OLIGOPOLY Oligopoly is a market with a few sellers. Fewness means in this market number of firms is such that one firm’s action affects the other firms in the market. Hence whenever any firm makes any decision regarding price etc‚ it has to take into account the behavioural response of the other. This main feature of oligopoly is called interdependence. This interdependence brings forth the need for strategic decision making. Strategic decision making involves conjectural variation. Conjectural
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TV dilemma How to become an oligopoly firm in soft drink market? (source: "A new-age drink war starts as Soda Flops‚" Time‚ December 18‚ 2000 There are many soft drinks in the market‚ yet the main suppliers of popular soft drinks are only two: Coke and Pepsi. The soft drink market in America is a very big business with annual sales of $58 billion. Coke‚ with its patented Coca Cola drink‚ enjoys the dominant role in the soft drink market‚ and runner-up Pepsi is always challenging Coke for the
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should be fully rewarded. 1. (a) Explain the differences between monopolistic competition and oligopoly as market structures. [10 marks] • large number of firms (m.c) versus a few dominant firms (oligopoly) • differentiated product (m.c) versus differentiated or standardized (oligopoly) • low barriers to entry (m.c) versus high barriers to entry (oligopoly) • interdependence of firms in oligopoly • comparison of the demand curves Examiners should be aware that candidates may take a different
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“Oligopolistic interdependence creates uncertainty‚ which in turn may promote collusive action” Oligopoly is a specific type of market within business. The markets within an oligopoly are controlled by a small number of large and powerful companies; contrast to a monopoly (where the market is controlled by a single company‚ allowing it full control of the market and its respective conditions – e.g. price & availability) and perfect competition (where numerous businesses of parallel aptitude
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MARKET STRUCTURES – OLIGOPOLY (I) ASSUMPTIONS 1. A few dominant firms How to measure whether an industry exhibits oligopoly : 2. Differentiated products 3. Relatively high barriers to entry 4. Strategic behavior • • is used to study strategic behavior 5. Many models to describe oligopoly • Kinked demand curve • Duopoly : Cournot‚ Stakleberg‚ Bertrand • Price leadership (II) STRATEGIC BEHAVIOR (1) Collusive agreements and Cartels Collusive agreements is defined
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Oligopoly In a oligopoly market structure‚ there are a few interdependent firms that change their prices according to their competitors. Ex: If Coca Cola changes their price‚ Pepsi is also likely to. Characteristics: * Few interdependent firms * A few barriers to entry * Products are similar‚ but firms try to differentiate them * There is branding and advertising * Imperfect knowledge (where customers don’t know the best price or availability) Revenue Curves Total Revenue
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When economists analyze the productivity and profitability of a firm‚ they take into account the structure of the market where the firm is operating. Classically‚ there are four main types of market: Perfect Competition‚ Monopolistic Competition‚ Oligopoly and Monopoly. They differ in terms of firm’s size and number‚ the barriers of entry and exit‚ the degree to which firms ’ products are differentiated‚ and the extent of information transparency‚ which is the availability of information to both buyers
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structure of an oligopoly. An oligopoly is a market structure where there are a few dominant firms whose behavior is interdependent. There are a few dominant firms relative to market size‚ and they each command a large proportion of the market share‚ thus having strong monopoly power. Examples of petrol companies include Shell‚ Caltex and Exxon Mobil. Their demand curve is downward sloping‚ meaning that they are price setters. Petrol is a homogeneous product‚ hence the oligopoly is known to be
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Collusive and Non-Collusive Oligopoly What is an oligopoly? An oligopoly is a market dominated by a few producers . An oligopoly is an industry where there is a high level of market concentration. Examples of markets that can be described as oligopolies include the markets for petrol in the UK‚ soft drinks producers and the major high street banks. Another example is the global market for sports footwear – 60% of which is held by Nike a nd Adidas. However‚ oligopoly is best defined by the
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(i) Collusion is common among oligopoly firms. Discuss the factors that make collusion likely to succeed. Use the relevant industry to support your answer. Oligopolistic firms are known to be independent as there are only a few sellers dominating the market; therefore changes in the price‚ sales or output of a firm will surely affect their competitors. The telecommunication industry in Malaysia exhibits the oligopoly market. For instance‚ Maxis or Digi customers are more likely to subscribe to Celcom
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