Market structures refer to the organizational and competitive characteristics that shape how markets operate, influencing factors like pricing, competition, and entry barriers. Four primary firm market structures exist perfect competition, monopoly, monopolistic competition, and oligopoly. These structures differ in terms of the number of firms, product differentiation, barriers to entry, and control over pricing. 1. Perfect Competition: Perfect competition is an ideal market structure where numerous small firms sell identical products, having no control over prices. Entry and exit are calm, and firms are price takers, meaning they accept the market price. Examples include agricultural markets where products are homogeneous, such as wheat or corn. 2. Monopoly: A monopoly occurs when a single firm dominates the market, controlling the supply of a unique product with no close substitutes. Due to the absence of race, a monopoly has significant control over price. Monopolies...
