“Analytical Study about Monopolistic Competition and Oligopoly”
Written by:
Zainab Hallal
Under the supervision of:
Dr. Ali Zeiter
Spring 2013
Table of Contents
Abstract 3
1. Introduction
1.1 Background 4
1.2 Purpose and Research Title4
1. Literature Review
2.1 Monopolistic Competition6
2.1.1 Definition of MC6
2.1.2 Characteristics of MC7
2.1.3 Inefficiency of MC9
2.2 Oligopoly9
2.2.1 Definition of Oligopoly9
2.2.2 Characteristics of Oligopoly10
2.2.3 The Bad of Oligopoly11
2.2.4 The Good of Oligopoly11
2. Case Study12
3. Conclusion17
4.1 Results17
4.2 Discussions18
4. Bibliography20
--------------------------------- Abstract -----------------------------------
Market structure refers to the interconnected characteristics of a market, which include the number of firms, level and forms of competition and extent of product differentiation. Based on these parameters, several market structures are defined and this study will focus on two of them, namely monopolistic competition and oligopolistic markets, by discussing the differences among them and their impact on the customers.
Oligopolistic market is defined as a market that is dominated by few large firms, and that these firms are mutually dependent, where they have to monitor the actions of other competitors closely and act accordingly in response to that. These firms target bigger markets, at regional, national and even international level. Examples of oligopolistic markets include airline, petroleum and bank industries. On the other hand, monopolistic competition market refers to a market with large number...