Title: Market structure - Wikipedia
Headings: Market structure
Market structure
Contents
History
Types
Features of market structures
Measure of market structure
See also
References
External links

Content: Discussion of monopsony power in the labor literature largely focused on the pure monopsony model in which a single firm comprised the entirety of demand for labor in a market (e.g., company town). Features of market structures
The imperfectly competitive structure is quite identical to the realistic market conditions where some monopolistic competitors, monopolists, oligopolists, and duopolists exist and dominate the market conditions. The elements of Market Structure include the number and size of sellers, entry and exit barriers, nature of product, price, selling costs. Competition is useful because it reveals actual customer demand and induces the seller (operator) to provide service quality levels and price levels that buyers (customers) want, typically subject to the seller's financial need to cover its costs. In other words, competition can align the seller's interests with the buyer's interests and can cause the seller to reveal his true costs and other private information. In the absence of perfect competition, three basic approaches can be adopted to deal with problems related to the control of market power and an asymmetry between the government and the operator with respect to objectives and information: ( a) subjecting the operator to competitive pressures, (b) gathering information on the operator and the market, and (c) applying incentive regulation. Quick Reference to Basic Market Structures
Market Structure
Seller Entry & Exit Barriers
Nature of product
Number of sellers
Number of buyers
Price
Perfect Competition
No
Homogeneous
Many
Many
Uniform price as their price takers
Monopolistic competition
No
Closely related but differentiated
Many
Many
Partial control over price
Monopoly
Yes
Differentiated (No Substitute)
One
Many
Price Maker
Duopoly
Yes
Homogeneous or Differentiated
Two
Many
Price rigidity due to price war
Oligopoly
Yes
Homogeneous or Differentiated
Few
Many
Price rigidity due to price war
Monopsony
No
Homogeneous or Differentiated
Many
One
Price taker (as there is only one buyer)
Oligopsony
No
Homogeneous or Differentiated
Many
Few
Price Taker
Karl Marx
The correct sequence of the market structure from most to least competitive is perfect competition, imperfect competition, oligopoly, and pure monopoly. The main criteria by which one can distinguish between different market structures are: the number and size of firms and consumers in the market, the type of goods and services being traded, and the degree to which information can flow freely.