◆ FIRMS & MARKETS
Competition & Monopoly
Perfect competition and monopoly — pricing, profit, and deadweight loss.
22 articles
FeaturedHow Monopolies Form and Survive: The Economics of Market Control
Monopolies aren't born from being biggest — they're built and defended by barriers that keep rivals out. The main ways control forms, and how it's policed.
Read more →Deep Dives
8 articles
◆ COMPETITION & MONOPOLY
Revenue and Profit When You Can't Set Your Own Price
For a price-taker, revenue math is simple and profit is brutal. Here's how a competitive firm earns, breaks even, or bleeds: with real numbers.
◆ COMPETITION & MONOPOLY
The MR = MC Rule: How Firms Find the Profit-Maximizing Output
Firms maximize profit where marginal revenue equals marginal cost. Here's what that means, why it's always true, and how to apply it step by step.
◆ COMPETITION & MONOPOLY
Should You Shut Down or Exit? The Economics of When to Stop Producing
Losing money doesn't always mean stop. Economics splits idling temporarily from leaving for good — and the deciding number isn't the one most people watch.
◆ COMPETITION & MONOPOLY
Why Competition Drives Economic Profits to Zero — and What That Tells Investors
It sounds like doom: competition pushes profit to zero. The reality is subtler, the math reassuring, and the takeaway reshapes how you judge any business.
◆ COMPETITION & MONOPOLY
How a Monopolist Sets Its Price: Less Output, Higher Cost
A monopolist raises prices by producing less, not by charging more for the same output. Here is the arithmetic behind why.
◆ COMPETITION & MONOPOLY
The Value That Simply Vanishes: Deadweight Loss and What Monopoly Really Costs
Deadweight loss is value that evaporates when a monopoly restricts output. Nobody gains it. Here is how to see it and why it matters.
◆ COMPETITION & MONOPOLY
The Price on the Tag Is Not the Same for Everyone
Student discounts, airline fares, and bulk pricing are the same strategy: charging different buyers different prices for one good. Here is how it works.
◆ COMPETITION & MONOPOLY
Natural Monopoly and Regulation: Should You Let One Firm Win — or Control What It Charges?
Some markets are cheapest served by one firm — water, power lines, pipelines. The hard question isn't whether to allow the monopoly, but how to keep it honest.