PRICE AND OUTPUT DETERMINATION UNDER MONOPOLY: Features of the monopoly, short run and long run equilibrium
PRICE AND OUTPUT DETERMINATION UNDER MONOPOLY Monopoly is that market form in which a single producer controls the whole supply of a single commodity that has no close substitutes. Spencer has defined a monopolist market in the following words: "A monopolist market can be defined as one market where there is no perfect substitute for the product of an individual seller so that there is a separate demand curve for the product of each seller in the market" This definition emphasizes two main points: 1-The single producer may be an individual owner or a group of partners. Since there is only one firm under monopoly, that single firm constitutes the whole industry. Therefore, the distinction between the firm and industry disappears under the condition of monopoly. 2- There must not be the close substitutes, i.e, there are no other firms producing a similar product or products varying only slightly from that of the monopolist. For example, there are no...