introduction to principles and practices of economics

 market structures refers to how different industries are organized are organized based on the number of firms, type of products and easy of entry into the market

                            Types of market structures

                 a)perfect competition

characteristics; 1)many small firms

                          2)no control over price

                         3)easy entry/exit

                          4)consumers have a perfect information

               b)monopolistic competition

       characteristics; 1)product differentiation through branding quality etc

                                2)firms compete on non-price factors

                                3)some control over price

                c)oligopoly

characteristics;1)independence btw firms

                        2)possibility of collusion or price wars

                      3)high barriers due to cost or regulations

          d)monopoly

characteristics;1)single seller

                       2)high prices and restricted output

                        3)lack of competition may reduce efficiency