ECO204: Principles of Microeconomics
Instructor:
A monopoly is an industry composed of only one firm that produces a product for which there are no close substitutions and in which significant barriers exist to prevent new firms from entering into the industry (Case, 2009). In a different definition, it can be distinguished by a lack of financially viable competition to produce the goods or services as well as to substitute goods. Monopolies often refer to a procedure by which a company could gain a determinedly larger market than what would be expected under an ideal competition. This paper will emphasize on several components such as how a monopoly can benefit towards stakeholders or owners. Also, how the changes could take place according to price and output of the goods and services in a particular market place and how the market structure can be beneficial to the Wonks potato chip monopoly. This paper addresses a particular incident regarding a company called “Wonk” that produced potato chips. In 2008, two lawyers started acquiring aggressive potato chip firms with the plan to create a monopoly firm ‘Wonk’. From this perspective, those lawyers hired a consulting firm to manage and estimate the long-run competitive stability of this firm as monopoly. Again, with rule of marketplace a monopoly is a company which produces goods and services for which there no substitution in that particular area to compete for those certain products or services and prohibits new companies enter in that market to serve that community. By acquiring all the farms that produce similar products like potato chips those lawyers made a perfect monopoly of its kind. A perfect or pure monopoly would definitely make this firm to control the entire business of that kind. This is how this “Wonk” takes over its significant position and which reflect on the market demand curve. This company with two lawyers now would have power over everything from output
References: Case, K.E., Fair, R.C., and Oster, S.M. (2009) Principles of Microeconomics (9th ed). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Kelvin Lancaster (1974), Introduction to Modern microeconomics, Second Edition, United States: Rand McNally College Pub. Co Michael Parkin (2008) Economics, Eight Edition. United States: Pearson Education Published by Addison-Wesley, Inc. Paul Krugman, Robin Wells (2010), Microeconomics, Second Edition, United States: W H Freeman & Co