[muh-nop-uh-lee] 
| 1. | exclusive control of a commodity or service in a particular market, or a control that makes possible the manipulation of prices. Compare duopoly, oligopoly. |
| 2. | an exclusive privilege to carry on a business, traffic, or service, granted by a government. |
| 3. | the exclusive possession or control of something. |
| 4. | something that is the subject of such control, as a commodity or service. |
| 5. | a company or group that has such control. |
| 6. | the market condition that exists when there is only one seller. |
| 7. | (initial capital letter ) a board game in which a player attempts to gain a monopoly of real estate by advancing around the board and purchasing property, acquiring capital by collecting rent from other players whose pieces land on that property. |
lion right of exclusive sale, equiv. to mono- mono- + pōl(eîn) to sell + -ion n. suffix| mo·nop·o·ly (mə-nŏp'ə-lē) n. pl. mo·nop·o·lies
[Latin monopōlium, from Greek monopōlion : mono-, mono- + pōlein, to sell; see pel-4 in Indo-European roots.] mo·nop'o·lism n., mo·nop'o·list n., mo·nop'o·lis'tic adj., mo·nop'o·lis'ti·cal·ly adv. |
Monopoly
A situation in which a single company or group owns all or nearly all of the market for a given type of product or service. By definition, monopoly is characterized by an absence of competition - which often results in high prices and inferior products.
For a strict academic definition, a monopoly is a market containing a single firm.
Investopedia Commentary
Monopoly is the extreme case in capitalism. Most believe that, with few exceptions, the system just doesn't work when there is only one provider of a good or service because there is no incentive to improve it to meet the demands of consumers. Governments attempt to prevent monopolies from arising through the use of antitrust laws.
Of course, there are gray areas take for example the granting of patents on new inventions. These give, in effect, a monopoly on a product for a set period of time. The reasoning behind patents is to give innovators some time to recoup what are often large research and development costs. In theory, they are a way of using monopolies to promote innovation. Another example are public monopolies set up by governments to provide essential services. Some believe that utilities should offer public goods and services such as water and electricity at a price affordable to everyone.
Related Links
Economics Basics Tutorial
Antitrust Defined
See also: Antitrust, Duopoly, Monopolist, Monopolistic Competition, Monopsony, Oligopoly, Perfect Competition, Price Fixing
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Monopoly
real-estatereal-estate board game for two to eight players, in which the player's goal is to remain financially solvent while forcing opponents into bankruptcy by buying and developing pieces of property
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