Chapter 14 - Monopoly Flashcards
monopolist
A firm that is the only producer of a good that has no close substitutes
Monopoly
An industry controlled by a monopolist
Two dimensions market structures are based on:
- The number of producers in the market
- If the products are differentiated or not
Antitrust laws
Laws which prevent monopolies from emerging
Market power
The ability of a firm to raise prices
Barrier to entry
Something that prevents other firms from entering the industry
Necessary for monopolies to earn economic profits
Natural monopoly
Exists when increasing returns to scale provide a large cost advantage to a single firm that produces all of an industry’s output
Patent
Gives an inventor a temporary monopoly in the use or sale of an invention
Copyright
Gives the creator of a literary or artistic work sole rights to profit from that work
Public ownership
The good is supplied by the government or by a firm owned by the government
Price regulation
Limits the price that a monopolist is allowed to charge
Single-price monopolist
Offers its product to all consumers at the same price
Price discrimination
Sellers engage in this when they charge different prices to different consumers for the same good
Perfect price discrimination
Takes place when a monopolist charges each consumer his willingness to pay