Although in recent years they have experienced growing competition, their impact on the rough diamond market is still considerable. It also has exploration activities on four continents, while directing a worldwide distribution network of rough cut diamonds. In the Canadian economy, one historical example of this pattern occurred when the International Nickel Company of Canada (INCO)-controlled most of the supply of nickel, a key mineral used leading manufacturer of specialized forged components made from alloy materials.Īs another example, the majority of global diamond production is controlled by DeBeers, a multi-national company that has mining and production operations in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, and Canada. “The Big Nickel and the Inco Superstack” by Sean Marshall CC-BY-NC Ownership barrier arising out of control of a physical resourceĪnother type of monopoly occurs when a company has control of a scarce physical resource. Such industries offer an example where, because of economies of scale, one producer can serve the entire market more efficiently than a number of smaller producers that would need to make similar physical capital investments. For example, once a water company lays the main water pipes through a neighbourhood, the marginal cost of providing water service to another home is fairly low. This results in situations where there are substantial economies of scale.

Natural monopolies often arise in industries where the marginal cost of adding an additional customer is very low, once the fixed costs of the overall system are in place. Fig 9.1 “ Economies of Scale and Natural Monopoly” by OpenStax, CC BY 4.0.Įconomists call this situation, when economies of scale are large relative to the quantity demanded in the market, a natural monopoly. If the second firm attempts to enter the market at a larger size, like 8,000 planes per year, then it could produce at a lower average cost-but it could not sell all 8,000 planes that it produced because of insufficient demand in the market. If a second firm attempts to enter the market at a smaller size, say by producing a quantity of 4,000 planes, then its average costs will be higher than those of the existing firm, and it will be unable to compete. In this situation, the market has room for only one producer. Now consider the market demand curve in the diagram, which intersects the long-run average cost (LRAC) curve at an output level of 5,000 planes per year and at a price P1, which is higher than P0.

It shows economies of scale up to an output of 8,000 planes per year and a price of P0, then constant returns to scale from 8,000 to 20,000 planes per year, and diseconomies of scale at a quantity of production greater than 20,000 planes per year. (We introduced this theme in Chapter 7: Production and Cost).įig 9.1 presents a long-run average cost curve for the airplane manufacturing industry. Natural MonopolyĮconomies of scale can combine with the size of the market to limit competition. The other is a legal monopoly, where laws prohibit (or severely limit) competition. One is a natural monopoly, where the barriers to entry are something other than legal prohibition. There are two types of monopoly, based on the types of barriers to entry they exploit. Thus, in markets with significant barriers to entry, it is not necessarily true that abnormally high profits will attract new firms, and that this entry of new firms will eventually cause the price to decline so that surviving firms earn only a normal level of profit in the long run. Barriers may block entry even if the firm or firms currently in the market are earning profits. In other cases, they may limit competition to a few firms. In some cases, barriers to entry may lead to monopoly. Once an entrepreneur or firm has purchased the rights to all of them, no new competitors can enter the market. For example, there are a finite number of radio frequencies available for broadcasting. “ Monopoly” by Nick Youngson, CC BY-SA 3.0.īarriers to entry can range from the simple and easily surmountable, such as the cost of renting retail space, to the extremely restrictive. Barriers to entry are the legal, technological, or market forces that discourage or prevent potential competitors from entering a market.

Types of monopoly examples