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TRANSFERRABLE INPUT: An input that has a relatively large geographic market area due to the low cost of transportation. The low transportation cost means it is easier (that is, less expensive) to bring the input to the production activity rather than locating the production activity near the input. Like many things, transferrable inputs are a matter of degree. At the other end of the spectrum lies local inputs. Most manufactured intermediate goods tend to have a high degree of transferability. Information and energy inputs are also relatively easily transported.
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OLIGOPOLY AND MONOPOLY: Oligopoly and monopoly have some similarities, both tend to be relatively large and possess significant market control, but also have a few important differences, oligopoly market has more than one firm. The dividing line between oligopoly and monopoly, however, can be blurred due to the closeness of substitutes and the inclination of oligopoly firms to collude. Oligopoly is a market structure containing a small number of relatively large firms that often produce slightly differentiated output and with significant barriers to entry. Monopoly is a market structure containing a single firm that produces a good with no close substitutes and with significant barriers to entry. While it might seem as though the difference between oligopoly and monopoly is clear cut, such is not always the case.A comparison between these two market structures is bound to be illuminating. - One or Few: The primary difference between oligopoly and monopoly is that monopoly contains a single seller, whereas oligopoly has two or more sellers. Such a difference might seem to provide a clear separation. But not necessarily.
- Substitutes: In some cases, the difference between oligopoly and monopoly is blurred by the closeness of substitutes. A monopoly produces a good with NO close substitutes. An oligopoly firms produces a good with a small number of relatively close substitutes.
However, the oligopoly-monopoly difference is blurred if an oligopoly firm pursues product differentiation to such an extent that it creates a product with no close substitutes. As such, the oligopoly moves closer to monopoly. For example, Microsoft was once one of several oligopoly software companies. However, continued modification and enhancements of its software increasingly reduced the degree of substitutability with other software, moving it closer to monopoly status.
Alternatively, changes in the goods produced by other firms can make the good produced by a monopoly good more of a substitute. As such, the monopoly firm becomes more of an oligopoly. For example, AT&T once held a nationwide monopoly on telephone services. Technological advances, such as cellular telephones, allowed other firms to offer increasingly close substitutes, moving AT&T to oligopoly status.
- Cooperation: The dividing line is also blurred between oligopoly and monopoly due to cooperation and collusion. The small number of large firms in oligopoly creates an opportunity and an incentive to cooperate rather than compete. Doing so can effectively transform an oligopoly industry into a monopoly. The industry might contain more than one firm, but those firms act as one.
Recommended Citation:OLIGOPOLY AND MONOPOLY, AmosWEB Encyclonomic WEB*pedia, http://www.AmosWEB.com, AmosWEB LLC, 2000-2024. [Accessed: April 28, 2024]. Check Out These Related Terms... | | | | | | Or For A Little Background... | | | | | | | | | | | | And For Further Study... | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
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YELLOW CHIPPEROON [What's This?]
Today, you are likely to spend a great deal of time flipping through mail order catalogs trying to buy either a bottle of blackcherry flavored spring water or a travel case for you toothbrush. Be on the lookout for letters from the Internal Revenue Service. Your Complete Scope
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The first U.S. fire insurance company was established by Benjamin Franklin in 1752 in Philadelphia.
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"The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet." -- Aristotle
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FGLS Feasible Generalized Least Squares
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