impossible to achieve in a real world scenario as it embodies contradiction in itself and therefore is considered an idealised framework by economists. Monopolistic competition power Monopolistic competition can be described as the "middle ground" between perfect competition and a monopoly as it shares elements present in both market structures that are on different ends of the market structure spectrum. Monopolistic competition is a type of market structure defined by many producers that are competing against each other by selling similar goods which are differentiated, thus are not perfect substitutes. In the short term, firms are able to obtain economic profits as a result of differentiated goods providing sellers with some degree of market power; however, profits approaches zero as more competitive toughness increases in the industry. The main characteristics of monopolistic competition include: Differentiated products Many sellers and buyers Free entry and exit Firms within this market structure are not price takers and compete based on product price, quality and through marketing efforts, setting individual prices for the unique differentiated products. Examples of industries with monopolistic competition include restaurants, hairdressers and clothing. Monopoly power The word monopoly is used in various instances referring to a single seller of a product, a producer with an overwhelming level of market share, or refer to a large firm. All of these treatments have one unifying factor which is the ability to influence the market price by altering the supply of the good or service through its own production decisions. The most discussed form of market power is that of a monopoly, but other forms such as monopsony and more moderate versions of these extremes exist. A monopoly is considered a 'market failure' and consists of one firm that produces a unique product or service without close substitutes. Whilst pure monopolies are rare, monopoly power is far more common and can be seen in many industries even with more than one supplier in the market. Firms with monopoly power can charge a higher price for products (higher markup) as demand is relatively inelastic. They also see a falling rate of labour share as firms divest from expensive inputs such as labour. Often, firms with monopoly power exist in industries with high barriers to entry, which include, but are not limited to: Economies of scale Predatory pricing Control of key resources (required in production of the good) Legal regulations A well-known example of monopolistic