Natural and artificial monopolies. Oligopoly and monopoly: essence, characteristics, advantages and disadvantages

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

federal state budget educational institution higher vocational education

"St. Petersburg State Trade and Economic University"

(FSBEI HPE "SPbGTEU")

Department of Trade Policy and Applied Economics

COURSE WORK

in the discipline "microeconomics"

NAME

Antimonopoly policy regarding artificial monopolies

Work completed

student Siushova Olga Aleksandrovna

course 1, group 2211

grade book No. 15382-з

Scientific director

Zhilinkova Irina Nikolaevna

St. Petersburg, 2016

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………….3

Chapter 1 Artificial monopoly and its main components

1.1 The concept of “artificial monopoly” and its characteristics………………4

1.2 Types of artificial monopoly………………………………………………………7

1.3 Comparison of artificial monopoly with other types of monopolies……..9

Chapter 2 Methods for regulating artificial monopolies: theoretical principles and possibilities of application in practice

2.1 Sources and goals of antimonopoly policy…………………………….11

2.2 The main directions of regulation of artificial monopolies and methods of their implementation…………………………………………………………………………………..15

Chapter 3 Antimonopoly policy regarding artificial monopolies in Russia

3.1 Artificial monopolies in Russia………………………………………….19

3.2 Development of artificial monopolies in the economic activity of Russia……………………………………………………………………………….20

3.3 Methods for regulating artificial monopolies in Russia……………...28

Conclusion………………………………………………………………………33

List of sources used………………………………………….35

Introduction

No type of market is perfect. Let's consider a monopolistic market, under which conditions the mechanisms of market self-regulation are completely blocked. Therefore, many bodies and laws have been created to supervise the monopoly. Antitrust organizations now exist in all advanced countries to implement antitrust laws.

The relevance of the chosen topic is that the fight against monopolistic tendencies for the Russian economy is one of the most important needs. This is justified by the fact that monopoly power, due to the insurmountability of barriers to entry into the industry, is not threatened even in the long term. In such conditions, only a government pursuing a conscious anti-monopoly policy can improve the situation.

The main problem in the area under study is the set of sharply negative consequences for the country's economy, which is associated with the existence of monopolies.

The purpose of this work is to study artificial monopolies, its principles and directions, as well as the main antimonopoly trends in Russia and developed countries.

In this regard, the following tasks are presented course work:

· Consider the concept of “artificial monopoly”

Compare artificial monopoly with other types of monopolies

· Analyze antitrust policy and how it affects economic forces

· Determine the goals of Russian antimonopoly laws in the 21st century

· The importance of the fight against artificial monopolies

Chapter 1

Artificial monopoly and its main components

The concept of “artificial monopoly” and its characteristics

To get to the concept of artificial monopoly, you first need to understand the concept of “monopoly” and briefly examine its principles.

Monopoly is a type of market structure in which there is only one seller who controls the entire industry of a particular good that has no close substitute.

Those. With a monopoly, there is absolutely no chance of any competition.

“The price of a monopoly is in all cases the highest that can be extorted from the purchasers, or can be expected to pay” (Adam Smith).

According to the author, this type of market has the highest prices for goods, however, nothing can be done about them, because monopolies produce the only necessary product that buyers are forced to purchase, regardless of the cost of the product.

Speaking about price, one cannot fail to mention the barriers that the monopoly sets. They are installed so that the market is not accessible to small enterprises. After all, if the market is accessible to a large number of entrepreneurs, then it will no longer be considered a monopoly. The most important features are:

· Lack of perfect substitutes for the product. A monopolist enterprise can produce homogeneous or differentiated products, but in any case, these products do not have a perfect substitute, from the buyer’s point of view.

The cross elasticity of demand between the monopolist's products and any other product is either zero or tends to zero. That is, a firm is a pure monopolist if it is the only producer of an economic good that does not have close substitutes.

· Lack of freedom to enter the market, that is, a monopolist can exist while entry to the market is closed to other enterprises: the presence of a monopolist enterprise with a patent for products, technology, the existence of a government license, quotas, the monopolist’s control over any production resource, the presence of significant savings on the scale of production, allowing the presence of only one supplier on the market, etc. That is, the firm is protected from direct competition by high barriers to entry.

· One seller is opposed by a large number of buyers.

· In a monopoly, price exceeds marginal revenue. If, under conditions of perfect competition, a firm chooses only the volume of production (the price is set exogenously), then the monopolist can not only determine the volume of production, but also set the price. Therefore, price exceeds marginal revenue.

Based on their origin, two types of monopoly can be distinguished: Natural and Artificial monopolies.

Now let's move on to the concept of “artificial monopoly”. This conventional name (which separates these organizations from natural monopolies) refers to associations of enterprises created to obtain monopolistic benefits. These monopolies deliberately change the structure of the market:

· create insurmountable barriers to entry for new firms into the industry market;

· restrict access to sources of raw materials and energy resources for enterprises that are not part of monopolistic associations;

· create an irresistible new level of technology;

· use larger capital (giving a greater effect on the growth of scale of production);

· do not allow new companies to break through because advertising is well done

Artificial monopolies consists of a number of specific forms. The simplest forms are cartels and syndicates.

An artificial monopoly also has its own characteristics. From the point of view of economic theory, a monopoly market is characterized by the following features:

· the presence within one industry of a single producer of any product or service;

· the products of a monopolist enterprise have unique properties, not having essentially similar analogues and substitutes;

· the presence of barriers (artificial or natural) that do not allow new producers to enter the market;

· determination of the cost of products and the volume of its output by only one manufacturer.

In theory, it is quite possible to build such a model of economic relations, but to find it in practice is almost impossible. That is why forms of natural and artificial monopoly are considered conditional market structures.

Natural monopolies are types of activities whose effectiveness is determined by the scale of production, in which it is more economical and profitable for one company to produce all the necessary products and sell them at a certain price.

Artificial monopolies are associations created in order to obtain monopolistic benefits and based on the concentration in one hand of the production and sales market of a product. They had several forms - random, stable and universal.

Bilateral monopoly - when there is one seller and one buyer in the market for a certain product.

Profit maximization by a monopolist:

· The profit-maximizing output volume is determined in two ways:

o Comparisons MR = MC, with P > MR

o Comparing TR and TC

· Profit is maximum when MR = MC and when the difference between TR and TC is maximum

· The volume of production under monopoly is lower and the price is higher than under perfect competition.

· Under monopoly conditions, the pricing method used is price discrimination as a method of increasing monopoly profits.

Monopolist profit:

Point E 1 corresponds to release Q 1 . This is the best output volume for buyers. For a monopolist, the optimal volume is Q 2. In conditions of monopolization of a competitive industry, part of the consumer surplus is improved and redistributed in favor of the monopoly.

Under perfect competition, consumer surplus is measured. With a monopoly, it, as is obvious, amounts to only an amount equal to .

The so-called irretrievable losses of society are represented by Haberler - this is the amount of net losses to society from monopoly power.
In 1929 it amounted to 0.1% of GNP.

Price discrimination is the sale of identical goods to different buyers at different prices, provided that the differences in prices are not caused by individual differences in the costs of producing and selling the goods. Price discrimination is possible only in imperfectly competitive markets.

Discrimination:

· The possibility of resale of goods (arbitrage) should be excluded or significantly limited on the market

The seller must distinguish between buyers with different willingness to pay or different elasticities of demand

A market in which buyers are divided into groups is a segmented market.
A market segment is a group of buyers with the same curves.

Consequences imperfect competition:

· Strong underproduction of goods compared to competitive levels

Significantly inflated prices compared to what would have been the price under perfect competition

Tendency to consistently generate profits above normal levels

· Irrational use of resources

Advantages of monopoly:

Economies of scale help reduce unit costs

· On the one hand, the monopolist’s ability to have economic profit gives him the opportunity to finance R&D

State policy regarding monopoly:

Increased competition in monopolized industries

Antitrust policy

· Regulation of monopoly behavior

· Creation of state enterprises

System of National Accounts (SNA). Main macroeconomic indicators.

Economic indicators are values ​​or characteristics showing the state of the economy:

· Indicators of the state and performance of the economy as a whole, which are often called aggregate indicators

· Number of employees, estimated monthly

· Number of unemployed

· Consumer Price Index (inflation)

· A set of statistical macroeconomic indicators characterizing the state of the country’s economy

The SNA is a system of interrelated statistical indicators, built in the form of a certain set of accounts and tables characterizing the results of the country's economic activity. Each SNA consists of 2 sides:

· Resources and their use (the sum of records in resources is equal to the sum of records in use)

The essence of the SNA comes down to the formation of general indicators of the functioning of the economy at various stages of the reproduction process and the mutual connection of these indicators.

The main indicators of the SNA are:

· Gross National Income (GNI)

Net Domestic Product (NPP)

Net National Income (NNI)

· National income (ND)

The main indicator of the Russian SNA is GDP, which measures the value of final products produced by residents of a given country over a certain period of time (usually a year).

Residents are all economic units (enterprises and households), regardless of their nationality, that have a center of economic interest in the economic territory of a given country.

Three ways to measure GDP:

· By added value ( production method) - sums up the value added at each stage of production final product. Value added is calculated as the difference between the value of goods and services produced (gross output) and the value of the intermediate product. Allows you to take into account the contribution of various firms to the creation of GDP.

By cost (end use method)

· By income (distribution method)

The problem of GDP distortion:

GDP deflator (price index) – estimates the degree of inflation of the entire set of goods.

DVDP = = (nominal GDP / real GDP) * 100%,
– GDP of the analyzed period.
Nominal GDP – GDP measured at current prices.
Real GDP - GDP measured taking into account the price index (in constant prices)

Method of calculating GDP by expenditure:

All expenses for the purchase of the final product are summed up: GDP = C + I + G - x n.
C – consumer expenditures of the population
I – gross private investment in the national economy
G – state procurements goods and services
x n – private exports (the difference between exports and imports of a given country)

Method of calculating GDP by income:

· Salary

· Percent

· Profit

· Indirect taxes

· Depreciation

Other indicators in the SNA:

GNI takes into account the primary income received by residents of a given country in connection with their participation in production as the GDP of that country.
GNI = GDP + balance of primary income from abroad (exports - imports)
Balance of primary income from abroad = income of residents of a given country

Nominal income = wages + interest payments + corporate profits)

There are many elements related to SNA:

· GDP, private enterprise

· Personal income

· Disposable income

NVP = GDP – consumption of fixed capital (depreciation)
NNI = GNI – consumption of fixed capital (depreciation)
ND = NND – indirect taxes

Personal income = ND – contributions to social insurance– retained corporate earnings + transfers – interest income + personal interest income (including interest on government debt).

Available LD = LD – personal income tax.

GDP does not take into account:

· Important indicators (informal sector, household activities for own final use)

· Shadow sector of the economy

· Impact of production on the environment

· Secrecy and confidentiality of information

· Lack of information on external relations

Indicator of net economic welfare of society:

NEB = GDP – negative factors affecting welfare + non-market activities (in monetary value) + monetary value of free time

PPP (purchasing power parity):

· The number of monetary units of a given country required to purchase the same amount of goods and services in the market of a given country that can be purchased for $1 in the US market

Consumer price index:

· Reflects the dynamics of the cost of a basket of consumer goods and services, the main indicator of the inflation rate

· This is the ratio of the cost of a certain set of goods or services in this period to the cost of the same set in a certain base period, multiplied by 100%

Index is a relative indicator characterizing price changes over time.
ip = p 1 / p 2 – individual price index.

Human Development Index:

· Health and longevity

· Access to education

· Decent standard of living

Ideal condition economic development economy - balance, coordination, balanced development, balance between resources and needs, social production and consumption, aggregate demand and assumption, savings and investments.

There is a cyclical nature in macroeconomic processes.

The economic cycle is the movement of the economy from one macroeconomic equilibrium to another on the scale of the national economy.
According to Marx, this is the movement of the economy from one crisis to another, a way of self-government of the economy.

Economic fluctuations:

Fluctuations in the actual volume of production around its potential value, which is achieved under the condition of full employment in the economy

· Real GDP can deviate from normal, and these fluctuations are recorded by the GDP deflator

Fluctuations in the actual volume of output around potential GDP are characterized by an indicator called GDP (gap GDP):
gap GDP = (Y – Y *) / Y *, where Y is the actual production volume, Y * is the potential production volume.

Potential GDP is the volume of production that is achieved when resources are fully employed.

An economic cycle is a period of time between two identical states of the economy.
Phases:

· Recession, crisis

· Depression

· Revitalization

Economic cycle:

Rise (expansion):

· Growth in production and employment to full employment

· High level of business activity

· High price level, wages and percent

Recession (crisis, recession):

· Production volume is declining, business activity is falling, unemployment is rising

Low interest rate

· Supply exceeds demand

· High inflation rate

Depression:

· Production and employment reach their lowest level – the “bottom of the economy”

· Stagnation in production

· Low price level

· Mass unemployment

Availability of free capital

Revival:

· Gradual increase in the level of court interest

· Increase investment activity

· Increased demand for capital, renewal of fixed capital

Increased production and employment levels

Reasons for hesitation:
External:

Changes in sun activity

· Wars, revolutions

· Discovery of new deposits of gold and uranium

· Development of new territories, population migration

· Scientific discoveries

Internal:

Periodic depletion of autonomous investments

· Weakening the animation effect

Volume fluctuations money supply

· Renewal of fixed capital

· Personal consumption

· State policy (impact on production)

Oligopoly is a market dominated by a few large firms, i.e. A few sellers compete with many buyers, offering both standardized (similar) and differentiated products.

Oligopoly characterizes an economic situation in which a small number of producers-sellers (from three to seven firms) remain on the market. The largest of the remaining ones get the opportunity to influence the market price.

The main characteristics of an oligopoly are the following:

1) there are several participating sellers in the market (from three to seven);

2) the share of each participant is significant, and they exert mutual influence;

3) products are both differentiated and identical (identical, similar);

4) a conspiracy may occur;

5) the conditions for new participants entering and exiting the market are limited;

6) this market is subject to greater control and influence from authorities state power.

Characteristic feature An oligopolistic market is the interconnection of firms - any of the oligopolists is significantly influenced by the behavior of other firms and is forced to take this dependence into account.

In an oligopoly, both price and non-price competition are possible. But pricing methods rivalries tend to be less effective. There is close interdependence between enterprises. If one of the competitors has reduced prices, others will be forced to respond adequately, otherwise there will be too great a loss of customers and profits. By making a counter move, they will simultaneously nullify the efforts of the price leader. Therefore, price methods here can bring a short-term effect.

Since products are produced by large enterprises, production costs are reduced due to economies of scale. Price changes by one of the competitors that dominates production or sales determine the pricing policy in the industry. Others “submit” to her. Price competition at the same time weakens. This situation is called leadership in prices, characteristic of an oligopoly.

In an oligopoly, non-price methods of competition - from advertising to economic espionage - turn out to be more effective, and therefore are used more often.

Entry into an oligopolistic market is limited. Significant capital investment is needed to create an enterprise that can compete with the firms that already control the market.

In oligopolistic competition, a firm is able to control two main parameters of its activities - price and volume of production or provision of services; it is beneficial for it to produce less and inflate prices to a greater extent.

The highest level of imperfect competition is pure monopoly when an entire industry is represented by one company. Those. the concepts of “firm” and “industry” are quantitatively the same. On a national scale, such a situation is extremely rare, but on a national scale small town or region, district, this situation is quite real and even typical: a city can have one railway, one airport, one bank, one power plant, etc.

Pure monopoly(from the Greek monos - one, polio - I sell) is a market in which one seller confronts many buyers. Monopoly assumes that one company is the only manufacturer of any product that has no analogues. Therefore, buyers have no choice and are forced to purchase these products from a monopolist company.

The concept of “monopoly” has a double meaning: Firstly, a monopoly is understood as a large enterprise that occupies a leading position in a certain industry; Secondly, a monopoly refers to the position of a firm in a market that allows it to dominate it.

The purpose of a monopoly– obtaining excess profits through control over price and production volume in a monopolized market by creating the most favorable conditions.

Main features of a pure monopoly:

a) the sole seller is the manufacturer;

b) there is no product differentiation, therefore, there is no substitute goods;

c) the seller exercises almost complete control over prices;

d) very difficult conditions for new enterprises to enter the industry - entry is blocked by finance, technological, resource, and legal conditions;

e) the process of leaving the industry is also difficult;

f) the presence of economic and legal barriers to entry into and exit from the industry.

Distinguish two types of monopolies according to the method of formation (emergence) - natural and artificial.

1. Natural monopoly – represented in the form of private owners and organizations that include rare and freely non-reproducible economic resources (rare metals, special land plots, etc.).

The reasons for the emergence of natural monopolies are:

Limited, non-reproducible and variable quality natural resources(differentiation of their quality);

The absence of close substitutes (substitutes) despite the uniqueness of the product being manufactured.

A natural monopoly is formed on the basis of technological development needs productive forces at a high level of concentration of production.

2. Artificial monopolies - These are associations created for the sake of obtaining monopolistic benefits. Artificial monopolies appear in the form of various monopolistic associations. An artificial monopoly arises from collusion or suppression of competitors.

Also distinguished types of monopoly from the point of view of the possibility of penetration into the industry (the possibility of the emergence of new rivals) due to the presence of protection from the state (authorities government controlled) :

1. Open monopoly - a monopoly in which one of the firms (at least for some time) becomes the sole supplier of a product, but does not have special protection from competition. In a situation open monopoly Often these are companies that have entered the market with new products for the first time. Options for the optimal behavior of a monopolistic firm in this case can vary from a policy of maximizing short-term profits to limiting pricing.

2. Closed monopoly - a monopoly protected by legal norms that limit competition: patents, licenses, copyrights, etc. In practice, only a few monopolies are truly completely closed. In a real economy, there is always the possibility of the emergence of substitute goods, as well as the possibility of eliminating legal barriers that ensure the appropriation of net economic profit. As a result, a closed monopoly may find itself in a situation of break-even production in the long-term time interval. The firm earns enough income to recover all costs, including the opportunity cost of capital, but does not pocket economic profit.

Horizontal and vertical integration, diversification - as ways to form monopolies. Forms and characteristics monopoly associations. Monopoly power: essence and forms of manifestation. The essence of monopoly price

Monopoly means power over the market, especially over price. If a pure monopoly operates in a society, then we can talk about its absolute power in a given industry. Indicators of the share of firms' turnover on the market are widely used: share of 4 firms, share of 8 firms, share of 10 firms, etc. More accurate indicators are those that take into account both the number of firms in the industry and the market share of each of them. The general direction of increasing market power in different markets is reflected in Figure 7.2.

Monopoly power– the degree of control exercised by monopolists in their markets.

To measure the “strength” of monopoly power, it is also used index English economist Abbey P. Lerner (1905 – 1982):

where M is the index of monopoly power;

Р m – monopoly price;

MC – marginal costs (optimal)

Economic meaning of the Lerner index is as follows: the greater the gap between the monopoly price and marginal cost, the greater the strength of monopoly power.

Under perfect competition, prices (P) are equal to marginal costs (MC). Consequently, under conditions of perfect competition, the strength of monopoly power is zero, because P – MC = 0. Under conditions of imperfect competition, the monopoly price (P m) is higher than marginal costs (MC). Consequently, the interval between 0 and 1 precisely characterizes the strength of monopoly power. The higher this indicator, the higher monopoly power companies.

=

Marginal costs (MC) in Russia are not taken into account at all in the accounting system.

If the numerator and denominator of this formula are multiplied by the quantity of goods sold (Q), then the mass of gross profit will be obtained in the numerator, and the volume of sales, gross (total) income will be obtained in the denominator. The relationship between them will answer the question: what is the share of profit in the total products sold. And then the formula of A.P. Lerner will take the form:

Conclusion: high profits are a sign of the strength of monopoly power.

A monopoly price is established in the market, which exceeds marginal costs, i.e. P m > MS (abroad), P m > ATS (in Russia). The power of an absolute monopoly leads to an increase in the profits of the monopoly itself and at the same time to a loss of income for consumers. Monopoly prices are always higher than competitive prices.

Monopoly price – special kind market price, established under the influence not only of supply and demand, but also of the dominance of monopolists in the market for a given product. Such a price is usually a consequence of an agreement between monopolists who dominate the market for a given product, and is set based on the calculation of obtaining the greatest possible profit from the sale of goods available to sellers. The monopoly price is most often much higher than the price set for competitive market. (Raizberg B.A., Lozovsky L.Sh., Starodubtseva E.B..Modern economic dictionary. - 2nd ed., rev. M.: INFRA-M. 479 pp..1999.)

Production concentration – main reason emergence of monopolies. The increase in the scale of production in the process of concentration and centralization is carried out in the following directions (Fig. 7.3):

The process of emergence of monopolistic unions is due to the following factors, presented in Figure 7.4.

Figure 7.4 – The process of creating monopolies

As a result of the concentration of production, different organizational forms of monopoly - monopoly associations (oligopolistic associations) :

1. Cartel – the simplest form of association; This is an agreement on production quotas and division of sales markets. The objects of the agreement may be: pricing, spheres of influence, sales conditions, use of patents. Cartels usually operate within the same industry and are subject to antitrust laws. Cartel participants retain legal and economic independence and carry out their activities in accordance with the cartel agreement (agreement). Agreement on prices, sales market, production volumes, exchange of patents, etc.

2. Syndicates – an organizational form of association in which the participants who join it lose commercial marketing independence and retain legal and production freedom of action. In a syndicate, product sales and order distribution are carried out centrally. These are associations for the purpose of organizing joint sales of products. They were widespread in pre-revolutionary Russia. International syndicates arose, for example, the De Beers diamond syndicate concentrated in its hands the sale of almost all rough diamonds mined in the world. Russia, like many countries in the world, is forced to cooperate with this syndicate.

3. Trust - this is a form of association in which the enterprises included in it lose both production and commercial independence. This is an association based on joint ownership and common management of production and sales of goods. The trust is managed from a “single center”. The trust's profits are distributed according to the business participation of individual enterprises.

4. Concern – an organizational form of unification of an enterprise from various industries under a single management and financial control. Typically, a concern, in addition to manufacturing, transport and trading enterprises, includes banks or some other financial institutions– insurance, pension funds, credit institutions, etc. The participants of the concern remain formally independent, but their activities are controlled and managed from a single center of the company. This structure makes it possible to increase the competitiveness of the company through internal financing, sales of products of the concern's divisions at internal tariff prices, transfer of know-how, etc.

Initially, concerns were common in the USA and Japan; currently, this organizational form has become predominant among large firms in various countries.

5. Pool - an association that has become widespread in the field of using projects. Pool participants seek mutually beneficial agreements on the form of transfer of patents and licenses. Profits are distributed in accordance with the quota determined upon joining the pool.

6. Holding - a joint stock company that owns a controlling stake in legally independent enterprises to exercise control over their operations. A holding is a parent company, a company created by large monopolies to manage subsidiaries through a participation system. Having “absorbed” a controlling stake in dozens and hundreds of enterprises, the holding directs their development, and growing income allows large holdings to turn to their own entrepreneurial activity. Legally, there are joint stock companies, LLCs, and sole proprietorships. A holding company (or “holding company”) is an organization whose main function is to manage the activities of several joint-stock companies through the ownership of their controlling stake.

7. Conglomerates – associations based on the penetration of large corporations into industries that do not have production and technological connections with the traditional areas of activity of the parent company.

8. Legal forms of pure monopoly are also patents, copyrights, trademarks. Patent is a document issued by the government to a person granting the exclusive right to make, use or sell goods. It gives the inventor of a new product or technology the exclusive right to control its production for a specified period of time. The state provides protection for the inventor's ideas. Copyright give authors of works exclusive rights to sell or reproduce their works. Trademarks - this is a symbol used by enterprises, by registering which the state makes it illegal for others to use it.

Antimonopoly regulation of the economy: essence, goals and methods. Antimonopoly legislation and its role in the economic system. Antimonopoly policy in the Russian Federation. Functions of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Russian Federation.

The state uses economic and administrative measures in the fight against monopolies.

Administrative measures provide for the introduction of direct restrictions.

Economic measures to maintain competition and combat monopoly include:

ü encouraging the creation of substitute goods;

ü support for new firms, medium and small businesses;

ü attracting foreign investment, establishing joint ventures, free trade zones;

ü financing of measures to expand the production of scarce goods in order to eliminate the dominant position of individual economic entities.

Antimonopoly regulation is a system of regulatory legal acts aimed at overcoming negative aspects monopolies associated with power, allowing them to suppress aggregate competition and control prices.

Methods of antimonopoly regulation:

Monopolization of the market is limited;

Constant state monitoring;

Setting monopolistic prices is prohibited;

Preservation and maintenance of competition.

Antimonopoly legislation– legislatively enshrined fundamental rules of activity in the market of economic participants, government bodies and management.

Objectives of antimonopoly legislation:

Providing favorable conditions and incentives for the development of perfect competition in national economy,

Removal of all obstacles to its activation on a legal basis, which makes it possible to exclude monopolistic actions of central authorities and management, the dictates of participants in economic turnover, and also to determine the legal regime for regulating liability for monopolistic actions and for violation of the rules of fair competition.

Since the activities of monopolies are antisocial in nature, protecting free competition and limiting the activities of monopolies is one of the most important functions of the state.

At the end of 1991, Russia adopted the “Law on Competition and Restriction of Monopolistic Activities in Commodity (Markets)”, which defines the organizational and legal framework for preventing, limiting and intersecting monopolistic activities and unfair competition and is aimed at ensuring conditions for the creation and effective functioning of commodity markets. markets.

Came into force on October 26, 2006 the federal law"On the protection of competition." This law combined two previously existing laws - the Federal Law “On the Protection of Competition in the Financial Services Market” and the RSFSR Law “On Competition and Restriction of Monopolistic Activities in Commodity Markets”. At the same time, the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition” not only formally includes the provisions of two laws, but also introduced many fundamentally new institutions for Russian antimonopoly legislation, and conceptually changed approaches to individual key concepts, procedural and procedural instruments that were in force previously.

In order to implement state policy to limit monopolistic activities, the State Committee on Antimonopoly Policy (Antimonopoly Committee) was created, later transformed into the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS).

FAS conducts public policy on developing commodity markets and competition, limiting monopolistic activities and suppressing unfair competition.

Antimonopoly policy is a set of government measures (relevant legislation, taxation system, denationalization, denationalization and privatization of property, encouraging the creation of small enterprises, etc.) aimed against the mobilization of production and the development of competition among commodity producers.

By decision of the FAS, the share of an economic entity may be limited to 35% of sales volume in the relevant market.

The main directions of antimonopoly policy in Russia:

ü control over compliance with antimonopoly requirements during the creation, reorganization and liquidation of business entities;

ü control over large sales and purchases of shares that can lead to a dominant position of economic entities (the position of an economic entity whose market share of a certain product does not exceed 35% cannot be recognized as dominant);

ü providing preferential loans, as well as reducing taxes or exempting from them business entities entering this product market for the first time;

ü financing of measures to expand the production of scarce goods in order to eliminate the dominant position of individual economic entities;

ü attracting foreign investment, establishing joint ventures, creating and developing free economic zones.

Public regulation of the activities of natural monopolies can be carried out through the use of various forms.

In countries with mixed economies, one can distinguish four main forms of government regulation of the economy, which also carry out antimonopoly policy (Fig. 7.5).

Figure 7.5 - Forms of state regulation of the economy

IN modern conditions The main function of the state is to organize the economic, legal and socio-political space for a market economy, the creation equal conditions for all forms of entrepreneurship. The main attention is paid to the qualitative parameters of economic development: improving the quality of life, protecting environment and etc.

Government regulation A market economy has three goals:

o creation of legal, financial and social preconditions effective functioning of a market economy;

o provision social protection population groups whose position in a market economy becomes the most vulnerable;

o minimization negative consequences market relations.

To achieve these goals, the modern state has powerful regulatory means of influencing the market economy.

Additional questions for seminar lesson on topic 7:

1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each type of competition: intra-industry, inter-industry, price, non-price, perfect, monopolistic, oligopoly, monopoly.

2. What is the essence of the concepts “oligopsony” and “monopsony”, as well as how these phenomena are characterized.

3. What are the functions of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS).

Monopoly (from Greek monos – one, only + poled - sell) in a narrow sense - this is the market dominance of one seller. However, in a broad sense, it refers to any dominant position of one or a group of persons in any field of activity. In particular, in economics there are four variants of the monopoly (dominant) position of enterprises (Fig. 5.6): monopoly itself, oligopoly (from the Greek. oligos – a little + poleo), monopsony (from Greek. monos + opsonia – food purchase) and oligopsony (from the Greek. oligos + opsonia).

Rice. 5.6.

So, for example, if in a small town the only “serious” enterprise is, say, a bakery, then it may turn out to be monopolist on local market bakery products and monopsonist in the labor market (as the largest buyer of labor). At the same time, it is possible that the same bakery is in the power oligopolists - two or three nearby mills that supply him with flour.

Main signs of monopolism in production and on the market are the following three (Fig. 5.7): high concentration economic activity in the hands of one or several merged companies (according to Russian law - usually over 35%); dominant, i.e. the predominant position of these firms in the market for certain goods and the establishment monopoly prices (inflated when selling and/or underestimated when purchasing goods) and thanks to this, obtaining excess profits for yourself. The essence of self-interested actions monopoly

Rice. 5.7.

hundred boils down to the fact that by deliberately reducing the number of his sales and thereby creating an artificial shortage in the market, he achieves an increase in the price. In contrast to this monopsonist, on the contrary, it reduces purchases from its suppliers (say, grain from farmers), creates artificial difficulties for them in selling products, thereby forcing them to reduce prices.

Monopoly natural and artificial

Based on their origin, there are two main types of monopoly: natural and artificial (Fig. 5.8). Natural monopoly arises and exists naturally, according to objective conditions. For example, in industries (automotive, gas, aluminum), where large-scale production is economically justified, providing greater efficiency, lower costs, and therefore the ability to buy products at more low prices. Or where it makes more sense to have single economic complex (city metro, water supply, communications), since the division of these complexes into separate competing enterprises would lead to unjustified duplication of capital structures and increased costs. Finally, monopoly is natural in mining rare minerals, production rare varieties of tea, grapes, in the field of original artistic trades, etc.

Such a monopoly For example, has a historical area Champagne (France), in which, according to French law, only the famous wine called “champagne” can be produced.

Or take a factory" Northern mob "in Veliky Ustyug (Vologda region) - an ancient, multi-domed, cozy city, worthily chosen as the birthplace of the Russian Father Frost. This factory is natural monopolist in the original blackening on silver, which developed back in the 18th century, and is now known not only in our Fatherland, but also abroad.

Rice. 5.8.

Another thing - artificial monopoly. This is a man-made monopoly specially created by concentrations in someone's hands of a certain economic activity. At the same time, to obtain market power and excess profits strong companies or suppress their competitors (using, say, dumping); or carry out the so-called hostile takeover rivals (buying up their shares, sometimes anonymously); or voluntarily unite with each other (usually through mutual exchange of shares) in different unions, so as not to compete, but to own the market together in an orderly and profitable manner. Historically, there have been three main forms monopolistic unions: cartels, syndicates and trusts (Table 5.1). The main differences between them are the breadth of agreements between the participants and the “density” of their association. So, the simplest and still widespread form is cartel. Its participants (producing homogeneous products - oil, sugar, coffee, bananas, etc.) agree on the division of markets, trade quotas and price levels (who sells, where, how much and how much). At the same time, they are completely maintain their economic independence - both industrial and commercial (trading).

Bright cartel example international scale – Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC (abbreviation of the English name: Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) – the main oil-producing countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America seeking to pursue a unified policy in the field of oil production and export. Created in 1960, OPEC at the end of the 20th century had 11 member countries: Algeria, Venezuela, Indonesia, Iraq, Iran, Qatar, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia. IN last years Russia also takes part in the work of the Organization as an observer.

OPEC acted especially successfully (for itself) in the 1970s (and later). By negotiating production quotas and prices, its members profitably dominated the world oil market and accumulated significant sums of money." petrodollars " in their accounts in Western banks.

Table 5.1

Basic forms of monopolistic unions

Forms of unions	origin of name	Main points of agreements	Independence of participants
Cartel	from Italian centa – document	on the division of markets about sales quotas about the price level	And production, And a commercial
Syndicate	from Greek syndikos - acting together	about trade quotas and prices on joint sales of products and procurement of raw materials	only production
Trust	from English trust - confidence	complete merger of enterprises	lose any independence

However, the civilized world seeks to limit cartel agreements. Under these conditions, monopolists can resort, for example, to collusion (tacit agreement with each other) or use the so-called leadership in chains (the leading company in the industry sets the desired price level, and the rest “silently” follow it).

Here's an example hidden cartelization. In the early 1990s, a number of chemical and pharmaceutical companies Western Europe and Japan, including the famous German concern BASF (an abbreviation for . Badische Apilip & Soda Fabrik– Baden Aniline Soda Factory), secretly agreed to gradually increase prices for artificial vitamins A, B, C and E. However, their enrichment was short-lived. The story finally came out, and the companies had to fork out millions in fines and compensation, but numerous lawsuits robbed citizens.

In order to increase income, other pricing “tricks” are also used. Thus, for related products that complement each other (say, a printer and paint for it) "linked price system": the price for the main product (printer) is relatively low (to stimulate its sales), and for the accompanying product (paint) it is overpriced (to obtain compensating excess profits). Another example: monopolists first sell new products at higher prices. "skimming prices" (for “select”, rich buyers), and then reduced prices are used "penetration prices " – to win the wallets of the general public.

The second, closer form of union is syndicate. It, like a cartel, also usually unites producers of homogeneous products. But in addition to their cartel agreement (on quotas and prices), they organize joint sales of products and purchase of raw materials through general distribution network (the commercial independence of the participants, therefore, is lost here).

For example, those who created syndicate yoghurt manufacturers can (A) reduce mutual competition, (b) reduce the price of milk purchased from farmers and at the same time (V) it costs more to sell your products. As a result, they redistribute the income of both suppliers and consumers in their favor.

Finally, the third and closest monopoly union is trust. Enterprises included in it unite completely under unified management. It was these giant super-monopolies that were typical of the economy of the former USSR. Suffice it to name the famous Aeroflot, numerous city associations (household services, trade in bakery products, canteen trusts, etc.), sectoral ministries and central administrations with their strict centralized management. All of them were absolute monopolists in their fields and dominated over consumers. Trusts are the most powerful and antisocial manifestation of monopolism, which is why today they are prohibited in most countries of the world.

Sometimes so-called concerns may also be among the monopolists. Concern (from English, concern – concern firm, enterprise) is the main and very effective form modern business associations. Usually it is a large diversified (diversified) economic complex, which may include industrial, commercial, banking and other enterprises, sometimes scattered across many countries of the world.

Their unification around themselves is ensured by a special institution - the so-called holding (from English, hold – hold, own) - the parent (holding) company that owns the shares of the group members and thereby influences their activities.

Many concerns rely on a dense network of small and medium-sized enterprises and achieve high efficiency primarily through flexible maneuvering of capital and directing it to the most profitable sectors of the economy. At the same time, a monopoly may develop in certain areas of the concern's activities.

In conclusion, it is important to mention such a special form of economic unions as consortium (from lat. consortium participation, community). This is a temporary association of industrial, banking and other companies to implement joint large business projects (construction of a tunnel, railway, creation of a new airliner, space station, etc.).

• Dominate(from Latin dominans - dominant) - dominate, dominate, be basic: rise above everything around you.
• Dumping(from English, dumping - dumping) - a massive release of goods onto the market or valuable papers to the stock exchange at reduced prices in order to ruin And repression competitors and market conquest.
• Anonymous(from the Greek anonymos - nameless) - unknown, nameless, without specifying a name; hiding his name.
• Quota(from Lat. quot - how much) - share, part, permissible rate of something (for example, production quota– permissible output volume).

Development and formation of a monopoly in Russia

Monopolization is a whole process of conquering a market with the aim of occupying a dominant position in it.

Since ancient times, the concept of monopoly existed in Rus'; as such, the economic and political constitution of society was sharply different from what we have today, but in general the monopoly system still had a pronounced form. Thus, during the reign of the kings, there was a monopoly on a number of the most important goods and products: salt, gunpowder, and even calendars. These goods were very necessary for the people of that society and it was difficult to get them, so the state set a quota for these goods and completely regulated the market in relation to them.

But during the times of the Soviet Union, the market was almost completely monopolistic in nature, the state was at the head of the market, it regulated it, set prices for goods and products, controlled inflation, and the activities of all enterprises were subject to the influence of the state.

In the early 1990s, a new government came to Russia, great changes came to the economy of our country, the market became not monopolistic, but competitive. A lot of goods of various kinds and quality appeared on the market, a large number of enterprises, both manufacturing and trading, and it should be noted that the owners of these companies were private individuals or legal entities, not the state. During these years, the state finally lost control over the market, and the market began to develop “on its own.”

Characteristics of a monopolistic market

A monopolistic market has the following features:

• There is one product, but many buyers. Monopoly and a large number of buyers throughout the country. That is, the product is produced only by this company, and there are many buyers for it;
• Lack of analogues. There are no products that could replace this product on the market, there are no similar products;
• Impossibility of organizing such a business. The existence of barriers for other companies in mastering the production of the same product, that is, entry into the market is not possible or such conditions have been created that they simply cannot be overcome;
• Unregulated pricing. The monopolist himself sets the price of the product in accordance with the reality of the market;
• Full information control on the market. The monopolist has complete information about changes in the market. This gives the monopolist confidence in its actions in the market, and also helps manage the processes of pricing and sales of products.

Artificial monopoly in the market

There can only be two types of artificial monopoly in the market:

• An artificial monopoly, which is based on an increase in the concentration of production;
• An artificial monopoly based on the granting of various types of patents, licenses or intellectual property rights.

Definition 1

A production artificial monopoly is a process of conquering the market independently due to such competitive factors as: modern and high-tech production capacity, the most effective production cost policy, high level of management at the enterprise.

Note 1

All this leads to the fact that the finished product for the consumer is the most competitive, since the price due to the listed factors is most likely the most affordable.

An artificial monopoly, formed on the basis of obtaining patents or licenses, is based on the fact that an enterprise gains a competitive advantage due to a patent for sale or the production of know-how that other manufacturers do not have, thereby becoming a monopolist in the production of this product.