micro economics

1. DR. LAXMI VERMA
MICRO ECONOMICS
TOPIC- SATRUCTURE OF
MARKET

2.  Meaning of Market:
 Ordinarily, the term “market” refers to a particular place where goods are purchased and sold. But, in economics,
market is used in a wide perspective. In economics, the term “market” does not mean a particular place but the
whole area where the buyers and sellers of a product are spread.
This is because in the present age the sale and purchase of goods are with the help of agents and samples. Hence,
the sellers and buyers of a particular commodity are spread over a large area. The transactions for commodities
may be also through letters, telegrams, telephones, internet, etc. Thus, market in economics does not refer to a
particular market place but the entire region in which goods are bought and sold. In these transactions, the price of
a commodity is the same in the whole market.
 According to Prof. R. Chapman, “The term market refers not necessarily to a place but always to a commodity
and the buyers and sellers who are in direct competition with one another.” In the words of A.A. Cournot,
“Economists understand by the term ‘market’, not any particular place in which things are bought and sold but
the whole of any region in which buyers and sellers are in such free intercourse with one another that the price
of the same goods tends to equality, easily and quickly.” Prof. Cournot’s definition is wider and appropriate in
which all the features of a market are found.

3.  Characteristics of Market:
:
The essential features of a market are:
 (1) An Area:
 In economics, a market does not mean a particular place but the whole region where sellers
and buyers of a product ate spread. Modem modes of communication and transport have
made the market area for a product very wide.
 (2) One Commodity:
 In economics, a market is not related to a place but to a particular product.
 Hence, there are separate markets for various commodities. For example, there are separate
markets for clothes, grains, jewellery, etc.

4.  (3) Buyers and Sellers:
The presence of buyers and sellers is necessary for the sale and purchase of a product in the
market. In the modem age, the presence of buyers and sellers is not necessary in the market
because they can do transactions of goods through letters, telephones, business representatives,
internet, etc.
 (4) Free Competition:
 There should be free competition among buyers and sellers in the market. This competition is
in relation to the price determination of a product among buyers and sellers.
 (5) One Price:
 The price of a product is the same in the market because of free competition among buyers
and sellers.

5.  Market Structure:
 Meaning:
 Market structure refers to the nature and degree of competition in the market for goods and services. The structures of market
both for goods market and service (factor) market are determined by the nature of competition prevailing in a particular
market.
 Determinants:
 There are a number of determinants of market structure for a particular good.
They are:
 (1) The number and nature of sellers.
 (2) The number and nature of buyers.
 (3) The nature of the product.

6.  (4) The conditions of entry into and exit from the market.
 (5) Economies of scale.
 1. Number and Nature of Sellers:
 The market structures are influenced by the number and nature of sellers in the market. They range from large
number of sellers in perfect competition to a single seller in pure monopoly, to two sellers in duopoly, to a few
sellers in oligopoly, and to many sellers of differentiated products.
 2. Number and Nature of Buyers:
 The market structures are also influenced by the number and nature of buyers in the market. If there is a single
buyer in the market, this is buyer’s monopoly and is called monopsony market. Such markets exist for local
labour employed by one large employer. There may be two buyers who act jointly in the market. This is called
duopsony market. They may also be a few organised buyers of a product.
 This is known as oligopsony. Duopsony and oligopsony markets are usually found for cash crops such as rice,
sugarcane, etc. when local factories purchase the entire crops for processing.

7.  3. Nature of Product:

 It is the nature of product that determines the market structure. If there is product
differentiation, products are close substitutes and the market is characterised by monopolistic
competition. On the other hand, in case of no product differentiation, the market is
characterised by perfect competition. And if a product is completely different from other
products, it has no close substitutes and there is pure monopoly in the market.
 4. Entry and Exit Conditions:
 The conditions for entry and exit of firms in a market depend upon profitability or loss in a
particular market. Profits in a market will attract the entry of new firms and losses lead to the
exit of weak firms from the market. In a perfect competition market, there is freedom of entry
or exit of firms.

8.  5. Economies of Scale:
 Firms that achieve large economies of scale in production grow large in comparison to
others in an industry. They tend to weed out the other firms with the result that a few
firms are left to compete with each other. This leads to the emergency of oligopoly. If
only one firm attains economies of scale to such a large extent that it is able to meet the
entire market demand, there is monopoly.

9.  Types of Market Structures
 As we have seen, in economics the definition of a market has a very
wide scope. So understandably not all markets are the same or similar.
We can characterize market structures based on the competition levels
and the nature of these markets. Let us study the four basic types of
market structures.

10.  Types of Market Structures
 A variety of market structures will characterize an economy. Such market structures
essentially refer to the degree of competition in a market.
 There are other determinants of market structures such as the nature of the goods
and products, the number of sellers, number of consumers, the nature of the
product or service, economies of scale etc. We will discuss the four basic types of
market structures in any economy.
 One thing to remember is that not all these types of market structures actually exist.
Some of them are just theoretical concepts. But they help us understand the
principles behind the classification of market structures.

11.  1. Perfect Competition
 2. Monopoly
 3. Duopoly
 4. Oligopoly
 5. Monopolistic Competition

12.  1] Perfect Competiton
 In a perfect competition market structure, there are a large number of buyers and sellers.
All the sellers of the market are small sellers in competition with each other. There is no
one big seller with any significant influence on the market. So all the firms in such a
market are price takers.
 There are certain assumptions when discussing the perfect competition. This is the reason
a perfect competition market is pretty much a theoretical concept. These assumptions are
as follows,

13.  The products on the market are homogeneous, i.e. they are completely
identical
 All firms only have the motive of profit maximization
 There is free entry and exit from the market, i.e. there are no barriers
 And there is no concept of consumer preference

14.  2] Monopolistic Competition
 This is a more realistic scenario that actually occurs in the real world. In monopolistic
competition, there are still a large number of buyers as well as sellers. But they all do not
sell homogeneous products. The products are similar but all sellers sell slightly
differentiated products.
 Now the consumers have the preference of choosing one product over another. The
sellers can also charge a marginally higher price since they may enjoy some market
power. So the sellers become the price setters to a certain extent.
 For example, the market for cereals is a monopolistic competition. The products are all
similar but slightly differentiated in terms of taste and flavours. Another such example is
toothpaste.

15.  3] Oligopoly
 In an oligopoly, there are only a few firms in the market. While there is no clarity about
the number of firms, 3-5 dominant firms are considered the norm. So in the case of an
oligopoly, the buyers are far greater than the sellers.
 The firms in this case either compete with another to collaborate together, They use their
market influence to set the prices and in turn maximize their profits. So the consumers
become the price takers. In an oligopoly, there are various barriers to entry in the market,
and new firms find it difficult to establish themselves.

16.  ] Monopoly
 In a monopoly type of market structure, there is only one seller, so a single firm will
control the entire market. It can set any price it wishes since it has all the market power.
Consumers do not have any alternative and must pay the price set by the seller.
 Monopolies are extremely undesirable. Here the consumer loose all their power and
market forces become irrelevant. However, a pure monopoly is very rare in reality.