Perfect competition, monopoly, monopolistic competition and oligopoly — their assumptions, equilibria, and evaluation of efficiency.
The spectrum of market structures
Market structures differ in the number of firms, barriers to entry, product differentiation and price-setting power.
| Structure | Firms | Barriers | Product | Long-run profit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perfect competition | very many | none | identical | normal only |
| Monopolistic competition | many | low | differentiated | normal |
| Oligopoly | few | high | varied | supernormal possible |
| Monopoly | one | very high | unique | supernormal |
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