What is oligopoly short answer?
An oligopoly is a market characterized by a small number of firms who realize they are interdependent in their pricing and output policies. The number of firms is small enough to give each firm some market power.
Oligopolies are markets where profit maximising competitors set their strategies by paying close attention to how their rivals are likely to react. In these conditions, firms might differentiate their products, which can benefit some consumers, but at a price.
Oligopoly. A market structure in which a small number of interdependent firms compete. Barrier to entry. Anything that keeps new firms from entering an industry in which firms are earning economic profits.
An oligopoly refers to a market structure that consists of a small number of firms, who together have substantial influence over a certain industry or market. While the group holds a great deal of market power, no one company within the group has enough sway to undermine the others or steal market share.
An oligopoly is defined as a market structure with few firms and barriers to entry. Oligopoly = A market structure with few firms and barriers to entry. There is often a high level of competition between firms, as each firm makes decisions on prices, quantities, and advertising to maximize profits.
Computer technology industry
This sector is a best example of oligopoly. The entire computer technology market is globally dominated by two leaders named Apple and Windows. Due to their economic growth across the globe, no other firm is trying to enter in this sector.
Conclusion: In the nutshell we can say that the Oligopoly market situation is very similar to Monopoly market situation but with more than one number of seller up to limit extent. The pricing is done by proper agreement between the firms. The product differentiation may or may not present.
The term oligopoly is derived from 'oligi', meaning few and 'polein', meaning to sell. A market situation where the number of big sellers of a commodity is less and the number of buyers is more is known as Oligopoly Market. The sellers in the oligopoly market sell differentiated or homogeneous products.
What are the characteristics of oligopoly in economics? Oligopoly characteristics include high barriers to new entry, price-setting ability, the interdependence of firms, maximized revenues, product differentiation, and non-price competition.
What best describes oligopoly? Involves only a few sellers of a standardized or differentiated product, so each firm is affected by the decisions of its rivals.
Why is it called oligopoly?
The term “oligopoly” refers to an industry where there are only a small number of firms operating. In an oligopoly, no single firm enjoys a large amount of market power. Thus, no single firm is able to raise its prices above the price that would exist under a perfect competition scenario.
The oligopoly theory usually refers to the partial equilibrium study of markets in which the demand side is competitive, while the supply side is neither monopolized nor competitive. It is exclusively concerned with single period models.

Oligopolies may be identified using concentration ratios, which measure the proportion of total market share controlled by a given number of firms. When there is a high concentration ratio in an industry, economists tend to identify the industry as an oligopoly.
Understanding Oligopolies
The economic and legal concern is that an oligopoly can block new entrants, slow innovation, and increase prices, all of which harm consumers. Firms in an oligopoly set prices, whether collectively—in a cartel—or under the leadership of one firm, rather than taking prices from the market.
An oligopoly is a market structure in which many firms sell products that are similar but not identical. The market for crude oil is an example of an oligopolistic market.
Oligopolies set prices through leadership of one firm or cartels. In both cases the prices are higher than in a market with perfect competition. The firms often do not compete on price but rather choose to compete on alternative parameters such as product quality. Changes in supply or demand have no effect on prices.
a competitive situation in which there are only a few sellers (of products that can be differentiated but not to any great extent); each seller has a high percentage of the market and cannot afford to ignore the actions of the others.
Oligopoly Example: U.S. Domestic Airline Market
An example of a modern oligopoly is the U.S. airline industry, where four carriers hold in excess of 2/3 of total market share. The four carriers are: American Airlines (AAL) Delta Airlines (DAL)
Oligopoly is a form of imperfect competition and is usually described as the competition among a few. Hence, Oligopoly exists when there are two to ten sellers in a market selling homogeneous or differentiated products. A good example of an Oligopoly is the cold drinks industry.
The market power of an oligopoly is such that it bars entry to new firms, limiting competition, and is generally bad for consumers because it causes higher prices.
What happens oligopoly market?
The primary idea behind an oligopolistic market (an oligopoly) is that a few companies rule over many in a particular market or industry, offering similar goods and services. Because of a limited number of players in an oligopolistic market, competition is limited, allowing every firm to operate successfully.
- Large Investment of Capital: ...
- Control of Indispensable Resources: ...
- Legal Restriction and Patents: ...
- Economies of Scale: ...
- Superior Entrepreneurs: ...
- Mergers: ...
- Difficulties of Entry into the Industry:
Answer: An oligopoly is an industry which is dominated by a few firms. In this market, there are a few firms which sell homogeneous or differentiated products. Also, as there are few sellers in the market, every seller influences the behavior of the other firms and other firms influence it.
1, The petrol market is an oligopoly. 2, It is apparently a competitive oligopoly. 3, An oligopoly exists in a market with just a few sellers. 4, A duopoly is an oligopoly with only two members.
1. Syndicated Oligopoly: When only a very small group or an individual firm controls the sale of products, it is a case of Syndicated Oligopoly. 2. Organised Oligopoly: When all the firms work together to fix output, sale, prices, etcThe Market is called Organised Oligopoly Market.
- low level of competition;
- high potential to receive big profits;
- a great demand for products and services controlled through oligopolies;
- a limited number of companies makes it easier for customers to compare and choose products;
- more competitive prices;
An oligopoly is an industry dominated by a few large firms. For example, an industry with a five-firm concentration ratio of greater than 50% is considered an oligopoly.
An oligopoly is a market structure in which a few firms dominate.
Which statement is true about oligopolies? They do not achieve allocative efficiency because their price exceeds marginal cost. When members of an oligopoly react to price changes by a dominant firm, the ______ _______ model is most applicable.
Oligopolies are inefficient for the same reasons that monopolies are—in order to reap economic profits, they produce too little output so they create deadweight losses to society. The more like a monopoly a given oligopoly is, the higher their profits and the greater the deadweight loss.
Why is oligopoly stable?
Other Models Explaining Price Stability in Oligopoly
If costs change only slowly, then prices will remain fairly stable. In an oligopoly market like petrol retail. A change in the price of oil will often lead to all firms changing prices by a similar amount.
When Did It Begin? During the Industrial Revolution the production of goods and services and the competition between companies increased, as did the formation of both monopolies and oligopolies. In the 1900s several large companies dominating the U.S. automobile and steel industries were the first oligopolies.
“Oligopoly also affects the distribution of income” he says. “When oligopoly power increases, a larger share of GDP goes to capital owners, and a smaller one goes to workers. Hence, oligopoly has major implications for inequality.”
Because oligopolies can successfully thwart competition, they restrict output to maximize profits, producing only until marginal cost = marginal revenue. Hence, oligopolies exhibit the same inefficiencies as a monopoly.
Oligopolies are price setters rather than prices takers. High barriers to entry and exit. The most important barriers are government licenses, economies of scale, patents, access to expensive and complex technology, and strategic actions by incumbent firms designed to discourage or destroy nascent firms.
The Cournot–Nash model is the simplest oligopoly model. The model assumes that there are two "equally positioned firms"; the firms compete on the basis of quantity rather than price and each firm makes an "output of decision assuming that the other firm's behavior is fixed."
Key Takeaways. A monopoly occurs when a single company that produces a product or service controls the market with no close substitute. In an oligopoly, two or more companies control the market, none of which can keep the others from having significant influence.
Oligopsony: An Overview
An oligopsony is a market for a product or service which is dominated by a few large buyers. The concentration of demand in just a few parties gives each substantial power over the sellers and can effectively keep prices down. The opposite effect can be seen in an oligopoly.
What are the characteristics of oligopoly in economics? Oligopoly characteristics include high barriers to new entry, price-setting ability, the interdependence of firms, maximized revenues, product differentiation, and non-price competition.
An oligopoly occurs when multiple companies, businesses, or firms in a specific industry become so influential that it discourages the creation of new firms. The oligopolists have power as a group but cannot do enough on their own to shift the balance of power within the oligopoly.
What are the 4 characteristics of oligopoly?
- Firms are interdependent.
- Product differentiation.
- High barriers to entry.
- Uncertainty.
a competitive situation in which there are only a few sellers (of products that can be differentiated but not to any great extent); each seller has a high percentage of the market and cannot afford to ignore the actions of the others.
Key Takeaways
Oligopsony is a market structure where the number of buyers is small, whereas the number of sellers is large. The concentration of demand in the hands of a few buyers allows them to influence the price of commodities sold by numerous sellers.
An oligopsony is a situation when there are only a small number of buyers in a market. This means that a limited number of people have market power and are able to lower the price they pay for a good or service due to the lack of competition.
An oligopoly refers to a market with only a few sellers. Monopolistic competition refers to situations where there are many sellers, but the products are highly differentiated.