Comparing The Four Market Structures Table

University of Phoenix Material

Differentiating Between Market Structures Table

Compare the four market structures by filling in the table.

| |Perfect competition |Monopoly |Monopolistic competition |Oligopoly |
|Example organization |General Mills-Green Giant |In south west Florida the power company |Charmin |Chevrolet |
| | |FPL is a monopoly. | | |
|Goods or services produced by the |Canned and frozen vegetables.
|Electricity for local business, |Toilet paper |Automobiles, trucks and vans. |
|organization | |consumers, and government. | | |
|Barriers to entry |Very few barriers to entry |Many barriers to entry |Few barriers to entry |Some barriers to entry |
|Number of organizations |Few barriers results in many firms |A monopoly consists of one firm |Monopolistic competition is the result |An oligopoly consists of a few |
| |offering the same product. |producing a unique product. |of many firms producing a similar but |firms selling similar or |
| | | |slightly different product. |differentiated products.
|
|Price elasticity of demand |Demand is highly price elastic. |With no substitutes available demand is |Competition increases the price |Demand is price elastic. Yet, |
| |Consumers pay only what they are |price inelastic. Having no competition |elasticity of demand. With options |price elasticity is not determined|
| |willing to pay for a product. With high|monopolies have the ability to set the |available for the consumer producers |as much by demand but what the |
| |competition firms must sell at the |price they want. Consumers are willing |sell their goods at a price consumers |competitors are doing. Because |
| |price consumers are willing to purchase|to pay this determined price to receive |are willing to pay. |there are few firms selling, a |
| |the good at. |the product. | |price increase, if the other firms|
| | | | |do not follow suit, becomes a loss|
| | | | |to the firm. A price decrease |
| | | | |could result in a pricing war in |
| | | | |which all the firms lower prices |
| | | | |to increase demand for their |
| | | | |product. |
|Is there a presence of economic profits?|No economic profits in the short or |Short-term economic profits. In the |Small economic profits in the |Ongoing economic profits. |
| |long-run |long-run competition increases |short-term. In the long-term there are | |
| | |decreasing economic profits. |no economic profits. | |