Steel industry
Aluminum
Film
Television
Cell phone
Gas
There are:
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Four music companies control 80% of the market Universal Music Group,
Sony Music Entertaiment, Warner Music Group and EMI Group
Six major book publishers Random House, Pearson, Hachette,
HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster and Holtzbrinck
Four breakfast cereal manufacturers Kellogg, General Mills, Post and
Quaker
Two major producers in the beer industry Anheuser-Busch and
MillerCoors
Two major providers in the healthcare insurance market Anthem and
Kaiser Permanente
Pro: Prices in an oligopoly are usually lower than in a monopoly, but higher
than it would be in a competitive market.
Pro: Prices tend to remain stable because if one company lowers the price
too much, then the other will do the same. The result lowers the profit
margin for all the companies, but is great for the customer.
Con: Output would be less than in a competitive market and more than in
a monopoly. Most competition between companies in an oligopoly is by
means of research and development (or innovation), location, packaging,
marketing, and the production of a product that is slightly different than
the other company makes.
Con: Major barriers keep companies from joining oligopolies. The major
barriers are economies of scale, access to technology, patents, and
actions of the business in the oligopoly. Barriers ca also be imposed by the
government, such as limiting the number of licenses that are issued.
Con: Oligopolies develop in industries that require a large sum of money to
start. Existing companies in oligopolies discourage new companies
because of exclusive access to resources or patented processes, cost
advantages as the result of mass production, and the cost of convincing
consumers to try a new product.