Respected teachers and dear friends, The topic of my seminar paper is noncompetitive markets. As we know there are different kinds of markets depending upon the number of firms, nature of the product, freedom of entry and exit, etc. On the basis, of the above, we name the non competitive markets as monopoly, monopolistic competition and oligopoly.

Introduction: 

A market structure in which there is a singe seller is called monopoly. A market structure where the . number of firms is large, there is free entry and exit of firms, but the goods produced by them are not homogeneous. Such a market structure is called monopolistic competition. If the market of a particular commodity consists of more than one seller but the number of sellers is few, the market structure is termed oligopoly.

Contents: 

1. Monopoly market 

2. Monopolistic competition 

3. Oligopoly

1. MONOPOLY MARKET: 

Monopoly may be defined as a market situation in which there is only a single seller. He controls the entire market. The term monopoly has derived from two Greek words such as ‘mono’ means single and poly means ‘seller’. The meaning of the combined term is single seller. In a boardersense, a monopolist is single seller of a commodity which does not have close substitutes, e.g. KSEB

Features of Monopoly Market: Some of the salient features of monopoly are as follows: 

1. There is only a single firm producing the product 

2. There is no close substitute for the product 

3. Entry is denied for other producers 

4. Since there is only one seller, the firm and the industry are same 

5. The firm under monopoly is the price maker

2. MONOPOLISTIC COMPETITION: 

Monopolistic competition is a market characterized by the elements of perfect competition and monopoly. It is a market situation characterized by large number of firms producing various kinds of goods and services. The products of a firm will be different from the products of other firms in terms of size, shape, smell, colour, etc. 

Features 

The salient features of perfect competition are as follows: 

1. Large number of buyers and sellers: 

Under monopolistic competition, there exists large number of buyers and sellers. But the number of sellers will be less compared to perfect competition. 

2. Product differentiation: 

One of the most important characteristic of monopolistic competition is the existence of product differentiation. Each firm has its own product with unique brand names. The products of one firm will be different from the products of other firms in terms of size, shape, smell, color, etc.

3. Freedom of entry and exit: 

Under monopolistic competition, there is freedom of entry and exit. 

4. Selling cost: 

The cost incurred for sales promotion such as advertisement, coupons, gifts, etc. are known as selling cost. Under monopolistic competition, the selling costs would be relatively high. 

3. OLIGOPOLY: 

The term oligopoly has derived from two terms oligo (small) and poly (seller). Thus oligopoly is a market situation characterized by competition among few sellers. In simple terms, it is a competition among few sellers in the market selling either homogenous or differentiated product. The industries manufacturing car, motorcycle, scooter, etc. are some of the examples for oligopolistic competition.

The main features of oligopolistic competition are as follows: 

1. Few sellers: 

The number of sellers or producers would be few under oligopolistic competition. 

2. Homogeneous or differentiated products: 

The products sold under oligopolistic competition would be either homogeneous (e.g. gas, petrol) or differentiated (e.g. car, scooter) 

3. Free entry and exit: 

Free entry and exit persist under oligopolistic competition. 

4. Selling cost: 

Firms spend on advertisement and sales promotion. 

5. Interdependence of the firms: 

Since the number of firms under oligopoly are few, they are highly interdependent. The action of one firm will certainly have impact on other firms in terms of price, quality of the product, etc.

6. Price leadership: 

Some of the firms may emerge as price leaders under oligopoly. The price leader could be the first firm in the industry or the firm with largest number of consumers. The price leader takes important decisions regarding vital decisions such as the price of the product or number of units to be produced in the market, etc.

Conclusion: 

Thus it can be concluded that there are three kinds of non-competitive markets. This classification is made on the basis of the number of firms, nature of the product, freedom of entry and exit, etc. In contrast to perfect competition, we nd that these market forms are more realistic.