Topic Videos

Monopolistic Competition (Evaluation Skills Video)

Level:
A-Level, IB
Board:
AQA, Edexcel, OCR, IB, Eduqas, WJEC

Last updated 16 Apr 2017

Here is a short video analysing and then evaluating three key points on the question: "To what extent is monopolistic competition an ideal market structure for consumers?"

Monopolistic Competition - Evaluation Skills

Core notes:

To what extent is monopolistic competition an ideal market structure for consumers?

Low barriers to entry mean that there is intense competition between firms – leading to more choice of product for consumers

Eval: Extensive choice is not always a benefit for consumers – people have bounded rationality and may not make optimal decisions if there is a bewildering choice 

In monopolistic competition, prices are kept closer to marginal cost leading to improved allocative efficiency.

Eval: Although competition keeps prices low, the saturation of products may lead to firms not exploiting economies of scale, this leads to a loss of productive efficiency

There will be a high level of innovation causing an improvement in dynamic efficiency.

Eval: Product differentiation through excessive packaging leads to increased wastage and external costs e.g. from disposing plastic.

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