Competition where only one or a few firms dominate. Today, a good example is the passenger airliner market. It is almost impossible to compete with Airbus and Boeing. A similar situation has developed in the car market.

Basic Concepts

Oligopoly is a market condition where a small number of companies or brands compete for dominance. Of course, the leaders of the race are large companies, which have higher authority and a well-promoted PR campaign. The goods and services provided by the oligopoly market are similar to those of competitors. A prime example is mobile phones, washing powders etc.

It is noteworthy that in modern markets so-called price competition is practically not used. Today, firms, on the contrary, are trying to become sales leaders through alternative types of oligopoly. That is why it is extremely difficult for new participants to enter such a market. To enter the race for leadership, you must follow legal restrictions and have huge initial capital for business development.

To enter an oligopoly, it is important to comply with a number of conditions. One of them is information content and openness. Any company is afraid of rash actions of competitors that could reduce its profits. Therefore, the subjects of the “alliance” are obliged to inform each other about possible changes and innovations. This consistency binds competitors together, preventing other firms from gaining leadership positions. Such a vision of the situation is called strategic. Moreover, any changes in the activities of a competitor cannot be short-term.

At the moment there are 2 groups of oligopolies. The first is called cooperative. The main point here is consistency. The second group is non-cooperative. According to this strategy, competitors fight for market leadership with all possible ways. In addition, there are many models of oligopolies. However, in reality only a few of them are used.

Features of the cartel model

This is a type of oligopoly that is based on collusion. Each market representative has the right to choose individual or cooperative behavior. Both strategies can be winning in the right hands. The advantages of the first type of behavior are the possibility of concluding secret alliances, increasing prices, etc.

The cooperative strategy allows you to enter into collusion with the most powerful competitors. As a result, companies jointly set prices, produce equal volumes of products, evenly divide the market, and jointly fight various sanctions.

In this case, oligopoly is a powerful weapon in the fight against the crisis. Firms are not obliged to help each other, but all aspects relating to products and services are strictly agreed upon. Such oligopoly models are based on the strategy of a cartel (a group of companies that act in concert). This includes levers for controlling prices, volumes, and product quality.

Price war model

Another strategy is called Bertrand competition. This model was formulated by a French economist at the end of the 19th century. Here, oligopoly is competition based on the cost of products and services.

The model describes the strategy for changing prices. The main law of Bertrand's theory is to assign the cost of a product equal to the maximum cost under conditions of marginal competition.

For the model to be effective, the following propositions and conditions are necessary:

1. The market must consist of at least two large homogeneous companies.
2. Firms may behave inconsistently.
3. Under normal price competition the demand function must be linear.
4. With the same cost of production, the profit of the companies is comparable.
5. As prices fall, the demand for goods and services increases markedly.
6. Product cost regulation is based on production volume.

Price leadership model

There is only one company on the market that sets a maximum barrier to the cost of products. Thus, the leading company tries to increase its profits to the maximum possible extent. The remaining representatives of the market are only trying to catch up with the main competitor, while simultaneously competing with each other. Here, an oligopoly is a series of non-cooperative companies, one of which has complete control over the pricing of goods.

The leadership model is an integral part of the monopoly. When one firm controls both prices and profits, others accept its terms of competition. In such a strategy, only large companies. There is no information content in this model. Market dominance and high levels of demand are the main conditions for oligopoly leadership. At the same time, large firms always keep production costs to a minimum.

Concept of the Cournot model

The strategy is based on a market duopoly. It was proposed back in 1838 by the French philosopher and mathematician Antoine Cournot. This oligopoly model has a number of advantages. Product production is strictly regulated, pricing is standardized, and the quality of services depends on the technological equipment of the company. This strategy is also called healthy competition.

A duopoly is a market structure where there are only two sellers. They are protected from the emergence of new companies. Both competitors are manufacturers of the same type of product, but do not have common denominators. Duopoly clearly shows how one seller beats another in the struggle for leadership under equal market conditions.

The Cournot model assumes that competitors do not have complete information about each other's plans and actions.

Market power theory

This strategy is aimed at regulating and setting prices for products. Sources of market power are the availability of substitute goods, the elasticity of cross-demand, temporary fluctuations in growth rates, legal barriers, monopoly on certain resources, and the technological capabilities of competitors.

The main indicators of the strategy are percentage sales to output volume, the sum of the squares of sales shares, the difference between prices and costs.

Such an oligopoly market is always controlled by law to prevent the emergence of monopoly power.

Properties of Oligopoly

• Domination of the market by a small number of sellers - oligopolists
• Very high barriers to entry into the industry
• To survive in long term, an oligopoly firm does not have to produce differentiated products
• The decision of each firm affects the situation on the market, and at the same time depends on the decisions of other firms: when making a decision, an oligopoly firm takes into account the possible reaction of other market participants. For this reason, in an oligopolistic market the possibility of collusion is very high.
• A small number of substitute products for oligopolistic products
• An oligopolist can be both a price maker and a price taker in the market
• As a quantitative description of this form, the following ratio can be used - the share of the four leading firms in the industry should be more than 40%.

Universal Interdependence

Since there are a small number of firms in the market, sellers need to develop development strategies for their firm so that they are not forced out of the market by competitors. Since there are few firms on the market, companies closely monitor the actions of competitors, including their pricing policy, with whom they collaborate, etc.

Broken demand curve model: point P (no) - if a firm sets the price for a product above a given level, then competitors will not follow it

Price policy

The pricing policy of an oligopolist company plays a huge role in its life. As a rule, it is not profitable for a firm to raise prices for its goods and services, since there is a high probability that other firms will not follow the first one, and consumers will “move” to a rival company. If a company lowers prices for its products, then, in order not to lose customers, competitors usually follow the company that lowered prices, also reducing prices for the goods they offer: a “race for the leader” occurs. Thus, so-called price wars often occur between oligopolists, in which firms set a price for their products that is no higher than that of the leading competitor. Price wars can often be devastating for companies, especially those competing with more powerful and larger firms.

Cooperation with other companies

Some oligopolists act according to the principle “don’t have a hundred rubles, but have a hundred friends.” Thus, firms enter into cooperation with competitors, such as alliances, mergers, conspiracies, cartels. For example, the airline oligopolist Aeroflot entered into the Sky Team alliance with other global airlines in 2006, and oil-producing countries united in OPEC, often recognized as a cartel. An example of a merger of two companies is the merger of Air France and KLM airlines. By joining together, firms become more powerful in the market, which allows them to increase their output, change the prices of their goods more freely, and maximize their profits.

Game theory

Theories of oligopolistic pricing

To model the behavior of market participant firms in the theory of oligopoly, game theory methods are used. The most famous oligopoly models are:

• Gutenberg model
• Edgeworth model

Organizational and economic forms of concentration

• Cartel is a form of association, a public or private agreement of a group of similar enterprises on sales volumes, prices and markets;
• Syndicate is a form of association of enterprises producing homogeneous products, organizes collective sales through a single distribution network;
• A trust is a form of association in which participants lose their production and financial independence.
• Consortium is a temporary association of enterprises on the basis of a general agreement for the implementation of a project;
• A conglomerate is an association of diversified firms. Typically, a high degree of independence and decentralization of management is maintained;
• Holding - the parent company that controls the activities of other companies, may not be engaged in production activities;
• A concern is an association of enterprises connected by a common interest.

In the vast majority of countries in the world, the processes of business combinations are controlled by antitrust legislation.

see also

Notes

Links

• INDUSTRIES OF IMPERFECT COMPETITION - 2.6 Oligopoly and its characteristics

Literature

• Nureyev R. M., "Course in Microeconomics", ed. "Norma", 2005
• F. Musgrave, E. Kacapyr; Barron's AP Micro/Macroeconomics

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

See what "Oligopoly" is in other dictionaries:

A market situation in which a small number of fairly large sellers opposes a mass of relatively small buyers and each seller accounts for a significant part of the total supply on the market. Dictionary of financial terms... ... Financial Dictionary

- (oligopoly) A market in which a relatively small number of sellers serve many buyers. Every seller realizes that he can control his prices to a certain level and that his profits will be affected by the behavior of his competitors... Dictionary of business terms

- (oligopoly) A situation in a market where there are several sellers, each of whom evaluates the behavior of others. Each firm controls a fairly significant part of the market, taking into account the individual reaction of other market participants to their reduction... ... Economic dictionary

- [Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

oligopoly- The state of the product market in which there is a very limited number of operators, as a rule, large corporations. Automotive markets are practically oligopolistic in all countries, since the number of car manufacturers is very... ... Technical Translator's Guide

- (from oligo... and Greek poleo sell, trade), a type of market structure of an economy in which several large firms and companies provide the overwhelming share of industry production and sales of products... Modern encyclopedia

- (from oligo... and Greek poleo sell trade), a term denoting a market situation when several large competing firms monopolize the production and sales of the bulk of products in the industry... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

- (from the Greek oligos small and poleo I sell) English. oligopoly; German Oligopol. A type of market structure in which several large competing firms monopolize the sale of the bulk of products in a given industry. see MONOPOLY. Antinazi. Encyclopedia... Encyclopedia of Sociology

Oligopoly occurs when there are a small number of firms operating in the market, and the barriers to entry into the industry are quite high.

Characteristics of oligopoly

Oligopoly is a market structure that has the following characteristic features:

1) a relatively small number of firms;

2) barriers of different permeability that prevent new firms from entering the industry;

3) products are homogeneous (for example, aluminum or steel) or differentiated (automobiles or drinks);

4) price control;

5) interdependence between all oligopolistic firms.

So, an oligopoly is characterized by a small number of firms (from 2 to 10), fenced with barriers that prevent new firms from entering the industry, have control over prices, but in collusion with other oligopolists.

The main feature of an oligopoly is that the number of firms is so small relative to the size of the market that each of the oligopolistic firms recognizes a close relationship with each other. The theory of oligopoly is more complex than the theory of perfect competition, pure monopoly or monopolistic competition. For example, a perfectly competitive firm only needs to equate marginal cost and marginal revenue. In the case of oligopoly, things are not so simple. Because there is general interdependence, the oligopolist earns marginal revenue by charging a higher price depending on the response of rival firms. If their reaction is not provided for, then the oligopolist will not receive marginal revenue (see Example 10.3).

Example 10.3

Prisoner's dilemma

The situation in an oligopoly with attempts to predict the behavior of competitors in economic literature explained using the example of two unlucky robbers. Two robbers with guns went to rob a bank at night. However, almost at the bank, they came across a police ambush, and each of them ended up behind bars. Each of them was obliged to foresee the behavior of his fellow sufferer: if they both “conspire”, each receives 5 years in prison for attempted robbery; if only one “speaks” and the second remains silent, then the first will be released, and the second will be imprisoned for 20 years; if both remain silent, they will receive 1 year for illegal possession of weapons. What should everyone do? As a rule, the matter ends with the fact that first one “speaks”, and then the second robber.

General interdependence

An oligopoly is defined as a market with a relatively small number of firms, but each firm must take into account the reactions of competing firms. One firm must consider how competing firms will react to its actions, etc. If firms in an area need to consider the responses of competing firms, then the industry is characterized by overall interdependence.

So, general interdependence- the main feature of oligopoly. The actions of one firm affect other firms in the industry. When making decisions on prices, quantity of goods and their quality, an interconnected company needs to take into account the reaction of competing firms. A competing company, reacting to the actions of the first company, must take into account how the first company will react to its actions.

In some oligopolistic industries, the type of response may be well understood by all participants; it may be dictated by custom or convention. In other industries, the reactions of rival firms may be unpredictable, and participants must use strategic behavior to anticipate and outwit their rivals (see Example 10.4).

Example 10.4

Collapse of the Cocoa Producers' Organization

The International Cocoa Producers' Organization (ICPO), which was based in London, set its price for cocoa by purchasing surplus cocoa whenever there was a threat to reduce the price below the level it had set.

In 1977, cocoa prices were high: approximately $5,500 per ton. Real profit of $5,500. For each ton, cocoa producers in the region could receive cash, but this real income acted like a magnet, attracting new producers to the market. Expecting high prices, new planters planted cocoa trees in countries such as Brazil, Ivory Coast and Malaysia. As new cocoa producers entered the market, the market price began to fall. ISCO agreed to buy up surplus cocoa to support the price, but this lasted only until February 1988, when the volume of cocoa stored in warehouses reached 250 thousand tons. Since the International Organization of Cocoa Producing Countries was unable to keep the price at the same level, the price decreased to $1,600 per 1 ton.

The example of the bankruptcy of an international organization of cocoa-producing countries illustrates one of the key problems of oligopolies in the sphere of pricing: how to prevent other producers from entering the market when the price is high enough to generate monopoly profits.

Strategic behavior

Firms A and B are oligopolists and they are interconnected. Each firm's profit depends on the price charged by the other firm. Suppose the prices of the two goods are the same and both firms earn exactly equal profits. If one of them reduces the price slightly, then, despite this, it will receive a high profit, while the company with a higher price will receive a lower profit.

In Fig. 10.5 presents possible results. Each company has the opportunity to choose a price: 20 or 19 UAH. Firm A's price choice is illustrated on the left side, and firm B's along the top horizontal line. The profits that firms A and B earn depend on the prices they pay. The profit of firm A is presented in the lower left corner of each rectangle, of firm B - in the upper right corner. If firms set a price of 20 UAH, then both receive 2500 UAH; if they set the price at 19 UAH, then both receive 1500 UAH. If one company sets a price of 20, and another - 19 UAH, then the company with a lower price receives 3,000 UAH, and the company with a higher price receives only 1,000 UAH.

Rice. 10.5. Making a profit by an oligopoly, which consists of two firms

Each rectangle (sector) shows the profit that firms receive at various combinations of prices that they set themselves. If firm A sets a price of 19, and firm B - 20 UAH, then firm A makes a profit of 3000, and firm B - 1000 UAH. What strategy should each firm follow?

It is clear that the oligopolist begins to earn high profits (at the expense of another company), establishing more low price, provided that the competitor maintains a high price. Both firms will earn smaller profits if they both cut prices. If both set a higher price, then each of them makes a larger profit. However, each oligopolist has to set the price without knowing what the other firm is going to do.

Reasoning drives an oligopoly firm's price decisions? These may be assumptions about how a rival firm will react. The reasoning could be something like this: “My competitor will not risk setting a higher price - 20 UAH, fearing that I will set a low price - 19 UAH. Thus, if I set a high price - 20 UAH, I will only receive 1000 UAH. And if I choose a lower price - 19 UAH, then I will get 1500 UAH. So, I will set a low price - 19 UAH." If a rival firm thinks the same way and decides to set a lower price, it turns out that both firms correctly predicted each other's actions and chose the appropriate strategy.

In such a situation, both firms would decide to set the price at 19 UAH and would receive a profit of 1,500 UAH each. However, they know that if they offered a price of 20 UAH, they could make a profit of 2,500 UAH. If firms A and B made the same price decisions over the long run, it is likely that they somehow knew that they would become richer if they set their prices higher. Firms could learn to cooperate and choose a strategy (price 20 UAH) that maximizes the profits of both. There is another method by which both firms decide to set a price of 20 UAH - they could agree that both set a high price.

Oligopoly, which is based on collusion

If oligopolists have learned to cooperate, then they begin to receive high incomes. Conspiracy within an oligopoly can take various forms. Oligopolists can secretly agree on prices and output volumes. They can officially register this in a secret deal (but such agreements are illegal) or open (provided that such agreements are legal and even agreed with the government of the country). A conspiracy can be carried out in a free form, that is, on the basis of customs and traditions, or in the form of an informal agreement. The effectiveness of such collusion varies for different oligopolies. In some cases, the plot is quite reliable, and in others it is fragile and tends to collapse.

Cartel

For an oligopoly, a simple means of coordinating pricing policies and output is to create a cartel, which obliges all parties to set certain prices and a certain market share for each producer. With luck, such an agreement will allow oligopolistic firms to obtain monopoly profits in the industry as a whole.

So, cartel is an agreement under which companies participating in an oligopoly coordinate output and pricing in order to obtain a monopoly profit.

In Fig. 10.6 illustrates an oligopolistic industry that consists of three firms (that produce the same product at the same cost). Each of the three firms agrees to 1/3 of the market and sets the same monopoly price. Since all three firms participating in the cartel have agreed to divide the market equally, then firm A's demand will be equal to 1/3 of market demand, etc. Firm A's monopoly price lies at the point of intersection of the marginal revenue curve with the marginal cost (MC) curve. Given such a demand curve, firm A will maximize its profit by producing 100 units of the product at a price of 50 UAH per unit. Other 2 companies also offer a price of 50 UAH. and produce 100 units each. The production volume for the industry as a whole is 300 units. (100 o 3).

However, Firm A is susceptible to the temptation to deceive its rivals. While two other firms are selling 200 units at a price of 50 UAH, Firm A could set the price at 49.5 UAH and sell slightly more than 1/3 of the market. The price of 49.5 UAH undoubtedly exceeds the marginal cost of firm A (20 UAH). The actual real income will go to the firm that breaks the agreement. Firms B and C are prone to the same temptation. If they "cheat" for a short time (and no one else does the same), they can increase their income. Violation of the agreement is a cost for them in the long run. If other companies discover the deception, they terminate the agreement. As a result, a price war may break out and economic profits will decline.

The thirst for profit underlies the creation and collapse of cartels. Cartels provide a share of the monopoly profits to their members for as long as each of them adheres to the cartel agreement. However, each of the cartel members can make large profits by deception, provided that the others do not deceive. Cartel members are faced with a dilemma. If one "cheats" and the other doesn't, then the "cheater" wins. If both play unfairly, then both lose. If both comply with the agreement, then this situation is beneficial for them than the option when one “cheats.” But each of them is prone to deception.

Cartels are unstable because it is quite difficult to force agreements on anyone. A very small number of cartels are successful over the long term. Most of the cartels that were involved in the sale of sugar, cocoa, and coffee quickly disappeared or did not have a significant influence on prices. There are many examples of cartels that are created based on pricing agreements. Representatives of states that are members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) regularly hold meetings that are widely covered by the world press. They are held with the aim of harmonizing oil prices. Thus, the International Air Transport Association also holds open meetings with the consent of the governments of the participating countries.

Many cartels come and go, despite the government giving them legal assistance. They, as historical experience shows, are traditionally unstable, since it is very difficult to force someone to collude. The thirst for profit leads to the fact that cartels disintegrate. Very few cartels operate successfully over the long term. Even the most successful cartel in the history of OPEC was unable to establish a strictly monopoly price. There are too many temptations for its members (especially those who need cash) to break the agreement.

Obstacles to conspiracies

There are many obstacles that reduce the chances for an effective and reliable conspiracy within the cartel. The competitive struggle between cartel members intensifies when there are:

1) a large number of sellers;

2) low barriers to entry of new firms into the industry;

3) the presence of differentiated goods;

4) high rates scientific and technological progress;

5) high fixed costs and low marginal costs;

6) legal restrictions (for example, antitrust laws). A large number of sellers. The more sellers or firms in

industry, the more difficult it is to create a reliable cartel. At very large quantities members it is quite difficult to establish contacts between member firms. Small firms that have signed an agreement are more susceptible to the temptation to break it: they are not only less well-known than large firms, but may also suffer from delusions of grandeur.

Low barriers to entry of new firms into the industry. If new firms can easily enter an industry, then existing firms will be reluctant to enter into price-increasing deals. With sufficiently free access to the industry, prices cannot be significantly higher than the cost of production.

Availability of differentiated products. The more diverse or differentiated the products, the more difficult it is to negotiate in such an industry. Reaching an agreement can be both unprofitable and profitable. Achievement will be more unprofitable if there is a differentiated product. For example, steel is homogeneous, and agreement on prices and market share among steel corporations can be easily achieved. But it is quite difficult to conclude an agreement between aircraft manufacturers on prices for the DC-10 and Boeing 747 due to discrepancies regarding quality.

High rates of scientific and technological progress. At a high rate of scientific and technological progress, a conspiracy may be impossible, since now industry is constantly releasing new products and developing new technology. A firm that uses an innovation can make greater profits than within the cartel. It is quite difficult to imagine the existence of a secret conspiracy between Kodak and Polaroid or IBM and Apple.

High fixed costs and low marginal costs. Fixed costs associated with total costs are higher, but marginal costs are usually low. The temptation to "cheat" in a cartel is a function of the difference between price and marginal cost. Thus, relatively high fixed costs encourage certain cartel members to "cheat."

Legal restrictions. The Sherman Antitrust Act (1890) in the US states that associations intended to restrain trade are illegal. Such legislation could certainly prevent conspiracies and thus price increases resulting from the creation of cartels.

Since each industry is marked by product differentiation, entry conditions, number of firms, relative rates of marginal and fixed costs, the pace of technological progress, then the degree of oligopolistic coordination cannot be the same. So, some oligopolies, unlike others, can enjoy near-monopoly power.

Oligopoly(from ancient Greek ?????? - small in number and ????? - to trade) is called a special type of market structure, which is characterized by perfect competition. In an oligopoly, there are very few companies operating in an industry. IN modern economies Examples of oligopolies include passenger airliner manufacturers Airbus and Boeing, computer and technology manufacturers Apple and Microsoft, and some car manufacturers such as BMW and Mercedes. There is a special term for an oligopoly with just two participants: duopoly.

In an oligopoly, there are a small number of sellers in the market who are susceptible to marketing strategies and each other's pricing principles. The small number of sellers is a result of the difficulty for new entrants to enter the market. Sellers carefully monitor the actions and strategies of competitors. For example, if one aluminum producer lowers its prices by a few percent, buyers will choose it over other suppliers. Other aluminum producers will need to respond to lower prices by doing the same or expanding their range of services.

Properties of Oligopoly

• Domination of the market by a small number of sellers - oligopolists
• Very high barriers to entry into the industry
• An oligopoly firm does not need to produce differentiated products to survive in the long run.
• The decision of each firm affects the situation on the market, and at the same time depends on the decisions of other firms: when making a decision, an oligopoly firm takes into account the possible reaction of other market participants. For this reason, in an oligopolistic market the possibility of collusion is very high.
• A small number of substitute products for oligopolistic products
• An oligopolist can be both a price maker and a price taker in the market
• As a quantitative description of this form, the following ratio can be used - the share of the four leading firms in the industry should be more than 40%.

Universal Interdependence

Since there are a small number of firms in the market, sellers need to develop development strategies for their firm so that they are not forced out of the market by competitors. Since there are few firms on the market, companies closely monitor the actions of competitors, including their pricing policy, with whom they cooperate, etc.

Broken demand curve model: point P (no) - if a firm sets the price for a product above a given level, then competitors will not follow it

Price policy

The pricing policy of an oligopolist company plays a huge role in its life. As a rule, it is not profitable for a firm to raise prices for its goods and services, since there is a high probability that other firms will not follow the first one, and consumers will “move” to a rival company. If a company lowers prices for its products, then, in order not to lose customers, competitors usually follow the company that lowered prices, also reducing prices for the goods they offer: a “race for the leader” occurs. Thus, so-called price wars often occur between oligopolists, in which firms set a price for their products that is no higher than that of the leading competitor. Price wars can often be devastating for companies, especially those competing with more powerful and larger firms.

Cooperation with other companies

Some oligopolists act according to the principle “don’t have a hundred rubles, but have a hundred friends.” Thus, firms enter into cooperation with competitors, such as alliances, mergers, conspiracies, cartels. For example, the airline oligopolist Aeroflot entered into the Sky Team alliance with other global airlines in 2006, and oil-producing countries united in OPEC, often recognized as a cartel. An example of a merger of two companies is the merger of Air France and KLM airlines. By joining together, firms become more powerful in the market, which allows them to increase their output, change the prices of their goods more freely, and maximize their profits.

Game theory

Theories of oligopolistic pricing

To model the behavior of market participant firms in the theory of oligopoly, game theory methods are used. The most famous oligopoly models are:

• Gutenberg model
• Edgeworth model

Organizational and economic forms of concentration

• Cartel is a form of association, a public or private agreement of a group of similar enterprises on sales volumes, prices and markets;
• A syndicate is a form of association of enterprises producing homogeneous products that organizes collective sales through a single distribution network;
• A trust is a form of association in which participants lose their production and financial independence.
• Consortium is a temporary association of enterprises on the basis of a general agreement for the implementation of a project;
• A conglomerate is an association of diversified firms. Typically, a high degree of independence and decentralization of management is maintained;
• Holding - the parent company that controls the activities of other companies, may not be engaged in production activities;
• A concern is an association of enterprises connected by a common interest.

In the vast majority of countries in the world, the processes of business combinations are controlled by antitrust legislation.

see also

Notes

Links

• INDUSTRIES OF IMPERFECT COMPETITION - 2.6 Oligopoly and its characteristics

Literature

• Nureyev R. M., "Course in Microeconomics", ed. "Norma", 2005
• F. Musgrave, E. Kacapyr; Barron's AP Micro/Macroeconomics

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

• Ten core values ​​of the Green Party
• ActionScript

See what "Oligopoly" is in other dictionaries:

OLIGOPOLY- a situation on the market in which a small number of fairly large sellers opposes a mass of relatively small buyers and each seller accounts for a significant part of the total supply on the market. Dictionary of financial terms... ... Financial Dictionary

Oligopoly- (oligopoly) A market in which a relatively small number of sellers serve many buyers. Every seller realizes that he can control his prices to a certain level and that his profits will be affected by the behavior of his competitors... Dictionary of business terms

OLIGOPOLY- (oligopoly) A situation in a market where there are several sellers, each of whom evaluates the behavior of others. Each firm controls a fairly significant part of the market, taking into account the individual reaction of other market participants to their reduction... ... Economic dictionary

OLIGOPOLY- [Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

oligopoly- The state of the commodity market in which there is a very limited number of operators, usually large corporations. Automotive markets are practically oligopolistic in all countries, since the number of car manufacturers is very... ... Technical Translator's Guide

OLIGOPOLY- (from oligo... and Greek poleo sell, trade), a type of market structure of an economy in which several large firms and companies provide the overwhelming share of industry production and sales of products... Modern encyclopedia

OLIGOPOLY- (from oligo... and Greek poleo sell trade), a term denoting a market situation when several large competing firms monopolize the production and sales of the bulk of products in the industry... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

OLIGOPOLY- (from the Greek oligos small and poleo I sell) English. oligopoly; German Oligopol. A type of market structure in which several large competing firms monopolize the sale of the bulk of products in a given industry. see MONOPOLY. Antinazi. Encyclopedia... Encyclopedia of Sociology