Lecture Outlines Chapter 6: Competition and Market Structure 1. Characteristics of the Market Structures Show
Teaching Strategy: Some instructors also include in market structure whether competitors act independently and consumers and producers knowledge of market conditions. Teaching Strategy: Consider drawing a circle representing the world on the board and then dividing the world into four types of market structures. Put perfect competition on the South Pole, suggesting there are probably about as many truly perfectly competitive markets as people living there. Then add monopolistic competition in the Southern Hemisphere and oligopoly in the Northern Hemisphere, representing most of the markets in the world. Finally, add monopoly on the North Pole and ask what benevolent monopolist lives there!
2. Firm Behavior in the Long Run
3. The Benefits of Competition
Teaching Strategy: Discuss the products of such brand-name producers as Vidal Sassoon, Bayer, McDonalds, Apple, and Nike. Consumers are willing to pay a higher price for brand-name products than a similar unknown brand; thus, firms expend resources on advertising and marketing to establish a brand name. Such expenditures are called sunk cost expenditures because they cannot be recouped. Teaching Strategy: Discuss the advertising that appears on TV for automobiles and the amounts spent by the car producers for these ads.
Teaching Strategy: Use the example of Microsoft to show how a unique resource (top scientists hired by Microsoft) may serve as a barrier to entry.
The long run is a productive period in which all resources are variable. Economies of scale occur if unit costs decrease as output rises when all resources are variable. Diseconomies of scale occur if unit costs increase as output rises when all resources are variable. Teaching Strategy: Cite reasons from actual companiesfor example, Ford, AT&T, IBM, Toyotathat these companies would have economies of scale, followed by diseconomies of scale if they continue producing.
Which market has entry barriers?Barriers to Entry in Different Market Structures. What is oligopoly market?Oligopoly markets are markets dominated by a small number of suppliers. They can be found in all countries and across a broad range of sectors. Some oligopoly markets are competitive, while others are significantly less so, or can at least appear that way.
Do monopolies sell differentiated products?In monopolistic competition, we still have many sellers (as we had under perfect competition). Now, however, they don't sell identical products. Instead, they sell differentiated products—products that differ somewhat, or are perceived to differ, even though they serve a similar purpose.
What is the meaning of monopolistic market?A monopolistic market is a theoretical condition that describes a market where only one company may offer products and services to the public. A monopolistic market is the opposite of a perfectly competitive market, in which an infinite number of firms operate.
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