market structure essay questions and answers

Sample Economics Essay Questions – Market Structures

JC Economics Market Structures Essay Questions

Just like any game, knowing the rules of the game will certainly help you to understand and to win the game more effortlessly. This is the same for your upcoming Prelims or eventual GCE A-Level Econs exams for H2 students, focusing on essays on Market Structures . And one of the short-cuts for your H2 Econs (9757 Syllabus) is to look through a list of questions because they give you a specific way to process your thinking, and also to check whether you are familiar with the content topic you wish to focus on in JC Economics exams.

Often students struggle with essays because they see an novel question and they panic, or simply copy-&-paste from lecture notes. One easy way to solve this is to be exposed to the possible questions for the major topics so that you will be well-prepared. You need to become used to this process of looking at an unfamiliar question and connecting it with content knowledge you have— this is the key to scoring for H2 Economics.

Here is the listing of Market Structures essay question list:

Q1. Cathay Cineplexes is exploring the viability of going “ticketless” using mobile apps and the possibility of showcasing movies in 4D in the foreseeable future.

(a) Explain how a firm like Cathay Cineplexes is likely to determine its output and pricing decisions. [10] (b) Discuss if product differentiation is the best way for cinema operators in Singapore to compete. [15] (price discrimination)

Q2. Singapore’s latest attraction, Gardens by the Bay, comprises an Outdoor Gardens with free entry and two Cooled Conservatories with entry charges. Those living in Singapore, whether Singapore citizens or foreign residents, are charged the same lower rates, compared to tourists.

(a) Explain whether the above case is an example of price discrimination. (b) To what extent is the practice of price discrimination beneficial? (price discrimination)

Q3(a) Explain with diagrams how airlines and small clothing retailers engage in price discrimination and why are they able to do so. Q3(b) Discuss the extent to which these firms aim to maximise profits according to traditional economic theory. [13] (price discrimination)

Q4. Microsoft invests billions on Research and Development (R & D) which has contributed to a stream of innovations that have transformed business and the homes. To encourage innovation, intellectual property rights are given to innovators for a period of exclusivity to earn a reasonable return on their investment. Source: The Straits Times

(a) Explain how barriers to entry affect a firm’s pricing behaviour and profits earned. (b) To what extent is Microsoft’s market power justified? (Monopoly & Oligopoly)

Q5(a) Explain how perfectly and imperfectly competitive firms determine their price and output to maximize profits. [10] Q5(b) Discuss the extent to which firms in Singapore determine their price and output to maximise profits. [15] (perfectly and imperfectly competitive firms)

Q6. Many fast food chains pride themselves in offering various menus by adopting various pricing strategies. For example, KFC offers discounts for students while McDonald’s offers 6-piece nuggets at $4.40 and 9-piece nuggets at $5.70.

(a) Explain the factors that are necessary for price discrimination to occur. (b) Discuss whether price discrimination in the fast food industry is desirable. (price discrimination)

Q7(a) Explain how firms can increase their market power Q7(b) Discuss whether dominant firms are always desirable from a society’s point of view. (Monopoly & Oligopoly)

Q8. The level of merger and acquisition activities in Asia is expected to increase substantially with economic recovery and the return of the Asian economies to their pre-financial crisis growth path.

(a) Explain why firms attempt to grow through undertaking mergers and acquisitions. (b) Discuss whether such mergers and acquisitions are in the public interest and if there is a need for government intervention. (Market Dominance, a form of Market Failure )

Q9. Restaurants across Singapore are engaging in differential pricing strategy. whereby weekend dinners pay more than weekday customers and special discounts are offered to both students and senior citizens alike.

(a) Explain how restaurants in Singapore discriminate buyers by charging different prices for the same meals. (b) Discuss the extent to which barrier to entry is the most important factor influencing a firm’s behaviour in your country. (price discrimination)

Q10. In recent years, small local firms in the retail industries in Singapore are becoming bigger and at the same time many large foreign firms have entered these industries

a) Explain the possible reasons for the above changes in the retail industries in Singapore. b) Discuss the extent to which such changes are in the interest of consumers. (Monopoly & Oligopoly)

Q11. Oligopoly is the best market structure that is able to achieve efficiency, equity and innovation. Discuss. [25] (Oligopoly)

Q12(a) Explain why prices might fluctuate less in an oligopolistic market than in a perfectly competitive market. [10] Q12(b) Discuss whether monopolistic competition is more likely to be beneficial to consumers than oligopoly. (Monopolistic Competition & Oligopoly)

Q13. In Singapore, there are many small home interior design firms in the industry. With low startup costs, these firms, such as Meng Design, usually market themselves as providing exclusive designs or affordable services. On the other hand, in the budget airline industry. Jetstar and Tiger Airways often offer lower-priced tickets.

(a) According to economic theory, firms aim to become big to enjoy. Explain why some firms remain small in reality. (10) (b) Discuss whether Jetstar’s and Meng Design’s strategies are due to the features of the industry they are in [15] (Costs Theory & Firms’ Characteristics)

Q14.Globalisation increases the level of competition among firms in a country, thereby making markets more competitive resulting in increased consumer welfare.

Assess the extent to which globalisation will lead to more competitive markets and increased consumer welfare. [25] (Firms’ Performance)

Q15. There are four players in the retail petrol industry in Singapore – Exxon Mobil (Esso), Shell, Singapore Petroleum Company and Caltex. In 2011, the Competition Commission of Singapore led an inquiry to assess whether there is collusion between competitors in the industry.

(a) Explain how the features of the retail petrol industry in Singapore affect pricing and decisions in the industry. (b) Discuss the view that firms need to engage in collusion to increase profits. (Oligopoly)

Q16(a) Explain how the size of firms affects the price and output decisions of various firms. Q16(b) Discuss the extent to which large firms in an industry impede economic efficiency. (Firms’ Performance)

Q17. Explain why the behaviour of firms differs across industries and discuss if such behaviour is desirable. [25] (Firms’ Conduct)

Q18. AMR Corp, parent of American Airlines, bowed to pressure recently from its creditors. including its largest labour unions, and said it would explore merger options while it is still in bankruptcy. Its rival, US Airways Group Inc has been expressing major interest for a possible tie-up. Source: www.reuters.com, May 2012

(a) Explain how, in economic theory, airline firms like AMR Corp would price its tickets. [10] (b) Discuss if a merger between AMR Corp and US Airways Group Inc would benefit consumers more than producers. [15] (Firms’ Performance)

Q19. Singapore Post Limited (SingPost) has been steadily expanding beyond Singapore. It will continue to diversify its business and tap the overseas markets. Its online shopping platforms, VPOST and Clout Shoppe, will accelerate its expansion in the e-commerce business.

Discuss how SingPost’s growth strategies might impact SingPost, consumers and other firms in Singapore. [25] (Monopoly)

Q20. The UK rail industry is split into franchises, in which companies are invited to bid for the rights to operate individual rail routes for a specified time period. Train operators typically sell their tickets at a lower price if they are bought in advance on the internet, and they offer both first class and economy class tickets.

(a) Explain whether the above pricing policies could be considered to be examples of price discrimination. (b) Discuss whether the UK government should regulate prices in the rail industry to protect society’s interests. (price discrimination)

Q21. With the growing numbers of people connected to the internet, electronic commerce (e-commerce) is gaining rapid acceptance.

Discuss the view that with increasing development of the internet and e-commerce, monopolistic competition would gradually become the more prevalent market structure. [25] (Monopolistic Competition)

Q22(a) Using examples, explain how a firm can enjoy economies of scale. Q22(b) To what extent do you agree that oligopoly is the most desirable form of market structure in Singapore?

Q23 (a) With the use of examples, differentiate between the key features of the monopolistic competition and oligopoly. Q23 (b) Discuss whether the survival of firms in these two models is solely dependent on their competitive strategies.

Q24 (a) Explain how, in economic theory, a perfectly competitive firm would determine the price that would maximize profits. Q24 (b) Discuss whether firms set prices at profit-maximising level in reality. [15) (Firms’ Objectives)

Q25. Profitable firms are necessary efficient firms. Examine this assertion. [25]

Q26. Pfizer’s merger with competitor Pharmacia in 2003 made it the largest pharmaceutical company amongst some ten to twelve companies. Pfizer (that give us the COVID-19 vaccine ) also boasts the industry’s largest pharmaceutical Research and Development (R&D) organisation, which invests $7.6 billion in R&D on average annually.

(a) Identify the likely type of market structure Pfizer operates in, and distinguish its key features with perfect competition. [10] (b) Examine whether having large companies, such as Pfizer, in the pharmaceutical market could beneficial to society. [15]

Q27. In 2005, London Energy invested millions of pounds in research and development (R&D) but it would take about two years before the factories are to run efficiently, and to enjoy economies of scale.

(a) Explain how London Energy’s investment affects its profits in the short run and long run. [10m) (b) Economies of scale are said to be beneficial. This means that mergers of small firms should be encouraged. Discuss [15]

Q28. Discuss whether large firms have lower unit costs than that of small firms, and assess how the government can help smaller firms to lower their unit costs. [25]

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10 Questions on Market Structure (Economics)

The questions below on market Structure were curated from UNILAG’S Past Exam as it has been observed that questions are frequently asked on this topic almost every academic session. Click on this link to read on more topics in Economics.

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Questions on Market Structure

1. The conditions for profit maximization by a firm is that: (a) MC = AR and MC cuts MR from below (b) MC = MR and MC cuts MR from above (c) MC = MR and MC cuts MR from below (d) MC = AC and AR cuts MC from below

2. Which of the following is not a characteristic of perfect competition? (a) A large number of buyers and sellers (b) The existence of only zero profit in the short run (c) Uniform price (d) The absence of transparent cost (e) Free entry and free exit

3. Who is the originator of the theory of monopolistic competition? (a) R.A. Musgrave (b) J.M. Keynes (c) Joan Robinson (d) Adam Smith (e) E.H. Chamberlain

4. Product differentiation is a typical feature of: (a) Perfect competition (b) Oligopoly (c) Monopoly (d) Pure competition (e) Monopolistic competition

5. When the monopolist equates MC to MR then, the firm would be: (a) Maximizing output (b) Minimizing costs (c) Maximizing profit (d) Maximizing sales (e) Maximizing economies of scale

6. A monopoly is said to misallocate resources (a) because without competition there is no pressure on the firm to be efficient (b) because under certain circumstances different consumers are charged different prices for the same product or services (c) because the market price under monopoly is greater than the marginal cost of additional output (d) because it faces a downward-sloping demand curve

7. Which of the following is a unique characteristic of oligopoly? (a) production of a standardized product (b) the use of advertising and product development (c) mutual interdependence among firms in the industry (d) none of the above (e) the existence of barriers to entry including patents and copyrights

8. In a perfectly competitive market, the firm is in the long-run equilibrium when (a) There is excess profit (b) MR = ATC = MC = P (c) Price is stable (d) The price is greater than the average cost (e) None of the above

9. A profit-maximizing monopolist (a) follows the same rules for profit maximization as the perfectly competitive firm (b) follows different rules for profit maximization than does the perfectly competitive firm (c) will set price equal to marginal cost in order to determine the maximizing output (d) will set marginal cost equal to average revenue in order to determine the maximizing output

10. A profit-maximizing firm will always produce (a) where marginal cost is less than marginal revenue (b) where marginal revenue is equal to marginal cost (c) at a point of minimum average cost (d) where marginal cost is greater than marginal revenue (e) None of the above

Market Structure Essay Questions

1. Define Perfect Completion, Monopoly, Monopolistic Completion and Oligopoly. 2. Show with graphs on how firms maximize profit under Perfect Competition and Monopoly.

1 -C 2 -B 3 -E 4 -E 5 -C 6 -A 7 -C 8 -B 9 -A 10 -B

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Market Structures Essay

Introduction, types of market structures.

In an ordinary market structure, there is the assumption that there are several and different sellers and buyers. The result of this is fair competition where price of goods is determined by the forces of demand and supply. This is so because, in such a market, both the seller and buyer are equally able to influence the price.

However, this is not always the case. Some market industries have only a single seller or much fewer sellers than consumers, limiting the buyer’s ability to influence the price. This paper discusses the various market structures that exist in our market today and the various pricing strategies that could be applied in their management.

Pure monopoly

This type of market exists when there is only a single seller controlling the supply of goods or services in the entire market. He alone can control the price and prevents other businesses from entering the market. They commonly exist in a government-regulated setting. A case in point is the provision of electric and Natural gas utilities in the United States.

The government is the sole provider of these utilities and regulates their delivery to the public through the state, federal and local agencies. The prices are not arrived at through the forces of demand and supply but by the structures of the government. “The agencies govern the prices they charge, the terms of their services to consumers, their budgets and construction plans, and their programs for energy efficiency and other services,” (Regulatory Assistance Project 2011, P. 3).

Competition in this sector cannot thrive since the government provides subsidies to these utilities so as to provide cheaper services to the public, something that small private entities are unable to do. In addition, the infrastructural and technological requirement for the provision of the services would be so much of an expense for a private entity to meet.

Even though the government is the price maker here, it cannot set prices at a level that the consumer will not be able to afford if it wants to make profits. To set the prices, the monopolist should use the market demand curve and use it to set its own prices. The position marginal revenue for the monopolist should be less than the marginal revenue (MR). The position and elasticity of the demand curve works to limit the pricing mechanism of the monopolist.

The firm can only make maximum profits, on a short term, where the additional cost used to produce one more unit is equal to the resulting revenue from that one unit. For normal profits, the average revenue (AR) should be equal to the Average Total Cost (ATC). In the long run, the firm will only make profits where the AR is greater than the average cost (AC). (Mcconnel & Brue, 2009)

Pure Competition Market structure

This is a kind of a market where no single entity monopolizes the price determination process. Prices of goods are determined by forces of demand and supply and every player in the market has a part to play. A classic example would be a street vendor business.

In this kind of business, there is a large number of buyers and sellers and anyone may enter or leave the market at will without any barrier to doing so. Both consumers and producers are well informed of the prices and quality of goods and goods are homogenous across the market without much differentiation.

Every partaker is interested in maximizing profits as opposed to monopolizing the market whose returns are non-increasing to scale. Factors of production are freely mobile within the market with flexibility to ever-changing market circumstances. There are no new firms in the industry thus the same number of firms remains throughout.

In this market, the price is normally given by the demand and supply curve, as determined by the market forces, hence referred to as a ‘price taker’. The firm will sell its products at the current market prices and has no power to alter those prices. The stock is fixed while the supply curve will be perfectly elastic. In the short run, the firm can try to increase supply by increasing variable inputs. Profit will be maximized when MR is equal to MC. The firm must however fix their output to the prevailing market prices.

In the long run, the firm may change their unit of output as new firms enter the market. Supernormal profits will be realized where AR is greater than AC. When AR is greater than AC small firms starts quitting the market resulting into a decreased price. This will go on until AR is equal to AC and the firm makes normal profits. (McConnell & Brue, 2009)

Monopolistic Competition

This is a form of market where sellers deal with competitive products but which are differentiated from one another. It is almost like a perfect competition but though there are many firms in the industry, the products of each company are differentiated to make them unique to products of other firms.

An example is the Nike shoes. Even though many firms make shoes, which are equally competitive, only Nike makes that kind of shoe and one cannot obtain it from any other firm. The shoe is homogenous and specific to the firm and their differentiation gives monopoly over Nike to make the shoe alone.

Here, just like perfect market, the firm will take the market prices as determined by rival firms and will be forced to disregard their own influence on prices. In the short run, the firm may determine the prices depending on its level of differentiation and will have the same effects as a monopoly making huge economic prices.

However, as time goes by and competition increases, the effect of differentiation loosens gradually and the market changes to a perfect competitive one, with less profits. At the optimum quantity of production and optimum price, the firms will now earn normal profits. The equilibrium point, no new firms will be entering the industry.

Oligopoly market structure

This is a situation where there are few sellers of a commodity. The commodity being sold is however very similar but not identical to the others in the market. Products are close substitutes of each other but each firm has monopoly power over its own product. It also includes a duopoly where there are only two firms dealing with the product, e.g., Coca-cola and Pepsi. These two companies are the only known producers of carbonated soft drinks, yet their products are differentiated from each other.

For other firms to enter the market, they will require heavy investment and highly developed technology and incur high costs of promotion, thus posing a major barrier to entry of new firms and competition. The existing firms may also decide to merge, presenting even more difficulty to new entry. Both sellers have a substantial amount of influence on the pricing policies but there is mutual interdependency in price. The prices therefore remain relatively stable.

In this case, the pricing of Coca-cola will affect Pepsi’s price appreciably and the vice versa. Therefore, the best way is to agree, as between the two firms, on a pricing policy that is comfortable to the two firms. When such collusion of price determination occurs, the firms agree on an identical price, normally high, maximizing their profits and minimizing the production costs.

The pricing may be done through cost-plus pricing, which involves adding percentages of profit margin to Average Variables Cost to obtain the price. It may also be arrived at through the Mark-up pricing. Here the percentage mark-up it predetermined to cover the average margin. The AVC is estimated through the units of output produced over a given period of time. The level of output is used to determine the average cost.

Monopsony competition

Denotes a situation where one buyer buys from several existing sellers and he is therefore, the main determinant of the price in the entire market.

It is mostly found in the market for the exchange of factor services. The price he sets is lower than the market price and the quality exchanged is not correspondent to the price. For example, major sports clubs such as the National Baseball Association (NBA).

A baseball player wishing to be professional baseball player can only seek employment from NBA only. NBA will determine the minimum factor price which the player will and can take.

Though the monopsony is the price maker, if he wants to obtain quantity services, he has to part with a higher price or incur additional expenses or wages to hire more workers. The additional wages will enable him to earn more profits. These additional expenses are the marginal factor cost and the additional profits are the marginal revenue product. For maximization of profits, the firm should hire the quantity equal to the marginal factor cost and marginal revenue product, where these two curves meet, (Africa Awards, 2011).

The basic assumption of the existence of a perfect competitive market therefore, rarely exists. We have seen that there are markets dominated by one or two sellers or even one buyer.

Each market structure’s existence, however, is dependent on its power to influence the market price. There are also other minor types of markets that exist apart from the ones covered in this paper, for example a bilateral monopoly-duopsony, a market with two buyers and one seller. Also

Bilateral oligopoly-monopsony; one buyer and few sellers. However, all these are embedded in the five main ones discussed above.

Africa Awards. (2011). Market Structures: Monopsony , AmosWEB Encyclynomic WEB*pedia. Web.

McConnell, Campbell., & Brue, Stanley. (2009). Microeconomics: Principles, problems, and policies . New York: McGraw Hill. (18th Edition).

Regulatory Assistance Project. (2011). Electricity Regulation in the US: A Guide, Home Office, 50 State Street, Suite 3, Montpelier, Vermont 05602.

• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2023, December 9). Market Structures. https://ivypanda.com/essays/market-structures/

"Market Structures." IvyPanda , 9 Dec. 2023, ivypanda.com/essays/market-structures/.

IvyPanda . (2023) 'Market Structures'. 9 December.

IvyPanda . 2023. "Market Structures." December 9, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/market-structures/.

1. IvyPanda . "Market Structures." December 9, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/market-structures/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Market Structures." December 9, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/market-structures/.

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Perfect Competition Notes & Questions (A-Level, IB)

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Perfect Competition Definition: A market with Perfect Competition is defined as having an unlimited number of buyers and sellers, perfect information (eg. with regards to product pricing of all firms), no barriers to entry or exit, and all firms sell homogenous (the same) goods.

Perfect Competition Examples & Explanation: If you are one of many Ebay stores selling the same unbranded masks online during the Coronavirus epidemic , you are likely to charge a very similar market price. This is because if you sell at a higher price, consumers will buy from other stores. Hence, you are a price taker in the market. As a result, you will sell each mask for the same price to the unlimited number of buyers out there, causing your average and marginal revenues to be the same. As consumers have visibility over most stores and their listing prices, they have near perfect information of the market. There are also little to no barriers to entry/exit in the market, as it is extremely easy to set up or close a store on Ebay to sell masks. Perfect competition is the only market structure that has allocative efficiency by default, when compared to monopolistic competition , oligopoly or monopoly , where competition is imperfect. However, this form of market structure is unlikely to exist in reality due to its extreme competition and assumptions. Therefore, it is more of an Economic model for theoretical than practical purposes. Another close example is the currency exchange market where the service provided by firms is highly similar.

Perfect Competition Economics Notes

Perfect competition video explanation – econplusdal.

The left video explains the perfect competition market structure, the right illustrates perfect competition in the short-run.

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Essay on market structure.

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Business competition takes on different forms depending on the type of market structure present in a given industry. This sample essay explores the four primary models of market structure:

• Perfect competition
• Monopolistic competition

Different types of market structure and competition

In the world of economics, the competition between businesses is not always the same or level. Certain fields of industry have very different types of markets than that of others. Where one business could find itself in a field of competition where the playing field is leveled and easy to gain a foothold within, others find themselves in playing fields that are heavily stacked to favor one (or several large) industrial player. The most common forms of market structure that are seen in the economic world are:

All of these market structures have defining characteristics that separate them from each other and are all set up in a way that will have a dramatic distinction on how the competition within that market works. The defining characteristics of the market structure will be one of the most important determining factors in how many, as well as, how large the major players within that particular market become.

One such example of a company that operates efficiently within its particular market structure is Samsung Electronics. By understanding and playing to the strengths of the market structure that the company finds itself within, Samsung Electronics has been able to become one of the largest and most financially successful companies in the business world.

Perfect competition and equilibrium within the market structure

The first market structure to be described is named perfect competition. This market structure is most easily recognized by the fact that its low barriers for entry on both the buyer and seller allow for the continued operation of a large number of firms (Econ Guru, 2006). With a market structure such as this, new firms are able to constantly enter the market so long as they offer a product or service to a consumer base that is well received.

The economic efficiency within the perfect competition market structure, therefore, is seen to be very high because of these low entry barriers for new firms, which allows for a constant and continued level of competition to be maintained by the different number of firms within the particular market (Riley, 2012). One of the benefits of perfect competition is easier access to market segmentation and determining the demographics of the market . One of the most surprising factors about this sort of market structure, however, is seen when examining the innovative behavior of firms within this market.

Upon first glance, one would naturally be inclined to believe that the innovative behavior for a perfect competition market would be very strong because start-up firms would want to bring new, creative ways to market in order to propel their firms into a position of exposure and success. Research shows this hypothesis to be incorrect, though. Instead, the innovative behavior of a perfect competition market is relatively weak.

“In capitalist reality as distinguished from its textbook picture, it is not that kind of competition which counts but the competition which commands a decisive cost or quality advantage and which strikes not at the margins of profits and the outputs of the existing firms but at their foundations and their very lives,” (Riley, 2012).

The old style monopolistic competition market structure

The next type of market structure to be examined is the monopolistic competition market structure.

Within this type of market, one would typically expect to see a large number of firms that produce a “congeneric product with distinguishable differentiations,” (Econ Guru, 2006).

This means that firms within this market structure will have many different competitors within the market, but each competitor will be selling a slightly different type of product. Within this market, the entry barriers for both the buyer and the seller are very low and allow for easy entry or exit from the market (Hubbard & O’Brien). Compare Google Docs and Microsoft Word for example. Both companies offer data and word processing software that have similar but distinctly difference attributes.

One of the distinguishing features for firms within this market structure comes from the pricing found within it. Within a monopolistic competition market, the firms act as the price makers; they can set, raise, and lower the price of their products because they are selling something that is highly individualized (Economics Online).

Because of the set up of this market structure, the level of innovation is considered to be quite strong as firms entering the market can make subtle changes to existing products to form new, unique ones. This market structure, therefore, places a high emphasis on advertising.

Firms that operate within the monopolistic competition market are, “often in fierce competition with other (local) firms offering a similar product or service, and may need to advertise on a local basis, to let customers know their differences, ” (Economics Online).

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Monopoly's role within a structured economy

A third market structure seen in the economic world is the monopoly. The monopoly is characterized as a market in which there is only one provider for a good or service to consumers (Econ Guru). Within this type of market structure, the barriers for entry are extremely high as the firm with all of the power in the market can undercut its prices and force competitors out of the market. The United States started to abolish monopolies within the nation during the 1890's with the enactment of the Sherman Antitrust Act .

From a buyer’s perspective, the barriers are low as their selection for products or services is so limited. In a pure monopoly with only one firm controlling the market, the type of product is very limited; in fact, it is exclusively limited to what that particular firm offers to its consumers (Riley, 2012).

Being the controlling power of the market, a firm operating within a monopoly is considered to be a price maker in that it will be able to continually set, raise, and lower the cost of its offered product or service. Within this type of market structure, the economic efficiency does run the risk of being damaged as the controlling firm will not have to deal with any competition, which could allow for the firm to become inefficient over time (Riley, 2012).

The same holds true for the innovative behavior within a monopolistic market. The controlling firm has no real reason to be constantly reimagining and redesigning its products or services and can instead release upgrades and updates at its own pace with no real urgency. Although, it is worth noting that a firm that holds a monopoly on the market could also have a strong innovative behavior because it is able to spend a great deal of its profits on research and development.

Oligopolies and corporations' efforts to control the market

The final market structure to observe is the oligopoly. Similar to a monopoly in many regards, the oligopoly has one major difference when compared to the former. Within a monopoly, there is one firm that controls the market, whereas an oligopoly has a few firms that dominate the market (Econ Guru, 2006). A market structure such as this will place considerable barriers on new firms that are entering the market as they must compete with several corporate giants, but will put limited barriers on the buyer because of the different options available to him or her.

The firms that dominate the market of an oligopoly can act, for the greater part, as price makers so long as the dominant firms keep their prices relatively similar (Riley, 2012). One such example of this occurring in the real world is seen in the gas industry. The large firms that control the industry are able to set the price for gasoline to whatever they should choose so long as the competition does not dramatically lower their own prices and attract a larger proportion of the market to utilize its product exclusively. It is within this market that the innovative behavior is observed to be the highest (Riley, 2012).

The dominant firms are seen to spend a significant portion of their marketing resources on research and development so that they can have the most innovative products to offer to their consumer base in order to attempt to gain a larger control of the market and gain a competitive advantage over their major competitors. It is this sort of market structure that Samsung Electronics finds itself a part of.

Samsung Electronics operates in a market that is clearly an oligopoly. One of the major components to this firm is seen in its cellular phone sales. In this market, Samsung operates as a dominant force along with such companies as Apple, Motorola, and LG. Outside of these major players, the competition is much more limited.

It is extremely difficult for outside firms to gain a foothold in this market because the dominant firms have such a large percentage control of the consumer base currently. The effectiveness of the market structure is extremely beneficial for Samsung, and they have taken full advantage of it to become one of the most dominant firms in their particular market. It is directly from the structure of the market that the forms of labor and demand are shaped for Samsung.

Samsung and the oligopoly

The demand that Samsung receives is based almost entirely as a consequence of the market structure of an oligopoly. Because Samsung created a business strategy that is able to dominate the market and place a high emphasis on the research and development of new, innovative products, the firm is able to offer technologically superior products to its consumer base that allows for the demand for its products to rise.

The Galaxy S III is a perfect example of this. This particular product is so innovative and well designed that it has allowed Samsung to become one of the top sellers of mobile phones worldwide and has consistently beaten out the iPhone 5 (Samsung’s main competition from Apple) on a consistent basis. In terms of labor, as well as supply, the same basic principle holds true.

It is because of the dominant share of the market that Samsung controls by successfully navigating its market structure that allows for the company to produce so many products and keep its supply high enough to meet the demand facing it, and in order to produce such a high supply of new, innovative products, Samsung is able to employ a large labor force for everything from assembly of a product to research and development of new ways to design, market, and ultimately sell to its consumer base.

Market structures play a key role in the way a firm is able to do business. By understanding what sort of market structure that a firm is placed in, that firm will be able to see if the cost of business is worth continuing to fight for. The factors that separate the different types of market structures can be the difference in whether or not a start-up firm will be able to become successful or be driven from business by the major players that currently exist in that particular market structure.

It is by understanding and playing to the market structure that certain companies such as Samsung Electronics have been able to become so successful. Different market structures place emphasis on different factors; however, one truth is held. In the end, every firm is simply trying to push its products or services onto its consumer base. This is one of many economic axioms that has come about as a result of study and research paper writing .

Econ Guru. (2006). Market structure. EconGuru Economics Guide, Retrieved from http://www.econguru.com/micro/market-structure.shtml

Economics Online. (2012). Monopolistic competition. Economics Online, Retrieved from http://www.economicsonline.co.uk/Business_economics/Monopolistic_competition.html

Hubbard, R. G., & O'Brien, (2012). Economics. (4th ed.). Prentice Hall.

Riley, G. (2012, September 23). Market structure summary. Tutor2u, Retrieved from http://www.tutor2u.net/economics/revision-notes/a2-micro-market-structures-summary.html

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4 Questions on Market Structures (MCQ Revision)

Last updated 25 Feb 2018

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Test your understanding of market structures by going through these four questions - covering natural monopoly, oligopoly, contestable markets and monopoly pricing.

• Contestable Markets
• Market structure

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Economics Quiz: Business And Market Structures

Given the type of business or industry below, identify what kind of market structure it belongs to.

Airlines in the United States:

Perfect Competition

Monopolistic Competition

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Fruit markets:

Electricity:, the movie industry:, the soda industry:, fish market:, monsanto seeds:, water supply:.

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