Question
Compare between perfect competition and monopoly.

Answer

S. No
Basis
Perfect Competition
Monopoly
1.
Meaning
It refers to a market situation where there are very large number of buyers and sellers dealing in a homogeneous product at a price fixed by the market.
Monopoly refers to a market situation where there is a single seller selling a product which has no close substitutes.
2.
Number of Sellers
There are very large number of sellers and no individual seller has control over activities of other firms.
There is a single seller and the monopolist has full control over the supply.
3.
Nature of Product
The products sold are homogeneous. So, buyers are willing to pay the same price for all products, which leads to uniform price in the market.
There are no close substitutes of the product. So, there is no competition from new and existing products.
4.
Entry and Exit
Any firm can freely enter or exit from this kind of market. It leads to absence of abnormal profits and abnormal losses in the long run.
There is restriction on entry and exit. So, a firm can earn abnormal profits in the long run.
5.
Price Maker/ Taker
In perfect competition, industry is price maker, firm is price taker because of homogeneous goods.
Monopolist is a price-maker as firm and industry are one and the same thing.
6.
Level of Knowledge
Buyers and sellers have perfect knowledge about market conditions.
Sellers and buyers do not have perfect knowledge.
7.
Demand Curve
Demand curve is perfectly elastic as price remains the same at all levels of output.
Demand curve slopes downwards as more output can be sold only at less price.
8.
Selling Cost
No selling costs are incurred as buyers and sellers have perfect knowledge about market conditions.
Selling costs are incurred for informative purposes due to lack of perfect knowledge.

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