What is monopoly? Definition, Features, Types, Price-output determination

In case a new firm tries to enter, the cost of production would be higher than that of the monopolist and the output generated would be lower than the monopolist. It is, hence, evident that the new entrant would be at a disadvantage in terms of production costs. Hence, the monopolist gains a cost advantage.This inevitable disadvantage deters potential entrants and so, economies of scale poses as a barrier to entry. A pure monopoly is a single seller in a market or sector and high barriers to entry, such as significant startup costs. Price discrimination exists if a firm charges different prices from different consumers.

• A monopoly implies an exclusive possession of a market by a supplier of a product or a service for which there is no substitute.
• Monopolies are discouraged in several countries as power and wealth tend to concentrate with a single seller.
• Though a monopolist is a price-maker, he has limited power to charge a high price for his product in the market.
• The search giant faces a potential breakup after a federal judge ruled last year that Mountain View, Ca.-based Google illegally maintained a monopoly in online search.
• When times got tough during the Great Depression, people turned to diversions like Monopoly and Scrabble—cheap, reusable fun for a wide age range.
• It depends on a number of factors including elasticity of demand of the product, existence of economies of scale, control of a key resource, existence of legal barriers, etc.

High price discrimination implies more control of the monopolist over the prices. Further, the elasticity of demand is also an indicator of monopoly power. Monopolies can often lead to unfair trade practices like charging different prices from different consumers (price discrimination), setting prices far above the costs of manufacturing, selling inferior products and services, etc. Sometimes, a monopolist often sets the price of its product or service just above the average cost of production of the product/service.

Voluntary Monopolies

A monopoly is a market structure that consists of a single seller who has exclusive control over a commodity or service. Economies around the world witness a combination of different market structures. While there’s a lot of competition in most industries, some industries witness just one seller. There exists no competition in such industries as there are virtually no other players. In 1994, Microsoft was accused of using its significant market share in the personal computer operating systems business to prevent competition and maintain a monopoly.

When it is said that the production of a certain commodity has become efficient, it means that the firm does not have to spend large amounts on the cost of production. After existing in the market for a considerable period of time, output can be generated at a larger scale with fewer input cost. A monopoly is a market structure with a single seller or producer that assumes a dominant position in an industry or a sector. Monopolies are discouraged in free-market economies because they stifle competition, limit consumer substitutes, and thus, limit consumer choice.

#1 – Maximizes profits

Decision made by a dictator may be felt for decades, and across generations. Monopolies control others by taking what they believe is rightly theirs from everyone else, thereby forcing them out of the competition entirely. Dictatorships control others by indirectly denying them what is rightfully theirs. Another difference between a monopoly and a dictatorship is that, while no competition exists in a monopoly (often because the main company forced them out on the way to the top) a dictatorship rules with an authoritarian fist. A dictatorship often uses propaganda in order to decrease the appeal of any of the alternative governmental systems that could give it fair competition. In many cases, however, dictators have enforced their reign with force, coercion, and violence.

Magie was a progressive who conceived the game as a critique of wealthy and powerful monopolists of her time, such as John D. Rockefeller, Cornelius Vanderbilt and Andrew Carnegie. In fact, that interpretation of her greatest invention—a multiplayer game she originally called “The Landlord’s Game” in 1904—would horrify her for the rest of her life. The Department of Justice won the first phase of that case last summer when Judge Amit Mehta found that Google holds a monopoly in online search, with a market share of around 90%. When a monopoly falls, smaller companies have the opportunity to swoop in and vie for the business they previously were unable to succeed in.

This firm faces no competition due to which it can set its own prices, thereby exercising full control over the market. The monopolist aims to generate high profits by selling products (or services) that do not have close substitutes. A natural monopoly depends on unique raw materials or sophisticated technology to manufacture its products. In this, the monopolist firm utilizes its copyright and patents to prevent competition. In addition, such firms usually provide public utilities (like electricity, gas, etc.), adhere to government regulations, and incur high costs on research and innovation. Monopoly and competition, basic factors in the structure of economic markets.

If buyers refuse to buy at a very high price, he has to keep a lower price. The concentration ratio indicates the extent of competition prevalent in an industry. Zero implies the existence of a large number of firms (high competition) and one implies the absence of competitors (no competition or a monopoly). L depends on factors like elasticity of demand, presence of competitors, extent of regulations, etc.

It is also not necessary that the monopolist should always charge the highest possible price. He is afraid of public opinion, government interference and of substitutes being adopted for the commodities he produces. What amount of actual total profits—however maximum they would be in the given cost-revenue situation—will be earned by the monopolist in this equilibrium position? At output OM, while MP‘ is the average revenue; ML is the average cost Therefore. It can be seen from the diagram that up until OM output, the marginal revenue is greater than marginal cost, but beyond OM the marginal revenue is less than marginal cost.

#3 – Price discrimination policy

It is generally assumed that a monopolist will choose a price that maximizes profits. A monopoly is represented by a single seller who sets prices and controls the market. The high cost of entry into that market restricts other businesses from taking part. He will stop at that point beyond which additional units of production add more to cost than to revenue. In other words, the monopolist will be in equilibrium position at that level of output at which marginal revenue equals marginal cost.

Other Word Forms

In economics, a monopoly is a market structure where only a single firm supplies a product which has no close substitutes. The term monopoly has been derived from Greek term Monopolian that means a single seller. Thus, monopoly is a market condition in which there is a single seller of a particular commodity who is called monopolist and has complete control over the supply of his product. According to this measure, the higher the monopolist firm charges above the marginal cost, write the meaning of monopoly the higher its monopoly power is said to be.

• Monopolies can often lead to unfair trade practices like charging different prices from different consumers (price discrimination), setting prices far above the costs of manufacturing, selling inferior products and services, etc.
• Pilon’s 2015 book The Monopolists traces Monopoly’s history from its very first origins to today.
• It can be seen from the diagram that up until OM output, the marginal revenue is greater than marginal cost, but beyond OM the marginal revenue is less than marginal cost.
• As publishers developed greater access to chromolithography—which allowed color printing on cardboard and wood—board games could be created for a wider, mainstream audience in ways that were not previously possible.

Strategic Pricing allows a monopolist to charge any price for their offerings. The price may be set to be extremely low – predatory pricing – in order to prevent any firm from entering the market. This is often done by a monopolist to demonstrate power and pressurise potential and existing rivals. The marginal revenue curve of a monopolist is typically a straight-line which is half-way below his demand curve as shown in the graph. The term monopoly is derived from the Greek word ‘Mono’ which means single and ‘poly’ which means seller.

He will continue expanding output so long as marginal revenue exceeds marginal cost. He does so because profits will go on increasing as long as marginal revenue exceeds marginal cost. The arguments in favour of monopolies are largely concerned with efficiencies of scale in production. Due to this phenomenon, the output generated by a monopolist is large, with lesser input cost.

When companies engage in unfair practices to become top-dog in the industry, it is easy to imagine that some of them could end up in court over it. In a nutshell, the Sugar Trust Case ultimately limited the government’s power to control monopolies. Though a monopolist is a price-maker, he has limited power to charge a high price for his product in the market.

Going forward, any action made against manufacturing monopolies would need to be taken by states individually, as opposed to escalating the case to the federal level. The government gave the contract to AT&T without a second thought, as the government had already determined that competitors would not be permitted to install new lines that would make AT&T’s lines redundant and unnecessary. “Ma Bell” was eventually split up into seven “Baby Bells,” however, as new technologies continued to come on the scene that made AT&T’s older systems obsolete, like fiber optics and cell phones.

Monopoly money in this sense was a point of contention discussed by the U.S. Congress during hearings for the Banking Act of 1935, which restructured the governance of the Federal Reserve. The 1949 book Grandparents Go Abroad compared the German Deutsche Mark to Monopoly money in look and feel. During 1958 hearings about payola, a bribery scheme between music publishers and radio stations, a witness before the U.S.