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An oligopoly (from Ancient Greek ὀλίγος (olígos) 'few' and πωλέω (pōléō) 'to sell') is a market in which pricing control lies in the hands of a few sellers. [1] [2] As a result of their significant market power, firms in oligopolistic markets can influence prices through manipulating the supply function.
The emergence of oligopoly market forms is mainly attributed to the monopoly of market competition, i.e., the market monopoly acquired by enterprises through their competitive advantages, and the administrative monopoly due to government regulations, such as when the government grants monopoly power to an enterprise in the industry through laws ...
The market structure determines the price formation method of the market. Suppliers and Demanders (sellers and buyers) will aim to find a price that both parties can accept creating a equilibrium quantity. Market definition is an important issue for regulators facing changes in market structure, which needs to be determined. [1]
This typically happens in a market for inputs where numerous suppliers are competing to sell their product to a small number of (often large and powerful) buyers. It contrasts with an oligopoly, where there are many buyers but few sellers. An oligopsony is a form of imperfect competition.
In microeconomics, the Bertrand–Edgeworth model of price-setting oligopoly looks at what happens when there is a homogeneous product (i.e. consumers want to buy from the cheapest seller) where there is a limit to the output of firms which are willing and able to sell at a particular price. This differs from the Bertrand competition model ...
In oligopoly theory, conjectural variation is the belief that one firm has an idea about the way its competitors may react if it varies its output or price. The firm forms a conjecture about the variation in the other firm's output that will accompany any change in its own output.
As a result, industries with high barriers to entry often contain a monopoly or oligopoly with dominant power in terms of price. This dominance allows them to charge a higher price or, if other firms join the market, to use their market power and cash flow to lower prices, beating out the new competition. [10]
The Edgeworth model shows that the oligopoly price fluctuates between the perfect competition market and the perfect monopoly, and there is no stable equilibrium. [6] Unlike the Bertrand paradox, the situation of both companies charging zero-profit prices is not an equilibrium, since either company can raise its price and generate profits.