Oligopoly is the least understood market structure; consequently, it has no single, unified theory. Nevertheless, there is some agreement as to what constitutes an oligopolistic market. Three conditions for oligopoly have been identified. First, an oligopolistic market has only a few large firms. This condition distinguishes oligopoly from monopoly, in which there is just one firm. Second, an oligopolistic market has high barriers to entry. This condition distinguishes oligopoly from perfect competition and monopolistic competition in which there are no barriers to entry. Third, oligopolistic firms may produce either differentiated or homogeneous products. Examples of oligopolistic firms include automobile manufacturers, oil producers, steel manufacturers, and passenger airlines.
Economics
- Introduction
- Demand, Supply, and Elasticity
- GDP, Inflation, and Unemployment
- Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply
- Classical and Keynesian Theories: Output, Employment
- Money and Banking
- Fiscal and Monetary Policy
- Theory of the Consumer
- Theory of the Firm
- Perfect Competition
- Monopoly
- Monopolistic Competition and Oligopoly
- Labor Market
- Capital Market
Conditions for an Oligopolistic Market
- Economic Policy
- Economic Analysis
- Economics Defined
- Macroeconomics
- Microeconomics
- Equilibrium Analysis
- Elasticity
- Demand
- Supply
- GDP
- Nominal GDP, Real GDP, and Price Level
- Unemployment Rate
- Aggregate Demand (AD) Curve
- Aggregate Supply (AS) Curve
- Combining AD and AS Supply Curves
- The Classical Theory
- The Keynesian Theory
- Supply of Money
- Definition of Money
- Functions of Money
- The Demand for Money
- Fiscal Policy
- Monetary Policy
- Consumer Equilibrium
- Consumer Equilibrium Changes in Prices
- Individual Demand Market Demand
- Consumer Surplus
- Utility and Preferences
- Production Costs and Firm Profits
- Long‐Run Costs
- Production of Goods
- Long-Run Supply
- Conditions for Perfect Competition
- Demand in a Perfectly Competitive Market
- Short-Run Supply
- Monopoly in the Long-Run
- Costs of Monopoly
- Conditions for Monopoly
- Demand in a Monopolistic Market
- Profit Maximization
- Monopolistic Competition in the Long-run
- Conditions for an Oligopolistic Market
- Kinked-Demand Theory of Oligopoly
- Cartel Theory of Oligopoly
- Conditions for Monopoly
- Demand in a Monopolistic Market
- Monopolists: Profit Maximization
- Equilibrium in a Perfectly Competitive Market
- Labor Demand and Supply in a Monopsony
- Equilibrium in a Monopsony Market
- Labor Demand and Supply in a Perfectly Competitive Market
- Capital, Loanable Funds, Interest Rate
- Present Value and Investment Decisions
- Measures of Capital
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