Types of market structures. perfect and imperfect competition

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Imperfect competition is competition in conditions where individual producers have the ability to control the prices of the products they produce.

Unlike the market model of perfect competition, which is an abstraction and practically does not exist in real life, but only in theory, imperfectly competitive markets are found almost everywhere. Most real markets in modern economies are imperfectly competitive markets.

Signs of imperfect competition:

• · presence of barriers to entry into the industry;
• · product differentiation;
• · the main share of sales falls on one or several leading manufacturers;
• · the ability to control fully or partially the price of your products.

Under conditions of imperfect competition, the firm's equilibrium (i.e. when MC = MR) will occur when average costs do not reach their minimum level, and the price is higher than average costs:

(MC=MR)< AC < P

There are many examples of imperfectly competitive markets. These include the carbonated drink market led by the leading companies Coca-Cola and Pepsi, the car market (Toyota, Honda, BMW, etc.), the household appliances and electronics (Samsung, Siemens, Sony), etc.

There are such types of imperfect competition as monopoly, oligopoly and monopolistic competition.

Table 1. Types of market structures of imperfect competition

General features of imperfect competition

The vast majority of real markets are imperfectly competitive markets. They received their name due to the fact that competition, and therefore the spontaneous mechanisms of self-regulation (the “invisible hand” of the market) act on them imperfectly. In particular, the principle of the absence of surpluses and deficits in the economy, which is precisely

Evidence of the efficiency and perfection of the market system. As soon as some goods are abundant and some are in short supply, it can no longer be said that all available resources of the economy are spent only on the production of the necessary goods in the required quantities.

The prerequisites for imperfect competition are:

1. significant market share of individual manufacturers;

2. the presence of barriers to entry into the industry;

3. heterogeneity of products;

4. imperfection (inadequacy) of market information.

As we will see later, each of these factors separately and all of them together contribute to the deviation market equilibrium from the point of equality of supply and demand. Thus, a single manufacturer of a certain product (monopolist) or a group of large firms colluding with each other (cartel) is able to maintain inflated prices without the risk of losing customers - there is simply nowhere else to get this product.

As in the case of perfect competition, in imperfect markets it is possible to identify the main criterion that allows one to classify a particular market into this category. The criterion of imperfect competition is a decrease in the demand curve and prices as the firm's output increases. Another formulation is often used: the criterion of imperfect competition is the negative slope of the demand curve (D) for the firm's products.

Thus, if under conditions of perfect competition the volume of a firm's output does not affect the price level, then under conditions of imperfect competition it does.

The economic meaning of this pattern is that a firm can sell large volumes of products under imperfect competition only by lowering prices. Or in another way: the behavior of a company is significant on an industry scale.

Indeed, with perfect competition, the price remains the same no matter how many products the firm produces, because its size is negligibly small compared to the total market capacity. Will the mini-bakery double, maintain the same level, or completely stop baking bread? general situation the Russian food market will not change in any way and the price of bread will remain its value.

On the contrary, the presence of a connection between production volumes and the price level directly indicates the importance of the company within the market. If, say, AvtoVAZ reduces the supply of Lada cars by half, then there will be a shortage of passenger cars and prices will jump. And this is the case with all types of imperfect competition. Another question is that the importance of a company can be given not only by its size, but also by other factors, in particular the uniqueness of its products. But the relationship between output volume and price level is always observed if this is truly an imperfectly competitive market.

Pure (perfect) competition is competition that occurs in a market where a very large number of firms producing standard, homogeneous goods interact. Under these conditions, any firm can enter the market; there is no price control.

In a purely competitive market, no individual buyer or seller exerts great influence to the level of current market prices of goods. The seller cannot ask for a price higher than the market price, since buyers can freely purchase at it any quantity of goods they need. In this case, firstly, we mean the market for a certain product, for example wheat. Secondly, all sellers offer the same product on the market, i.e. the buyer will be equally satisfied with wheat purchased from different sellers, and all buyers and sellers have the same and full information about market conditions. Third, the actions of an individual buyer or seller do not influence the market.

The functioning mechanism of such a market can be illustrated with the following example. If the price of wheat rises as a result of increased demand, the farmer will respond by expanding his crops to next year. For the same reason, other farmers will plant larger areas, as well as those who have not done this before. As a result, the supply of wheat on the market will increase, which may lead to a fall in the market price. If this happens, then all producers, and even those who have not expanded the area under wheat, will have problems selling it at a lower price.

Thus, a market of pure competition (or perfect) is considered to be one in which the same price is set for the same product at the same time, which requires:

• · unlimited number of participants in economic relations and free competition between them;
• absolutely free access to any economic activity all members of society;
• absolute mobility of factors of production; unlimited freedom of movement of capital;
• · absolute market awareness of profit margins, demand, supply, etc. (implementation of the principle of rational behavior of market subjects (optimization of individual well-being as a result of increased income) is impossible without the availability of complete information);
• · absolute homogeneity of goods of the same name (lack of trademarks, etc.);
• · the presence of a situation where no one participant in competition is able to directly influence the decision of another through non-economic methods;
• · spontaneous pricing in the course of free competition;
• · absence of monopoly (presence of one producer), monopsony (presence of one buyer) and non-interference of the state in the functioning of the market.

However, in practice, a situation where all these conditions are present cannot exist, therefore there is no free and perfect market. Many real markets operate according to the laws of monopolistic competition.

Evgeniy Malyar

# Business Dictionary

Terms, definitions, examples

In reality, competition is always imperfect and is divided into types, depending on which condition corresponds to the market to a greater extent.

Article navigation

• Characteristics of perfect competition
• Signs of perfect competition
• Conditions close to perfect competition
• Advantages and disadvantages of perfect competition
• Advantages
• Flaws
• Perfectly competitive market
• Imperfect competition
• Signs of imperfect competition
• Types of imperfect competition

Everyone is familiar with the concept of economic competition. This phenomenon is observed at the macroeconomic and even everyday level. Every day, when choosing a particular product in a store, every citizen, whether he wants it or not, participates in this process. What kind of competition is there, and, finally, what is it even from a scientific point of view?

Characteristics of perfect competition

To begin with, you should accept general definition competition. Objectively about this existing phenomenon, accompanying economic relations since their inception, various concepts have been put forward, from the most enthusiastic to completely pessimistic.

According to Adam Smith, expressed in his Inquiries into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776), competition, with its “invisible hand,” transforms the selfish motives of the individual into socially useful energy. The theory of a self-regulating market assumes the denial of any government intervention in the natural course of economic processes.

John Stuart Mill, being also a great liberal and supporter of maximum individual economic freedom, was more cautious in his judgments, comparing competition to the sun. Probably, this outstanding scientist also understood that on a too hot day a little shade is also a good thing.

Any scientific concept involves the use of idealized tools. Mathematicians refer to this as a “line” that has no width or a dimensionless (infinitesimal) “point”. Economists have the concept of perfect competition.

Definition: Competition is the competitive interaction of market participants, each of whom strives to obtain the greatest profit.

As in any other science, in economic theory a certain ideal market model has been adopted, which does not fully correspond to reality, but makes it possible to study the ongoing processes.

Signs of perfect competition

The description of any hypothetical phenomenon requires criteria to which a real object should (or can) strive. For example, doctors believe healthy person with a body temperature of 36.6° and a pressure of 80 over 120. Economists, listing the features of perfect competition (also called pure) also rely on specific parameters.

The reasons why it is impossible to achieve the ideal are not important in this case - they are inherent in human nature itself. Every entrepreneur, receiving certain opportunities to assert his position in the market, will definitely take advantage of them. And yet, hypothetical perfect competition is characterized by the following features:

• An infinite number of equal participants, which are understood as sellers and buyers. The convention is obvious - nothing unlimited exists within the boundaries of our planet.
• None of the sellers can influence the price of the product. In practice, there are always the most powerful participants capable of carrying out commodity interventions.
• The proposed commercial product has the properties of homogeneity and divisibility. Also a purely theoretical assumption. An abstract product is something like grain, but it also comes in different qualities.
• Complete freedom for participants to enter or leave the market. In practice, this is sometimes observed, but by no means always.
• The ability to seamlessly move production factors. Of course, it is possible to imagine, for example, an automobile plant that can easily be moved to another continent, but this will require imagination.
• The price of a product is formed solely by the relationship between supply and demand, without the possibility of influence from other factors.
• And, finally, complete public availability of information about prices, costs and other information, which in real life most often constitutes a trade secret. There are no comments at all here.

After considering the above features, the following conclusions arise:

1. Perfect competition does not exist in nature and cannot even exist.
2. The ideal model is speculative and necessary for theoretical market research.

Conditions close to perfect competition

The practical usefulness of the concept of perfect competition lies in the ability to calculate the optimal equilibrium point of a firm taking into account only three indicators: price, marginal costs and minimum gross costs. If these figures are equal to each other, the manager gets an idea of ​​​​the dependence of the profitability of his enterprise on the volume of production. This intersection point is clearly illustrated by a graph in which all three lines converge:

Where:
S – amount of profit;
ATC – minimum gross costs;
A – equilibrium point;
MS – marginal cost;
MR – market price for the product;
Q – production volume.

Advantages and disadvantages of perfect competition

Since perfect competition does not exist as an ideal phenomenon in economics, its properties can only be judged by individual characteristics, which manifest themselves in some cases in real life (at the maximum possible approximation). Speculative reasoning will also help determine its hypothetical advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages

Ideally, such competitive relations could contribute to the rational distribution of resources and the achievement of the greatest efficiency in production and commercial activities. The seller is forced to reduce costs, since the competitive environment does not allow him to increase the price. The means to achieve advantages in this case can be new cost-effective technologies, highly organized labor processes and all-out frugality.

In part, all this is observed in real conditions of imperfect competition, but there are examples of a literally barbaric attitude towards resources on the part of monopolies, especially if control by the state is weak for some reason.

An illustration of the predatory attitude towards resources can be seen in the activities of the United Fruit company, for a long time ruthlessly exploiting natural resources countries of South America.

Flaws

It should be understood that even in its ideal form, perfect (aka pure) competition would have systemic flaws.

• Firstly, her theoretical model does not provide for economically unjustified expenses to achieve public benefits and improve social standards (these costs do not fit into the scheme).
• Secondly, the consumer would be extremely limited in the choice of a generalized product: all sellers offer virtually the same thing and at approximately the same price.
• Thirdly, endlessly large number producers causes low concentration of capital. This makes it impossible to invest in large-scale resource-intensive projects and long-term scientific programs, without which progress is problematic.

Thus, the position of the firm in conditions of pure competition, as well as the consumer, would be very far from ideal.

Perfectly competitive market

The exchange market type is considered to be the closest to the idealized model at the present stage. Its participants do not have bulky and inert assets, they easily enter and leave business, their product is relatively homogeneous (evaluated by quotes). There are many brokers (although their number is not infinite) and they operate mainly with supply and demand quantities. However, the economy does not consist of exchanges alone. In reality, competition is imperfect and is divided into types, depending on which condition corresponds to the market to a greater extent.

Profit maximization in conditions of perfect competition is achieved exclusively by price methods.

The characteristics and model of the market are important for determining the possibilities of functioning in conditions of imperfect competition. It is difficult to imagine that a huge number of sellers offer absolutely the same type of product, which is in demand among an unlimited number of buyers. This is an ideal picture, suitable only for conceptual reasoning.

In real life competition is always imperfect. At the same time, there is only one common feature of markets of perfect and monopolistic competition (the most widespread) and it consists in the competitive nature of the phenomenon. There is no doubt that business entities strive to achieve advantages, take advantage of them and develop success until they fully master all possible sales volumes. In all other respects, perfect competition and monopoly are significantly different.

Imperfect competition

Real, that is, imperfect competition, by nature tends to disturb the balance. As soon as the leading, largest and strongest players emerge in the economic space, they divide the market among themselves, without ceasing to compete. Thus, most often the matter is not in the degree of “perfection” of competition, but in the very nature of the phenomenon, which has limited properties of self-regulation.

Signs of imperfect competition

Since the ideal model of “capitalist competition” is discussed above, it remains to analyze its discrepancies with what happens in the conditions of a functioning world market. The main signs of real competition include the following points:

1. The number of manufacturers is limited.
2. Barriers, natural monopolies, fiscal and licensing restrictions objectively exist.
3. Entering the market can be difficult. Exit too.
4. Products are produced varied in quality, price, consumer properties and other characteristics. However, they are not always divisible. Is it possible to build and sell half of a nuclear reactor?
5. Mobility of production takes place (in particular, towards cheap resources), but the processes of moving capacity themselves are very expensive.
6. Individual participants have the opportunity to influence the market price of a product, including through non-economic methods.
7. Information about technologies and pricing is not open.

From this list it is clear that the actual conditions modern market are not just far from the ideal model, but most often contradict it.

Types of imperfect competition

Like any non-ideal phenomenon, imperfect competition is characterized by a variety of forms. Until recently, economists simply divided them according to the principle of functioning into three categories: monopoly, oligopoly and monopolistic, but now two more concepts have been introduced - oligopsony and monopsony.

These models and types of imperfect competition deserve detailed consideration.

Oligopoly

There is competition in the market, but the number of sellers is limited. Examples of this situation are large supermarket and retail chains or mobile operators. Entry into business is difficult due to the need for huge initial capital investments and permits. Market division often (not always) occurs on a territorial basis.

Monopoly

In most cases, legal norms do not allow complete individual takeover of the market. The exception is usually natural monopolies owned by the state, as well as suppliers who reasonably own the infrastructure for delivering the product (for example, electricity, gas, water, heat).

Monopolistic competition

It should not be confused with monopoly, although the terms are similar. This type of competition is characterized by the activity of a limited number of suppliers offering a product with similar consumer properties.

An example is the relationship between manufacturers, for example, household appliances and electronics. Their assortment is usually similar, but there are differences in quality and price. The market is divided between several leading brands. If any of them leaves, the vacated niche will be quickly divided among the remaining participants.

Monopsony

This type of imperfect competition occurs when the product produced can only be purchased by one consumer. There are types of products intended, for example, exclusively for government agencies(powerful weapons, special equipment). In economic terms, monopsony is the opposite of monopoly. This is a kind of dictate from a single buyer (and not the manufacturer), and it does not occur often.

A phenomenon is also emerging in the labor market. When there is only one, for example, factory in a city, then ordinary person opportunities to sell your labor are limited.

Oligopsony

It is very similar to a monopsony, but there is a choice of buyers, although small. Most often, such imperfect competition occurs between manufacturers of components or ingredients intended for large consumers. For example, some recipe component can only be sold to a large confectionery factory, and there are only a few of them in the country. Another option is that a tire manufacturer seeks to interest one of the car factories for regular supply of its products.

As a result, we note: any competition that exists in real conditions is as imperfect as the market itself. From the point of view of economic theory, perfect competition is a simplified concept. It is far from ideal, but necessary. Surely no one is surprised that physicists use various mathematical models and scientific assumptions?

Competition– a form of mutual competition between economic entities to achieve better conditions production, for obtaining the greatest profit.

The methods distinguish between price and non-price competition.

Price competition involves selling goods or offering services at lower prices than competitors. In a developed market economy price reductions can occur either by reducing production costs or by reducing profits. Small firms can only reduce prices for a very short time for competitive purposes. Large companies may completely forego profits for a long time in order to force competitors out of the market. In the future, they can significantly increase the price and compensate for the losses incurred. Price reductions in conditions of price competition usually occur without reducing product quality or changing the product range. There are cases in history when rivalry between companies during price competition led first to the formation of zero and then negative prices (that is, competitors paid extra to customers for taking goods from them).

There are also direct and hidden price competition. In conditions direct price competition the company openly announces price reductions for goods and services. At hidden price competition The company improves the properties of its products, but increases the price by a disproportionately small amount.

Non-price competition involves the use of technological advantages, the provision of after-sales guarantees and services, product advertising, which ultimately leads to the supply of more goods on the market high quality. In conditions of non-price competition, the manufacturer usually takes into account factors such as the environmental friendliness of the product, safety of consumption, and aesthetic properties. Trademarks and marks can be used as instruments of non-price competition. In modern conditions, non-price competition has much higher value than the price.

A special case competition is unfair competition, representing, for example, the sale of goods at prices below costs, false advertising, industrial espionage, etc.

There are inter-industry, intra-industry, functional, perfect and imperfect competition.

Intra-industry competition- competition between producers of similar goods that satisfy the same need.

Inter-industry competition– competition between manufacturers of products that satisfy different needs. In this case, the competition is for the greatest profit. If the profit margin increases in one of the industries, there is a flow of capital into this industry from less profitable industries.

Functional competition– competition between producers of a particular product.

Perfect competition assumes the following conditions are met:

There are a large number of independent manufacturers available on the market; The production size of each is small relative to the size of the market - so none of them can influence the market price.

1. Firms competing in the market produce homogeneous products.

2. Buyers and sellers have complete information about prices.

3. Sellers act independently of each other, without agreeing on prices.

4. Firms can freely enter and exit the industry.

In conditions of perfect competition, a firm cannot influence the market price of a product; the price is set by the market. It is not profitable for the manufacturer to lower the price below the market price. Since he can freely sell the goods at a higher price; raising the price above the market price also makes no sense. Since buyers will begin to purchase products from competitors at lower price. Under perfect competition, the demand curve is perfectly elastic and horizontal.

Imperfect competition– a market situation when at least one of the conditions of perfect competition is not met. Under conditions of imperfect competition, the seller is able to manipulate price and production volume in order to obtain maximum profit. There are the following main models of imperfect competition: monopoly, monopsony, monopolistic competition, oligopoly.

When there is only one seller in the market, then this seller has monopoly. In such a market, the seller can influence the price by controlling the volume of goods produced. The demand curve for a monopolist's product is the market demand curve. A monopoly's decisions are influenced by the demand for its product, the price elasticity of that demand, marginal revenue, and the marginal cost of producing the product.

Perfect competition is characterized by the inability of individual sellers to influence the price of the product that each of them sells. No single competitive firm captures a large enough share of the market supply to influence price. A monopoly is characterized by the concentration of supply in the hands of the owners of one single firm. The monopolist maximizes possible profits by raising the price and reducing the quantity of goods on the market.

The monopoly model is based on a number of assumptions:

· monopoly products do not have perfect substitutes;

· there is no free entry to the market;

· perfect awareness of the monopolist about the state of the market.

Natural monopoly- this is a state of the commodity market in which satisfying demand in this market is more effective in the absence of competition due to the technological features of production, and goods produced by subjects of natural monopolies cannot be replaced in consumption by other goods, and therefore the demand for these goods is in depends less on changes in the price of this product than the demand for other types of goods.

These types of commodity markets require special government regulation , aimed at achieving a balance of interests of consumers and subjects of natural monopolies, ensuring, on the one hand, the availability of goods sold by natural monopolies for consumers, and, on the other, the effective functioning of the subjects of natural monopolies themselves.

The law names natural monopolies as follows: transportation of oil and petroleum products through main pipelines; gas transportation through pipelines; services for the transmission of electrical and thermal energy; rail transportation; services of transport terminals, ports, airports; public electric and postal services.

To regulate and control the activities of subjects of natural monopolies, federal bodies regulating natural monopolies are formed, which, in order to exercise their powers, have the right to create their own territorial bodies and vest them with powers within the limits of their competence.

Clean monopolist- the only company on the market that is the buyer of the resource or its services offered in this market, and there are few or no alternative sales opportunities. A monopolist has sufficient power to influence the price of the resource services it purchases. The service supply curve of a monopolist's resource is upward sloping, so the monopolist can influence the price of the purchased resource by changing the quantity purchased.

Monopoly power is the ability of a single buyer to influence the prices of the resources it purchases. When firms with monopsony power increase their purchases, the price they must pay increases. Since such firms buy up a significant part of the entire market supply of the corresponding resource, a monopsonist firm cannot purchase all the resources it needs at the same price.

The following types of monopolies can be distinguished:

1. Natural monopoly. This is due to the fact that over long periods of time, average costs in an industry will be minimal if there is one rather than several competing firms operating in it.

2. Random monopoly. Occurs as a result of a temporary excess of demand over supply of a given product. It is temporary.

3. Artificial monopoly. It arises as a result of restrictions on the production of this type of product by the state.

A monopolist is able to increase profits through “price discrimination” - selling the same product to different consumers at different prices. In this case, it is important for the seller to know whether the buyer’s demand for a given product is elastic or not. If consumer demand is inelastic, the monopolist can raise the price of the product - demand will decrease by a small amount. Accordingly, in the case of elastic demand for a product, the price should be reduced. To determine groups of consumers with elastic and inelastic demand, a monopolist resorts to market segmentation. There is a danger that consumers who received a product at a reduced price will resell it at a price that is slightly higher, but not as high as for other consumers. Therefore, the monopolist is forced to limit the sale of goods to one person. Pure monopoly is more common in local markets than in national markets.

There are 3 types of price discrimination:

1. Each unit of goods is sold at the demand price for it, and since the demand price is different for different buyers, a discriminatory effect arises.

2. The price of products is the same for all consumers, but differs depending on the quantity of goods purchased.

3. Products are sold to different customers at different prices.

Price discrimination can only arise if the seller is able to segment the market, i.e. in one way or another to determine how elastic the demand of various buyers is. It is necessary to find out the buyer’s income level, as well as how much time he has to complete a purchase and sale transaction, how important this product is for him, etc.

Price discrimination can benefit both sellers and buyers. Sellers thus increase their income, and many consumers who would not have the opportunity to purchase products at a very high price also become buyers.

Monopolistic competition occurs when many sellers compete to sell a differentiated product in a market where new sellers may enter.

The product of each firm trading on the market is an imperfect substitute for the product sold by other firms. Each seller's product has exceptional qualities or characteristics that cause some buyers to choose its product over competing firms. Product differentiation means that the item sold in the market is not standardized. Differentiation can occur due to actual qualitative differences between products or due to perceived differences.

Product differentiation stems from many conditions:

· design features of the product;

· its shape, color and packaging;

· special trademark and trademark;

· a special set of services accompanying the sale of this product;

· specific location of the trading enterprise;

· personal qualities of the seller (reputation, business skills).

There are a relatively large number of sellers in the market, each of whom satisfies a small but not microscopic share market demand on the general type of product sold by the firm and its competitors. With monopolistic competition, the size of the firm's market shares generally exceeds 1%, i.e. the percentage that would exist under perfect competition. Typically, a firm accounts for 1% to 10% of market sales during the year.

In cases where there is a possibility of diversification, the volume of product sales depends on how successful the product is in differentiating from the competitor’s product, and how well this difference able to interest buyers. Improvement, deterioration or change in the product does not necessarily correspond to a change in price.

Although in a market with monopolistic competition each seller's product is unique, between various types There are enough similarities between products to group sellers into broad industry-like categories. A product group consists of several closely related but not identical products that satisfy the same need.

Oligopoly- a market structure in which there are not very many sellers involved in the sale of a product, and the emergence of new sellers is difficult or impossible. Products sold by oligopolistic firms can be either differentiated or standardized.

Typically, oligopolistic markets have between two and ten firms that account for half or more of a product's total sales. In oligopolistic markets, at least some firms can influence price through their large shares in the total quantity of goods produced. Sellers know that when they or their rivals change prices or quantities produced, the consequences will affect the profits of all firms in the market. Sellers are aware of their interdependence. Each firm in the industry is expected to recognize that a change in its price or output will cause rival firms to react. Individual sellers in oligopolistic markets must consider the reactions of their competitors. The response that any seller expects from rival firms in response to changes in his price, output, or changes in marketing activities is a major factor determining his decisions. The response that individual sellers expect from their rivals influences the equilibrium in oligopolistic markets.

The actions of an oligopoly include attempts to control prices, advertise products, and set output levels. The small number of competitors forces them to consider each other's reactions to their decisions. In many cases, oligopolies are protected by barriers to entry similar to those imposed by monopoly firms. A natural oligopoly exists when a few firms can supply an entire market at lower long-term costs than many firms would have.

Oligopolistic markets have the following general features:

1. There are only a few companies operating on the market. The product they produce can be either standardized or differentiated.

2. Some firms in an oligopolistic industry have large market shares, so some firms in the market have the ability to influence the price of a product by varying its availability in the market.

3. Firms in the industry are aware of their interdependence. Sellers always consider the reactions of their competitors when setting prices, sales targets, advertising expenditures, or other business measures.

There is no single model of oligopoly. A number of models have been developed to explain the behavior of firms in specific situations, based on what assumptions firms make about the reaction of their rivals. In an oligopoly, there is a tendency for profits to decrease due to competition. The effect of oligopolistic rivalry on prices forces firms to collude to reduce competition and increase profits.

Oligonomy- a situation in the market when the market is controlled by both several sellers and several buyers.

The goal of most mergers was to create oligonomies: they are protected from cyclical fluctuations because they can regulate both costs and prices. Small companies operating in such a market can choose one of three things: to become larger through the same mergers; acquire unique technology and become indispensable; sell goods directly online.

Duopoly- (from Latin: two and Greek: I sell) a situation in which there are only two sellers of a certain product, not interconnected by a monopolistic agreement on prices, sales markets, quotas, etc. This situation was theoretically considered by A. Cournot in his work “Research mathematical principles of the theory of wealth" (1838). Cournot's theory comes from competition and is based on the fact that buyers announce prices and sellers adjust their output to these prices. Each duopolist estimates the demand function for the product and then sets the quantity to be sold, assuming that the competitor's output remains unchanged. According to Cournot, a duopoly occupies an intermediate position in terms of output between a complete monopoly and free competition: compared to a monopoly, the output here is slightly larger, and compared to pure competition, it is smaller.

Within the first type of monopolistic activity, the most common offense in the relationship between sellers (suppliers) and buyers (consumers), whose connections are based on contractual relations, is the manipulation of monopoly prices. It accounts for about 40% of all detected violations. Monopoly price- a special type of market price that is set at a level above or below the social value or equilibrium price in order to obtain monopoly income. As a rule, business entities establish a monopoly high prices for its products in excess of the social value or possibly the equilibrium price. This is achieved by the fact that monopolists deliberately create a zone of shortage, reducing production volumes and artificially creating increased consumer demand. The law defines a monopoly high price as the price of a product set by an economic entity occupying a dominant position in the product market in order to compensate for unreasonable costs caused by underutilization of production capacity and (or) to obtain additional profit as a result of a decrease in the quality of the product.

At a superficial glance, the most dangerous seem to be monopolistically high prices that directly benefit the “pocket” of an economic entity to the detriment of its competitors. In fact, monopolistically low prices often pose a much greater threat to freedom of competition. There are two known variants.

The first is that the reduced price of the purchased product is set by an economic entity occupying a dominant position in the product market as a buyer in order to obtain additional profit and (or) compensation for unreasonable costs at the expense of the seller. Such prices are imposed on weaker participants in market relations, as a rule, economic entities acting alone, who, when purchasing goods from them, cannot themselves protect their interests by market means, without outside interference. A reduction in price compared to social value or the possible equilibrium price is achieved through the artificial creation of a zone of excess production.

The second option for monopoly low prices is that the price of a product is deliberately set by an economic entity that occupies a dominant position in the product market as a seller at a level that generates losses from the sale of this product. The result of setting such a low price is or may be the restriction of competition by driving competitors out of the market. Low prices Only strong economic entities that can afford to trade for a long time “at a loss” are able to establish and maintain for a relatively long time, monopolizing the market for certain goods. As a result, their competitors, unable to withstand the test of price, go bankrupt or leave the market.

It should be borne in mind that economic entities can double the collected “tribute” through the so-called “price scissors”: monopoly high prices are set for products sold and monopoly low prices for purchased products. These price levels move away from each other, like the diverging blades of scissors. This price movement is based on the expansion of areas of surplus and shortage of goods. It is typical for many manufacturing enterprises, which, in conditions of inflation, increase prices for their finished products several times more than prices increase in the extractive industries. Often, “price scissors” extract a good “tribute” from peasants for the industry processing agricultural raw materials, while simultaneously ruining them and causing agricultural production to decline.

The goal is to create conditions for fair competition and prevent market monopolization. state antimonopoly policy. She performs essential functions in the development of the national economy, as it creates conditions for increasing the competitiveness of domestic producers and the economy as a whole.

The problematic nature of the practical implementation of antimonopoly policy is due to the fact that it uses primarily economic mechanisms that are not sufficiently developed in Russia. Accordingly, the effectiveness of antimonopoly policy is determined primarily by the development of the national market and the objectivity of state economic policy.

The fundamentals of antimonopoly policy are enshrined in Federal law“On competition and restriction of monopolistic activities in commodity markets”, adopted in 1991. The relatively established system of antimonopoly regulation was reformed after the 1998 crisis, when its shortcomings became obvious. As part of it, in 1999 the Federal Law “On competition and restriction of monopolistic activities in commodity markets”, and the State Committee on Antimonopoly Policy and Support of New Economic Structures was transformed into the Ministry of the Russian Federation for Antimonopoly Policy and Support of Entrepreneurship. From this time on, active regulation of competition in various fields national economy (for example, Federal Law “On the protection of competition in the financial services market”).

Due to the low efficiency and inconsistency of state regulation of the activities of natural monopolies, the Ministry of the Russian Federation for Antimonopoly Policy and Entrepreneurship Support was forced to judicially resolve many cases of violation of competition, for example, JSC Irkutskenergo, RAO UES of Russia.

Starting from 2004, there was a radical change in state antimonopoly policy, when, simultaneously with the general reform of the state apparatus, the Ministry of the Russian Federation for Antimonopoly Policy and Support of Entrepreneurship was reorganized into the Federal Antimonopoly Service. Main activity new structure it was determined to create conditions for the development of competition and develop a unified public policy support of competition. Despite this, in general, state antimonopoly policy has retained its inactive nature - cases of violation of competition are simply recorded.