1. AS: 3.1.4 Competitive and concentrated markets
1.4.4 Monopoly and monopoly power
What is the objective of a player in the game of monopoly?
What percentage of the board do you think you need to own to realistically win the game?
How many major players do you think there are in:
The supermarket industry
Banking
UK rail travel
Soft drinks industry?
AS: Competitive and concentrated markets
Y1: Perfect competition, imperfectly competitive markets and monopoly

2. 1.4.4 Monopoly and monopoly power
The difference between pure monopoly and monopoly power
Monopoly power is influenced by factors such as barriers to entry, the number of competitors, advertising and the degree of product differentiation
Concentration ratios and how to calculate concentration ratios
The basic model of monopoly suggests that higher prices and profits and inefficiency may result in a misallocation of resources compared to the outcome in a competitive market
The potential benefits from monopoly, for example, economies of scale and possibly more invention and innovation
You should appreciate that there are few examples of pure monopoly but many firms have monopoly power
A formal diagrammatic analysis of monopoly is not required but you should be able to use a demand curve to illustrate that if a monopolist raises the market price above the competitive level, output will fall
You should also be able to use a long-run average cost curve to illustrate the benefits from economies of scale that may result from monopoly
You should appreciate the various factors which affect the behaviour and performance of firms in a variety of real-world markets

3. Monopoly - characteristics
A monopolist:
Is the only firm in the industry. Therefore, the firm is the industry
This means that the firm’s demand curve and the market demand curve are the same
The demand curve is also the average revenue curve
Aims to profit maximise
Makes supernormal profits as it produces where AR is greater than AC
Is a price maker i.e. it sets the price in the market
Barriers to entry stop other firms entering the industry
Monopoly can be seen as the opposite of perfect competition
The key characteristics are that there is only one firm in the industry and there is no entry into the market by other firms.
A pure monopoly has only one firm in the industry.
In the UK a monopoly is classed as any firm with 25% market share and a dominant monopoly as one with 40% market share.

4. Monopoly and market power
A monopoly exists where there is only one firm in the market. However, the Government refer to any company that has at least 25% market share as having monopoly powers.
Market power is the ability of a firm to set price above marginal cost.
Monopolies can exploit consumers by charging high prices. Therefore, monopolies are regulated in order to protect the customer.
A monopoly occurs when there is only one producer in an industry
This provides the monopolist with market power leading to higher prices and supernormal profits
There will be allocative inefficiency and a misallocation of resources
Therefore, a monopoly is an example of market failure
How can monopolies use their power to exploit the customer? What role do governments play in regulating monopolies?

5. Sources of monopoly power
Sources of monopoly power are the factors that allow a firm to control price and output in a market
These sources protect the firm in the industry and lead to different behaviour by firms under conditions of monopoly and oligopoly than under that of perfect competition
The monopolist has an inelastic price elasticity of demand allowing it to set higher prices
There are no close substitutes for the monopolist’s product so consumers have no choice in where they buy from
Monopoly power exists in different market structures
The greater the degree of competition the less likely is a firm to have monopoly power

6. research and development in hi-tech industries.
Barriers to entry
Barriers to entry exist in monopoly markets. These stop firms from entering the market
They include:
High costs to enter the market, especially high capital costs
Economies of scale experienced by large firms e.g. bulk buying
Intellectual property rights/legal barriers – patents, trademark and copyright restrict other firms from producing a good or service
Unfair competition e.g. predatory pricing attempting to force competitors out of a market e.g. selling products below cost price for a time period
Government regulation restricting firms from entering a market e.g. giving sole rights to one supplier
Barriers to entry are any factors that stop a firm from entering a market. Some markets will have high barriers to entry e.g. the cost of
research and development in hi-tech industries.
Can you identify an example of each of these barriers to entry operating in UK industries?

7. The number of competitors
The degree of concentration within a market is the number of firms that dominate the market.
The degree of concentration within a market refers to the number of firms that dominate the market:
Monopoly – one firm dominates the market
Duopoly – two firms dominate the market
Oligopoly – a small number of firms are in the industry
Monopolistic Competition – many firms compete in the industry selling differentiated products
Perfect competition – many firms in the industry with no influence on market price
MONOPOLY
DUOPOLY
OLIGOPOLY
MONOPOLISTIC
COMPETITION
PERFECT

8. The number of competitors
Monopoly ensures that there are no other firms in the market
This means that the monopolist can set both the price and the output of their product
In oligopoly there are only a few firms in the market, each firm is interdependent of each other
The concentration ratio tells us the number of firms that dominate the market
For example 3:75 means that 3 firms have 75% market share
Less competition enables the firm to behave more like a monopoly
Who are the "big six" energy companies?
How would you describe the UK energy market?

9. Advertising
Firms invest heavily in advertising their products in order to create awareness and deter new entrants into the market
Advertising is in effect a form of product differentiation as it changes the perception of the product in the eyes of the consumer
Advertising will increase fixed costs and therefore increase the scale of production at which a firm needs to operate profitably
Effective advertising will lead to an increase in the level of profit for a monopolist
Adidas looks to outrun Nike with its biggest advertising campaign ever
Nike Football: Winner Stays.
How effective is advertising in deterring new entrants and achieving product differentiation?

10. The degree of product differentiation
Product differentiation occurs when firms try to make their product different to the competition by adapting the actual product in some way or by distinguishing the product through advertising and branding.
This helps to provide a Unique Selling Point (USP) - something that distinguishes the product of one firm from those of its competitors.
Product differentiation provides a competitive advantage to a firm and ensures a degree of monopoly power
Product differentiation includes:
Quality features that competitors’ products do not have
Functional and design features that competitors’ products do not have
Imperfect information where consumers are more aware of one firm’s products over those of the competition
Advertising creating perceived differences in the mind of the consumer
Location, where the product can only be bought geographically through one supplier

11. Advantages of monopoly
Product invention occurs when an original product or process is created.
Product innovation occurs when a product or process that already exists is adapted.
Natural monopolies exist where the nature of the industry means that there would be high productive inefficiency if more than one firm supplied the product e.g. the water industry.
Economies of scale mean that monopolies can force down unit costs becoming more productively efficient
These lower costs can be passed on to the benefit of society
They have large research and development budgets allowing for the development of new products that can benefit society:
This creates dynamic efficiency as innovation leads to better processes lowering the LRAC curve further
Better quality products can be developed as monopolies can invest without the threat of competitors
This can lead to product invention and product innovation
Natural monopolies occur when it would be too expensive for a number of competing firms to provide the same product e.g. water and gas provision to households
In some cases no firms would supply the infrastructure for a market due to high costs so the government intervene

12. Pure monopoly
In conditions of pure monopoly we see continual returns to scale. This leads to an L-shaped LRAC curve where average costs are always falling.
This will give a firm the incentive to keep increasing the scale of production to reduce average costs further.
This leads to highly significant barriers to entry.
A pure monopoly is often highly regulated by the government as there is no competition. Consumer exploitation might occur if the industry was left to its own devices.
Costs
LRAC
Output

13. Disadvantages of monopoly
A monopolist:
Removes competition due to barriers to entry
Makes supernormal profits in the long run by charging higher prices than would occur under competitive markets
This leads to the consumer being exploited
Is productively inefficient as it does not produce at the lowest point on its LRAC curve
Is allocatively inefficient as it does not produce at the point where P = MC
Is x-inefficient as no competition means less incentive to control costs
Can reduce choice and quality as there is no competition

14. Here, we can see that P1Q1 provides greater total revenue than PQ.
a market demand curve showing the effect on price of producing a lower output
In a pure monopoly there is only one supplier. Therefore, demand for the monopolist's products is the demand for the whole of the market.
As the monopolist reduces output price will increase. As it does not have to worry about the competition, the monopolist can choose the price that will maximise profits.
Here, we can see that P1Q1 provides greater total revenue than PQ.
Price
Quantity D P1 Q1 P Q
The monopolist prices its product at P. At this point output is Q.
By reducing output to Q1 the monopolist is able to increase price to P1. O

15. Test yourself
With the use of a diagram explain how a monopoly can use its power to maximise profits?
State and briefly explain two barriers to entry.
What is meant by the term natural monopoly?