You have studied two extreme forms of market structure: one with infinite producers (perfect competition) and one with a single producer (monopoly). Realistically, within the spectrum of these two models, the vast majority of firms exist in an imperfectly competitive setting where at least one firm is a price setter. You will now study two other broad categories in the world of imperfect competition: one in which many firms compete (monopolistic competition – for example, the market for restaurants in a city) and another in which few firms compete (oligopoly – for example, the cell phone industry).
Monopolistic competition
Oligopoly
Game theory
Nash equilibrium
You have studied two extreme forms of market structure: one with infinite producers (perfect competition) and one with a single producer (monopoly). Realistically, within the spectrum of these two models, the vast majority of firms exist in an imperfectly competitive setting where at least one firm is a price setter. You will now study two other broad categories in the world of imperfect competition: one in which many firms compete (monopolistic competition – for example, the market for restaurants in a city) and another in which few firms compete (oligopoly – for example, the cell phone industry).
Monopolistic competition
Activity
Principles of Microeconomics: “Chapter 11, Section 1: Monopolistic Competition: Competition among Many”
Boundless: “Economics, Chapter 12: Monopolistic Competition”
Khan Academy: “Oligopolies and Monopolistic Competition”
Khan Academy: “Monopolistic Competition and Economic Profit”
Oligopoly
Activity
Principles of Microeconomics: “Chapter 11, Section 2: Oligopoly: Competition among Few”
Khan Academy: “Oligopolies, Duopolies, Collusion, and Cartels”
MIT OpenCourseWare: Johnathan Gruber’s “Oligopoly”
Game theory
Activity
Khan Academy: “Game Theory of Cheating Firms”
Nash equilibrium
Activity
Khan Academy: “More on Nash Equilibrium”
Khan Academy: “Why Parties to Cartels Cheat”
Khan Academy: “Prisoners’ Dilemma and Nash Equilibrium”
Developer