Differentiating Between Market Structures

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Many factors must be considered when differentiating between market structures. One must first understand the roles of public and private goods, common resources, and natural monopolies. One must also consider how supply and demand of labor will affect market equilibrium. Once these factors have been outlined, it is possible to consider a specific organization and how it fits into the appropriate market structure. To compare and contrast multiple units, each unit needs to be defined to identify properly the similarities and dissimilarities. In this instance, the units compared and contrasted are public and private goods, common resources, and natural monopolies. The first step in the analysis of the stated units is to define what they are. A natural monopoly occurs when one firm can supply the entire market demand at a total average cost lower than that of two or more firms because of extreme economies of scale. An example of a natural monopoly is public utilities. A common resource is a resource readily accessible to all members of the public that obtain benefits from it. A public utility is a common resource because all members of the society have access to the utility and benefit from it. A public good or service used by the public without reducing the amount available to others and regardless of ability to pay. Municipal police and fire departments serve the public. According to Businessdictionary.com (n.d.), a private good is an item for consumption that when available to one person or a firm, is not available to others. Items include food and clothing. Another example is joining a country club or health club. Many differences exist between the units. A public good is not a common resource. The two are distinct because the public has to pay for the common resources and not the public goods. A public good is not a natural monopoly because more
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