"A monopoly, as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the 'absence of competition', creating a situation where a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular thing."
A single company dominates an entire industry or market, giving it a significant amount of control over prices and output.
Market Structure: A classification system used to describe the number and size distribution of firms in a specific industry.
Barriers to Entry: The obstacles that prevent new firms from entering an industry.
Economies of Scale: The cost advantage that a firm gains as it produces more output due to factors such as bulk-buying and specialisation.
Product Differentiation: The process of distinguishing a firm's product from its competitors' products in terms of quality, features, and branding.
Pricing Strategies: The methods used to determine the price of a firm's products, including cost-plus pricing and price skimming.
Vertical Integration: A strategy where a company owns all of its supply chain and has direct control over the production of its products.
Horizontal Integration: A strategy where a company merges with or acquires other companies that produce similar products or have similar subsidiaries.
Monopoly Power: The ability of a single firm to control a market, leading to higher prices and decreased competition.
Antitrust Laws: Laws created to prevent monopolistic practices and encourage competition.
Regulation: The use of laws and policies to manage monopolies and promote competition.
Innovation: The development of new products, processes, and technologies to improve and expand the production of goods and services.
Strategic Behaviour: The actions that a company takes to maintain a competitive advantage over its rivals.
Network Effects: The positive social effects that arise from certain products, like social media platforms.
Game Theory: The study of how people make decisions in situations where their decisions depend on the behaviour of others.
Pure Monopoly: A pure monopoly exists when a single producer or seller dominates the entire market for a product or service with no close substitutes.
Natural Monopoly: A natural monopoly exists when a single producer can supply the entire market at a lower cost than any potential competitor. This is common in industries like utilities, where large-scale infrastructure investments are required to serve a community.
Geographic Monopoly: A geographic monopoly is a situation where a single producer controls a particular regional market.
Technological Monopoly: A technological monopoly exists when a company possesses proprietary technology or patent rights that give them exclusive control over the production and distribution of a particular product or service.
Government Monopoly: A government monopoly occurs when a public agency or government entity controls the supply of a particular product or service.
Legal Monopoly: A legal monopoly exists when a company is granted a legal concession or exclusive right to produce or sell a particular product or service.
Monopsony: A monopsony is a market structure where there is only one buyer of a product or service. Monopsonies can lead to price manipulation and unfair competition.
Oligopoly: An oligopoly is a market structure in which a few large firms dominate the market. This can lead to collusion and market manipulation.
Monopoly by Acquisition: A monopoly by acquisition occurs when a company acquires or merges with other companies in the same industry until it becomes a dominant player in the market.
"This contrasts with a monopsony which relates to a single entity's control of a market to purchase a good or service."
"Monopolies are thus characterized by a lack of economic competition to produce the good or service, a lack of viable substitute goods, and the possibility of a high monopoly price well above the seller's marginal cost that leads to a high monopoly profit. This contrasts with oligopoly and duopoly which consists of a few sellers dominating a market."
"The verb monopolize 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 overly high prices, which is associated with a decrease in social surplus."
"A small business may still have the power to raise prices in a small industry (or market)."
"A monopoly should be distinguished from a cartel (a form of oligopoly), in which several providers act together to coordinate services, prices or sale of goods."
"Monopolies, monopsonies, and oligopolies are all situations in which one or a few entities have market power and therefore interact with their customers (monopoly or oligopoly), or suppliers (monopsony) in ways that distort the market."
"Monopolies can be established by a government, form naturally, or form by integration."
"Competition laws restrict monopolies due to government concerns over potential adverse effects."
"Holding a dominant position or a monopoly in a market is often not illegal in itself."
"Certain categories of behavior can be considered abusive and therefore incur legal sanctions when a business is dominant."
"Patents, copyrights, and trademarks are sometimes used as examples of government-granted monopolies."
"A government-granted monopoly or legal monopoly is sanctioned by the state, often to provide an incentive to invest in a risky venture or enrich a domestic interest group."
"Monopolies may be naturally occurring due to limited competition because the industry is resource intensive and requires substantial costs to operate (e.g., certain railroad systems)."
"Competition laws restrict monopolies due to government concerns over potential adverse effects."
"The government may also reserve the venture for itself, thus forming a government monopoly, for example with a state-owned company."
"A small business may still have the power to raise prices in a small industry (or market)."
"Monopolies, monopsonies, and oligopolies [...] interact with their customers (monopoly or oligopoly), or suppliers (monopsony) in ways that distort the market."