Economics Oligopoly Study Cards

Enhance Your Learning with Economics - Oligopoly Flash Cards for quick learning



Oligopoly

A market structure characterized by a small number of large firms dominating the market and interdependence among them.

Market Structure

The organizational and other characteristics of a market, including the number and size of firms, entry and exit barriers, and the degree of competition.

Competition

The rivalry among firms in a market, which can range from perfect competition to monopolistic competition to oligopoly.

Pricing Strategies

The methods and approaches used by firms to set prices for their products or services, such as cost-based pricing, value-based pricing, and competitive pricing.

Barriers to Entry

Obstacles that make it difficult for new firms to enter a market, such as high startup costs, economies of scale, and legal restrictions.

Collusion

An agreement or cooperation among firms in an oligopoly to restrict competition and increase their joint profits, often through price-fixing or market sharing.

Oligopoly Models

The different theoretical models used to analyze and understand oligopolistic markets, including the Cournot model, the Bertrand model, and the Stackelberg model.

Game Theory

A branch of mathematics that studies strategic decision-making in situations where the outcome of one's choices depends on the choices of others, commonly used to analyze oligopoly behavior.

Monopolistic Competition

A market structure characterized by many firms selling differentiated products, with some degree of market power but also facing competition from other firms.

Cartels

Formal agreements among firms in an oligopoly to coordinate their actions and maximize their joint profits, often through price-fixing and output quotas.

Price Leadership

A situation in an oligopoly where one firm, usually the largest or most dominant, sets the price and other firms follow suit.

Market Concentration

The extent to which a market is dominated by a few large firms, often measured by the concentration ratio or the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI).

Economic Efficiency

The optimal allocation of resources in a market, where resources are allocated in a way that maximizes total surplus or social welfare.

Market Power

The ability of a firm or group of firms to influence the market price or quantity of a product, often due to market concentration or barriers to entry.

Antitrust Laws

Laws and regulations aimed at promoting competition and preventing anticompetitive behavior, such as collusion, price-fixing, and abuse of market power.

Market Share

The percentage of total market sales or output that is controlled by a particular firm or group of firms, often used as a measure of market power.