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OLIGOPOLISTIC BEHAVIOR: Oligopolistic industries are nothing if not diverse. Some sell identical products, others differentiated products. Some have three or four firms of nearly equal size, others have one large dominate firm (a clear industry leader) and a handful of smaller firms (that follow the leader). Whatever products they may sell, and however they may be organized, oligopolistic industries share several behavioral tendencies, including (1) interdependence, (2) rigid prices, (3) nonprice competition, (4) mergers, and (5) collusion. In other words, each oligopolistic firm keeps a close eye on the decisions made by other firms in the industry (interdependence), are reluctant to change prices (rigid prices), but instead try to attract the competitors customers using incentives other than prices (nonprice competition), and when they get tired of competing with their competitors they are inclined to cooperate either legally (mergers) or illegally (collusion).
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                           VOLUNTARY EXCHANGE: The process of willingly trading one valuable commodity (good, service, or resource) for another. The key term is "willingly," which distinguishes voluntary exchanges from involuntary exchanges, such as those created by government taxes. Voluntary exchanges are the foundation of market transactions. Market transactions rely on voluntary exchanges. Buyers voluntarily trade money for a good and sellers voluntary trade a good for money. Neither buyers nor sellers are forced to engage in the exchange. They do so of their own free will.A Voluntary ExchangeSuppose, for example, that Edgar Millbottom, Shady Valley's resident teenage musical connoisseur, has come across a shoebox full of classic 8-track tapes, containing the memorable works of Englebert Humperdink, while rummaging through his attic. Because Edgar's musical tastes run more in the direction of rock groups like Live Headless Squirrels, he is willing and able to part with these 8-track treasures. A few phone calls, a newspaper ad, and some flyers at the mall, produce an interested party, Pollyanna Pumpernickel, who happens to be a die-hard Humperdink fan.Edgar and Pollyanna are prime candidates for a voluntary exchange; a voluntary exchange that is beneficial to both. Edgar gives up his dust-collecting shoebox of Humperdink 8-track tapes and receives a modest monetary payment. His living standard ratchets up a notch or two. Pollyanna also benefits from this exchange. She parts with a modest monetary payment and receives a treasured set of Englebert Humperdink 8-track tapes. Voluntary for BothThis voluntary exchange only happens if BOTH sides are agreeable. Should Edgar develop a liking for Humperdink music and is not willing to part with these items, then the exchange does not happen. If Pollyanna finds other uses for the modest monetary payment, such as repairing the hole in her roof created by an exploding hot water heater, then the exchange does not happen. Unless BOTH sides want the exchange, it does not happen.
Recommended Citation:VOLUNTARY EXCHANGE, AmosWEB Encyclonomic WEB*pedia, http://www.AmosWEB.com, AmosWEB LLC, 2000-2024. [Accessed: April 27, 2024].
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Today, you are likely to spend a great deal of time touring the new suburban shopping complex seeking to buy either throw pillows for your living room sofa or a hepa filter for your furnace. Be on the lookout for defective microphones.
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Potato chips were invented in 1853 by a irritated chef repeatedly seeking to appease the hard to please Cornelius Vanderbilt who demanded french fried potatoes that were thinner and crisper than normal.
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"Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely. " -- Auguste Rodin, Sculptor
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