MONOPOLY

Several governments consider it necessary to prevent or control monopolies. A untainted monopoly exists when one organisation controls the production or supply of a good that has no close substitute. Actually legislation may consider a monopoly situation to take place when there is limited competition in a particular market. For instance UK legislation considers a monopoly to take place if an organisation controls 25% or more of a particular market.

Governments consider it essential to act against an existing or potential monopoly because of the economic problems that can arise through the abuse of a dominant market position. Monopoly is able to lead to economic inefficiency in the use of resources so that output is at a higher cost than necessary.

Further inefficiency can occur as a monopoly may lack the incentive to innovate to research technological improvements or to eliminate unnecessary managers since it is able to always be sure of passing on the cost of its inefficiencies to its customers. Inefficiencies such like these have been seen as major problems in state-owned monopolies and have fuelled the movement towards privatisation in recent years. It has been usual that the competition arising following privatisation will lead to the elimination of these kinds of inefficiency.

Monopoly can as well result in high prices being charged for output so that the cost to customers is higher than would be the case if significant competition existed allowing monopolies to generate monopoly profits.

The government is able to prevent monopolies occurring by monitoring proposed takeovers and mergers and acting when it decides that a monopoly situation may occur. This monitoring is performed in the UK by the Office of Fair Trading which can refer takeovers and mergers that are potentially against the public interest to the Competition Commission for detailed investigation. The Competition Commission has the authority to prevent a proposed takeover or merger, or to allow it to proceed with conditions attached such as disposal of a portion of the business in order to preserve competition.