OLIGOPOLY
Resources
Read/review the following resources for this activity:
- Textbook: Chapter 17
- Videos: Chapter 17 (in Weekly Resources)
- Minimum of 1 library resource for initial post
Introduction
In this discussion, you will apply what you have learned in Chapter 17 to real-world situations in order to see how the concepts can be applied to a very broad range of situations.
Keep in mind that throughout this course, discussions are intended to bring real-world situations to the course material that we are covering each week. Part of your grade will depend on the connections you make between the article or scenario in each discussion, the material from the chapters we covered in the week, and, when applicable, your own experience.
Initial Post Instructions
Find an article from a newspaper or magazine that discusses an Oligopoly. You probably won’t find the article using the word Oligopoly, so you might have to think of some examples of markets or organizations that are Oligopolies and find an article on those.
How are the decisions of the firms affected by being in an Oligopolistic market? Would the price and quantity of output change if there were more firms in the market? Are there public (government) policies that affect the market? What are the policies and what are the policies attempting to do? (Hint: you might be able to find examples by searching for articles with such policies mentioned—Anti-trust, Sherman act, collusion, or by thinking about markets that have few sellers, etc.) Are those policies effective?
Does it appear that the firms in the Oligopoly are colluding with each other or competing against each other? Why do you think so? Is that helpful or harmful to consumers?
Don’t forget to cite your article!
Secondary Post Instructions
Comment on your classmates’ analysis—do you agree with what they’ve said? With what the article said? Are there other similar examples of Oligopolies of which you can think (that weren’t mentioned in an original post)? Does it appear to you that the firms are cooperating with or competing against each other? If the government has not stepped in with a policy to “correct” the market, should they? What might the government do?
Writing Requirements
- In addition to one initial post, respond to at least two peers.
- Initial Post Length: minimum of 250 words
- Secondary Post Length: minimum of 200 words per post
- Use APA format for in-text citations and list of references.
Answer preview
Oligopoly is a market structure where a few players control the market share. Where the purest form of oligopoly is a duopoly. MasterCard and Visa Card are an example of a duopoly, controlling a combined 84.4 percent of the global market on cards in circulation. Where Discover and American Express coming in third and fourth with 8.1 and 7.5 percent respectively (Cardinal, 2017). These firms make decisions almost in a monopolistic way. Although it is not in the public domain how they may be colluding in making…
(500 words)