An examination of consumer and producer sovereignty. Also, an evaluation of which is stronger – who drives markets – is it, consumers or producers? Definition consumer sovereignty The ability and freedom of consumers to choose from a range of different goods and services. It means that ultimately it is consumers who will decide what is …
Readers Question: what is meant by consumer surplus? Can firms reduce or eliminate consumer surplus? Consumer Surplus is the difference between the price that consumers pay and the price that they are willing to pay. On a supply and demand curve, it is the area between the equilibrium price and the demand curve For example, …
The resource curse is the observation that countries endowed with a rich source of natural resources can struggle to make effective use of these and often end up with low levels of economic development than countries with low levels of natural resources. There are various reasons put forward to explain this resource curse, such as …
This privatization was left to the last for a number of reasons Loss-making nature of British Rail Heavy dependence on external subsidies for rural and provincial services The need to see safety as an overriding priority Positive externalities of railways, – taking traffic off congested roads BR was an integrated national network with a complex …
To overcome market failure, the government may place laws and regulations which prohibit certain behaviour and actions. Regulations can limit or prevent: Demerit goods (alcohol, drugs, smoking) Goods with negative externalities (burning of coal) Abuse of monopoly power. Exploitation of labour. Examples of laws and regulation Legal age for smoking (18) Prohibition on certain classes …
Definition of Competition Policy: Government policies to prevent and reduce the abuse of monopoly power. Abuse of monopoly power can lead to market failure and be against the public interest. Therefore Governments are concerned to intervene and protect the interests of the consumers. 1998 Competition Act sought to bring the UK into line with EU …
Concentration ratio refers to the market share of the largest firms in an industry. For example, a five-firm concentration ratio of 65% means that the five largest firms have more 65% of market sales. If the concentration ratio increased, then one or two firms may start to dominate the market and the firms will be …