Monopoly is nearly always seen as something undesirable. Courts have wrestled with monopoly for ages, sometimes defining it as: "the power to control prices and exclude competition", "restraining trade", or "unfair and anti-competitive behavior." Should monopolistic practices be condemned and outlawed? Let's look at anti-competitive behavior and practices, but let's not confine ourselves to what's traditionally seen as monopoly. Monopoly means that a firm is sole seller of a product without any close substitutes, controls over the prices the firms charge. Government sometime grants a monopoly because doing so is viewed not only to be in the public interest, but also to encourage it with price incentives. However, monopolies fail to meet their resource allocation efficiently, producing less than the socially desirable quantities of output and charging prices above marginal cost. Thus, this inefficiency of monopoly causes the quantity sold to fall short of social needs. Law The existence of a very high market share does not always mean consumers are paying excessive prices since the threat of new entrants to the market can restrain a high-market-share company's price increases. Competition law does not make merely having a monopoly illegal, but rather abusing the power a monopoly may confer, for instance through exclusionary practices (i.e. pricing high just because you are the only one around.) It may also be noted that it is illegal to try to obtain a monopoly, by practices...
Words: 749 - Pages: 3
...Antitrust Practices and Market Power | DeVry University | Eva Wise | Antitrust Policy consists of laws and government actions designed to prevent monopoly and promote competition. On June 23, 2011, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission initiated an antitrust probe into Google, the world’s largest search engine. FTC’s investigation entailed a broad probe into Google’s business practices and weather it was abusing its search power to drive traffic to its own properties over rival sites and services. After a nearly twenty month high-profile investigation, the federal government announced on January 3, 2013, that its dropping an “exhaustive” probe into Google as it found no evidence the company was abusing its search power. Google was investigated under violating the Sherman antitrust act. “The definitive antitrust statute, passed by Congress in 1890, that prohibits monopolies or unreasonable combinations of companies to restrict or in any way control interstate commerce. Specifically outlawed is two or more persons engaging in monopolistic practices, such as price fixing, although it does not outlaw price-fixing per se. It was amended in 1914 by the Clayton Act, which outlaws interlocking directorates and deals with acquisitions that aim to restrain or eliminate competition. (Your Dictionary Law)” “For example, one element of a duty-to-deal claim under the Sherman Act is proving that Google’s treatment of rival websites harms consumers; even the cleverest economist would be...
Words: 550 - Pages: 3
...Journal Topic: Monopoly and Antitrust The market power of either buyers or sellers, harms buyers who may have the opportunity to buy at competitive prices. It also reduces the production, which causes a deadweight loss. Excessive market power also raises issues of equity and justice, because if a company has too much monopoly power, it makes profit at the expense of consumers. A monopoly is a situation in which there is a single supplier or seller of a good or service for which there are no close substitutes. Economists and others have long known that unregulated monopolies tend to damage the economy by (1) charging higher prices, (2) providing inferior goods and services and (3) suppressing innovation, as compared with a competitive situation (i.e., the existence of numerous, competing suppliers of the good or service).[1] In theory, the Government or State could collect the excess profits that the company obtained through taxes and then redistribute it among the buyers of the product. However, this redistribution is usually not feasible. It is difficult to ascertain what proportion of the profits of an enterprise is attributable to monopoly power and it is even more difficult to locate all buyers and reimburse them an amount proportional to their purchases. How can society, then, limit the market power and prevent the anti-competitively use of it? In the case of a natural monopoly, i.e. an electricity/power company, the solution...
Words: 2628 - Pages: 11
...Differences in the Market Structures In economics there are four main market structures: perfect competition, monopoly, monopolistic competition, and oligopoly. Each of these market structures faces the common factor of competition. Various degrees of competition are what separate these market structures. Secondly, the commodity or product plays a huge role in these market structures because some products have substitutes or identical products. Lastly, we will observe the barriers to which a firms face when entering or exiting the market. This is a very important factor in the market structures because relative difficulty in entry and exit of the markets will determine what type of market structure we are examining. Market structures are based on two extremes known as perfect competition and monopoly. Oligopolies lie in the middle of this spectrum. A comparison and contrast of each market structure in short term and long term scenarios will be detailed in the following paper. Perfect competition and Monopoly In a Perfect competition there are four conditions that characterize the perfect competition structure: a large number of buyers & sellers, free entry & exit, product homogeneity, and perfect information. Each of these aspects is compared when examining the differences between monopoly and perfect competition. First in perfect competition there are a large number of small firms. Perfectly competitive firms’ demand curves are perfectly elastic while a monopoly’s...
Words: 2639 - Pages: 11
...The Affects of Monopolies on Our current Microeconomic Situation More than anything else, the progress of the world in the 21st century depends on economics. The microeconomic situation of the United States has several determining factors contributing to it's current status. What we earn, what we save, what we spend, how deligently we work and retain our jobs is all part of the microeconomic system that controls our daiy lives. Another large factor hindering the success or downfall of the current economy is the effect of monopolies. By defintion a monopoly is a large company that has exclusive control of a commodity or service in a particular market giving them the power to manipulate prices. In a sense a monopoly is the logical result of competition. The roles of a monopoly in microeconomics severly affect the manner in which individual businesses can effectivly conduct their business in more than one way. Monopolies have forever affected our economy but these following pages are more of a generalized overview of the affects they have had strictly in the 21st century. One role of a monopoly in microeconomics is the effect it has on the pricing of goods and services. Monopolies can impact consumer prices in two obviously different ways, they can cause prices to drop so low that it forces companies out of business, or it can cause prices to skyrocket making it difficult for consumers to purchase a product. Neither of these options are necessarily good for the consumers...
Words: 933 - Pages: 4
...CHAPTER 24 Pure Monopoly A. Short-Answer, Essays, and Problems 1. What are the major characteristics of pure monopoly? 2. What are the major barriers to entry that explain the existence of monopoly? 3. What is the relationship between economies of scale and a natural monopoly? 4. Some economists argue that pure monopolists will purposely avoid the price-output combination that will maximize their profits. Explain how this less-than-maximum profit behavior could be rational. 5. In what ways, if any, do the demand schedules for a purely competitive firm and a pure monopolist differ? What significance does this have for the price-output behavior of each? 6. Why is marginal revenue less than price for every level of output except the first? 7. How does price elasticity affect the price-quantity combination and segment of the demand curve that the monopolist would prefer for price and output? 8. A pure monopolist determines that at the current level of output the marginal cost of production is $2.00, average variable costs are $2.75, and average total costs are $2.95. The marginal revenue is $2.75. What would you recommend that the monopolist do to maximize profits? 9. A pure monopolist sells output for $4.00 per unit at the current level of production. At this level of output, the marginal cost is $3.00, average variable costs are $3.75, and average total costs are...
Words: 7542 - Pages: 31
...Part A – (8 marks) Explain monopoly and monopolistic competition market structures, and identify the key factors that distinguish them Part B – (18 marks) Choose two different industries from your home country representing monopoly and monopolistic competition market structures. Identify their key characteristics in relation to the factors used to differentiate between the market structures. Using the real 5/5 data from your case studies analyse how well each case study fits with the different market structures. Part C – (6 marks) For the monopoly firm in your case study, identify the potential market power that it has and the types of controls (if any) that are in place to limit this. Part D – (6 marks) For the monopoly firm in your case study, identify if there are other benefits generated by the monopoly that would be difficult to gain from a monopolistic competition market structure. Part E – (6 marks) For the monopolistic competition industry, identify the extent to which firms are able to differentiate their products, and whether this allows them to gain some price advantages. SOLUTION Monopoly and monopolistic competition market structures Monopoly Market Structure The monopoly is understood to be the market structure associated with single seller of a product which has huge demand either as a result of necessity or because of the huge customer base (Gillespie,2011). However this may not be correct that in case of monopoly there is single seller. But...
Words: 2478 - Pages: 10
...Chapter 11 Price-Searcher Markets with High Entry Barriers Questions 1 through 10 are a suggested chapter quiz. 1. When economists talk about a barrier to entry, they are referring to a. a factor that makes it difficult for potential competitors to enter a market. b. the opportunity cost of equity capital that is incurred by a firm producing at minimum total cost. c. the downward-sloping portion of the long-run average total cost curve. d. the declining output experienced as additional units of a variable input are used with a given amount of a fixed input. 2. A monopolist will maximize profits by a. setting the price at the level that will maximize per-unit profit. b. producing the output where marginal revenue equals total cost and charging a price along the demand curve. c. selling at the price on the demand curve at the output rate where marginal revenue equals marginal cost. d. producing at the output rate where price equals marginal cost. 3. Which one of the following is the best description of a monopolist? a. a firm that produces a single product b. a firm that is the sole producer of a narrowly defined product class, such as yellow, grade-A butter produced in Jackson County, Wisconsin c. a firm that is the sole producer of a product for which there are no good substitutes in a market with high barriers to entry d. a firm that is large relative to...
Words: 15662 - Pages: 63
...Nicholas Messina Econ201 What are some of the different types of barriers to entry that give rise to monopoly power? Give an example of each. Should government let monopolists exist or not? What are the benefits of monopoly market structure and what are those shortcomings related to monopoly? What is your opinion? (At least two pages and write down the answers to each question asked) In a perfectly competitive market, there are many firms, none of which is large in size. In contrast, in a monopolistic market there is only one firm, which is large in size. This one firm provides all of the market's supply. Some conditions that determine a monopolistic market is the fact there is only one firm competing and has entire control over supply of product with no close substitutes. The second is that there must be a high barrier to entry to explain why other firms have not yet entered the market. What are some of the different types of barriers to entry that give rise to monopoly power? Barriers to entry are defined as legal, technological, or market forces that may discourage or prevent potential competitors from entering a market. There are many different types of barriers that include government barriers, control of a physical resource, technological advancements, and large start-up costs. Governments may erect barriers that prohibits or severely limits new competitors. This is done in many cities and states that may allow a household to only use one certain energy, water...
Words: 849 - Pages: 4
