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Market Structures Of The Market

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INTRODUCTION

Market Structures are classified in term of the presence or absence of competition. When competition is absent, the market is said to be concentrated. There is a spectrum, from perfect competition to pure monopoly.
Market structure is the physical characteristics of the market within which firms interact. It involves the number of firms in the market and the barriers to entry.
Perfect competition, with an infinite number of firms, and monopoly, with a single firm, are polar opposites.
In standard usage of the term, competition may also imply certain virtues. Markets are the heart and soul of a capitalist economy, and varying degrees of competition lead to different market structures, with differing implications for the outcomes of the market place. This entry will discuss the following market structures that result from the successively declining degrees of competition in the market for a particular commodity. These elements are perfect competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly, and monopoly. Based on the differing outcomes of different market structures, economists consider some market structures more desirable, from the point of view of the society, than others.

Market Structure: Monopoly, Oligopoly, Monopolistic and Perfect Competition

An oligopoly is a market form in which a market or industry is dominated by a small number of sellers. Oligopolies can result from various forms of collusion which reduce competition and lead

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