Market structures and contestability
Edexcel International A-Level EconomicsΒ· 3.3.3Β· 45 min read
1. Efficiency Metrics and Concentration Ratio Calculationsβ β ββββ± 8 min
n-firm concentration ratio
The combined market share of the n largest firms in an industry, used to measure how concentrated market power is.
Example:
A 5-firm concentration ratio of 75% means the top 5 firms hold 75% of total industry sales.
The UK fast food market has total annual sales of Β£18bn. The top 4 firms have sales of Β£4.1bn, Β£2.8bn, Β£1.7bn, and Β£1.2bn. Calculate the 4-firm concentration ratio.
- 1
Step 1: Sum the sales of the top 4 firms: bn
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Step 2: Divide the sum by total industry sales, multiply by 100 to get a percentage:
- 3
Final answer: 4-firm concentration ratio = 54.4%
Allocative efficiency: , no deadweight welfare loss, consumer surplus is maximised
Productive efficiency: Output produced at minimum , no waste of resources
Dynamic efficiency: Investment in R&D and product innovation from supernormal profit
X-inefficiency: Costs above minimum due to lack of competitive pressure (common in monopolies with no contestability)
Which efficiency is achieved when production occurs at the minimum point of the average cost curve?
A Allocative efficiency
B Productive efficiency
C Dynamic efficiency
D X-inefficiency
Reveal answer
B βProductive efficiency means firms are producing output at the lowest possible average cost, with no avoidable waste of inputs.
Exam tip:
Always show full working for concentration ratio calculations, you will get partial marks for correct working even if your final answer is wrong.
2. Perfect and Monopolistic Competition Equilibriumβ β β βββ± 10 min
Perfect competition
Market structure with many small firms, homogeneous products, perfect information, no barriers to entry/exit, all firms are price takers.
Explain why a perfectly competitive firm earning supernormal profit in the short run will only earn normal profit in the long run.
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Short run: The firm is a price taker, so is horizontal at the industry-set price. It produces where , earning supernormal profit if .
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No barriers to entry mean new firms are attracted by supernormal profit, entering the industry and increasing total market supply.
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Increased supply drives the industry price down until , so only normal profit is earned, with no further incentive for new firms to enter.
Monopolistic competition
Market structure with many firms, differentiated products, low barriers to entry/exit, firms face downward sloping demand curves.
Why do monopolistically competitive firms operate with excess capacity in the long run?
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Short run: Product differentiation means the firm faces a downward sloping curve. It produces where , earning supernormal profit if .
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Low barriers to entry attract new firms, which steal market share from existing firms, shifting each firm's curve leftwards.
- 3
Long run equilibrium occurs when is tangent to at the profit-maximising output. This output is below the minimum output, so excess capacity exists, and productive efficiency is not achieved.
Exam tip:
Draw side-by-side firm and industry diagrams for perfect competition, and clearly label the supernormal profit rectangle and - tangency point for monopolistic competition to get full marks for diagram questions.
3. Oligopoly and Monopoly Market Outcomesβ β β β ββ± 12 min
Oligopoly
Market structure with a small number of large firms, high barriers to entry/exit, and interdependent decision making.
Two supermarket firms (X and Y) choose between keeping prices high or cutting prices. Payoffs (annual profit in Β£m) are: Both high: X=18, Y=18; X cuts, Y high: X=24, Y=9; Y cuts, X high: X=9, Y=24; Both cut: X=11, Y=11. Identify the dominant strategy for each firm.
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For Firm X: If Y keeps prices high, X earns Β£24m cutting vs Β£18m keeping high, so cutting is better. If Y cuts prices, X earns Β£11m cutting vs Β£9m keeping high, so cutting is better.
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Cutting prices is the dominant strategy for Firm X, and the same logic applies to Firm Y.
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The Nash equilibrium is both firms cut prices, earning Β£11m each, even though colluding to keep prices high would earn them both Β£18m.
Collusive oligopoly: Firms agree to fix prices/output (cartels) or follow price leadership to maximise joint profit
Non-collusive oligopoly: Firms compete via price wars, predatory pricing (forcing rivals out) or limit pricing (deterring new entry), or non-price competition (branding, loyalty schemes, product innovation)
Monopoly
Market structure with one dominant firm, very high barriers to entry, the firm is a price maker facing a downward sloping demand curve.
Explain why a natural monopoly (e.g. water supply network) is more efficient than multiple competing firms serving the same market.
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Natural monopolies have continuously falling long run curves due to very high fixed costs (e.g. building a national water pipeline network).
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If one firm serves the entire market, it spreads the fixed cost over the largest possible output, leading to lower average cost per unit.
- 3
If multiple firms split the market, each would pay the high fixed cost, leading to higher average costs, which would be passed on to consumers as higher prices.
Exam tip:
For 20-mark monopoly evaluation questions, balance arguments (higher prices for consumers vs higher dynamic efficiency from R&D investment of supernormal profit) and include context-specific factors like regulatory price caps to hit top evaluation levels.
4. Monopsony and Contestable Market Theoryβ β β βββ± 8 min
Monopsony
Market structure with one dominant buyer, e.g. the NHS as the primary buyer of pharmaceutical drugs in the UK.
Benefits for firms: Lower input costs, higher profit margins, lower prices for consumers if cost savings are passed on
Costs: Lower wages for workers, lower profits for suppliers, reduced incentive for suppliers to invest in innovation
Contestable market
Market with low/no barriers to entry/exit, no sunk costs, so firms face threat of 'hit and run' entry by new competitors.
Explain how high contestability can lead a monopoly firm to set prices close to competitive levels.
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If a monopoly charges high prices and earns large supernormal profit, new firms can enter the market easily (no sunk costs) to undercut prices and take market share.
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To deter entry, the monopoly uses limit pricing, setting price just below the average cost of potential entrants.
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This leads to lower prices for consumers, closer to allocative efficiency, and reduces X-inefficiency as the monopoly has to keep costs low to avoid being undercut.
Exam tip:
Sunk costs are the key determinant of market contestability, so always reference the magnitude of sunk costs in the industry when evaluating contestability in context.
5. Common Pitfalls
Wrong move:
Drawing a kinked demand curve for oligopoly questions
Why:
The 2018 Edexcel IAL spec explicitly excludes the kinked demand curve from this topic, so you will earn no marks for including it.
Correct move:
Use 2x2 game theory matrices to explain oligopoly interdependence, collusive/non-collusive behaviour and pricing strategies.
Wrong move:
Stating monopolistically competitive firms earn supernormal profit in the long run
Why:
Low barriers to entry mean new firms enter the market, shifting existing firms' AR curves left until only normal profit is earned.
Correct move:
Clearly distinguish short run supernormal profit and long run normal profit with excess capacity for monopolistic competition.
Wrong move:
Forgetting to label axes and curves on market structure diagrams
Why:
Diagrams are marked for correct labelling; you can lose up to 2 marks per diagram if axes or curves are unlabelled.
Correct move:
Always label the x-axis Quantity (Q), y-axis Costs/Revenue (Β£), and clearly label all curves (AR, MR, MC, AC) and equilibrium points.
Wrong move:
Confusing limit pricing and predatory pricing
Why:
Limit pricing is used to deter new firms from entering the market, while predatory pricing is used to force existing rivals out of the market; they have different use cases in exam analysis.
Correct move:
Define both terms clearly when using them, and link to the specific scenario given in the question.
Wrong move:
Claiming all monopolies are always allocatively inefficient
Why:
Highly contestable monopolies may set price close to MC to deter entry, and natural monopolies can be more efficient than multiple competing firms.
Correct move:
Use evaluation points like contestability level, regulatory constraints and industry context to qualify statements about monopoly inefficiency.
6. Quick Reference Cheatsheet
Market Structure | Short Run Efficiency | Long Run Efficiency | Barriers to Entry | Key Behaviour |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Perfect Competition | Allocative only | Allocative + Productive | None | Price taker, no supernormal profit long run |
Monopolistic Competition | None (P>MC, Q<min AC) | None (excess capacity) | Low | Product differentiation, normal profit long run |
Oligopoly | None, possible X-inefficiency | Possible dynamic efficiency | High | Interdependent, collusive/non-collusive competition |
Monopoly | None (P>MC, X-inefficiency possible) | Possible dynamic efficiency | Very High | Price maker, price discrimination possible |
Contestable Market | Close to competitive efficiency | Normal profit, low X-inefficiency | Low/None, no sunk costs | Limit pricing, hit-and-run entry threat |
7. Frequently Asked
Do I need to draw a kinked demand curve for oligopoly questions?
No. The 2018 Edexcel IAL specification explicitly excludes the kinked demand curve from this topic. Focus on 2x2 game theory matrices, collusive vs non-collusive behaviour, and pricing strategies like limit or predatory pricing instead.
What evaluation points work best for market structure 20-mark questions?
Top evaluation points include: magnitude of sunk costs/barriers to entry, time horizon (short run vs long run outcomes), regulatory constraints, PED differences for price discrimination, and the level of contestability in the specific industry context given. Always end with a clear supported judgement to hit top level marks.
Going deeper
What's Next
Now you have mastered market structures and contestability, you can apply this knowledge to context-heavy exam questions on real-world industries like retail, utilities, and tech platforms. This content underpins all Unit 3 business behaviour analysis, so practice 14 and 20-mark past paper questions to refine your chain of reasoning and evaluation skills, making sure to link every point to the specific scenario provided to hit top level marks. Remember to include relevant fully-labelled diagrams where required, and use 'it depends' points (like sunk cost magnitude or regulatory oversight) to strengthen your evaluation.