Barriers To Entry
Numerous barriers to entry could exist that restrict free entry:
- A resource is owned by a single firm. For instance, one business might control the only well for clean water in a region.
- The government might grant a single firm a monopoly. For instance, the state might bar competition to a state owned utility company. Alternatively, one business might possess a legal patent or copyright on a certain good.
- The structure of the market or the production process might make a single producer most efficient - this is called a natural monopoly.
Read more about this topic: Free Entry
Famous quotes containing the words barriers to, barriers and/or entry:
“The principle that human nature, in its psychological aspects, is nothing more than a product of history and given social relations removes all barriers to coercion and manipulation by the powerful.”
—Noam Chomsky (b. 1928)
“In America the majority raises formidable barriers around the liberty of opinion; within these barriers an author may write what he pleases, but woe to him if he goes beyond them.”
—Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859)
“All mothers need instruction, nurturing, and an understanding mentor after the birth of a baby, but in this age of fast foods, fast tracks, and fast lanes, it doesn’t always happen. While we live in a society that provides recognition for just about every life event—from baptisms to bar mitzvahs, from wedding vows to funeral rites—the entry into parenting seems to be a solo flight, with nothing and no one to mark formally the new mom’s entry into motherhood.”
—Sally Placksin (20th century)