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Showing posts with the label Market Structures

CRITICISM OF THE CONCEPT OF PERFECT COMPETITION

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  In reality, there is no market in which perfect competition exists. This is due to the following factors: Very few firms produce homogenous products. Even if the products were fairly identical, consumers are unlikely to view them as such. In real situations, consumers prefer variety for fuller satisfaction of their wants; hence homogenous products may not be very popular in these circumstances. There is a common tendency towards large-scale operation. This tendency works against the assumption of having many small firms in an industry. Firms are not found in one place to cut down on transport costs as this market structure requires. Governments usually interfere in business activities in a variety of ways in the interest of their citizens. The assumption of non-interference by the state is therefore unrealistic in real world situations. The information does not freely flow in real markets so as to make both sellers and buyers fully knowledgeable of happenings in all parts of a gi...

Types of Oligopoly

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  An oligopoly is a market structure where there are few firms. The firms are relatively large and command a substantial part of the market. It is a market structure between monopolistic competition and monopoly. Types of Oligopoly Oligopoly may be classified according to the number of firms or the type of products they sell. They include; Duopoly; This refers to an oligopoly market structure which comprises of two firms. Mastermind Tobacco and British American Tobacco (BAT) are examples of duopoly in Kenya. Perfect/Pure oligopoly refers to an oligopolistic market that deals in products which are identical. Examples of pure oligopoly are companies dealing with petroleum products such as oil Libya, Caltex, Total, Shell, National Oil, Kenol and Kobil. These firm sell products which  are identical such as kerosene, petrol and diesel. Imperfect/Differentiated Oligopoly; this is an oligopolistic market structure where firm have products which are the same but are made to appear ...