Monopoly, Oligopoly, and a Cartel.

Economic structure and The Possible Future Actions of OPEC

A monopoly is an economic term that describes a market (product or service ) that is owned by one seller and has many buyers . In contrast an oligopoly is a market that is owned by a few sellers and any action of these sellers would result in the market price fluctuating while also affecting the price of the competitors ' a well . A cartel can occur in an oligopolistic economy . It is a formal agreement among independent organizations that creates control over both the production and

br distribution of a product or service thus limiting the competition

An example of a current day monopoly is DeBeers , the diamond mogul which controls the majority of the world 's diamond markets . There are many examples of oligopolies today . According to Lori Alden automobile , tire , cigarette , airline , and steel industries are examples of oligopolies (2007 . Oligopolies make it difficult for others to compete due to their large factories and budgets , as well as their patented products and their control over raw materials (2007

According to Benjamin Zycher (2008 , OPEC can be considered a cartel OPEC can be classified as a cartel because it is comprised of a group of producers that attempt to restrict output in to raise prices above the competitive level (p .1

The government support of monopolies can cause price fixing in essential industries such as the agricultural industry . Other examples of government-supported monopolies include the exclusive ownership of cable television operating systems...