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9.5: Key Terms

  • Page ID
    215649
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    Definitions

    Allocative Efficiency
    Producing the optimal quantity of output where the marginal benefit to society equals the marginal cost.
    Barriers to Entry
    Legal, technological, or market forces that discourage or prevent potential competitors from entering a market.
    Copyright
    A form of legal protection that prevents unauthorized copying of original works of authorship, such as books and music.
    Deregulation
    Removing government controls over prices and quantities in certain industries.
    Intellectual Property
    The body of law including patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets that protects inventors and creators.
    Legal Monopoly
    A monopoly created through legal restrictions on competition, such as patents or regulated monopolies.
    Marginal Profit
    The profit from producing and selling one additional unit of output, calculated as marginal revenue minus marginal cost.
    Monopoly
    A market structure in which a single firm produces all of the output in a market.
    Natural Monopoly
    A situation in which economic conditions, such as economies of scale, limit effective competition.
    Patent
    A government-granted legal right allowing an inventor exclusive use, production, or sale of an invention for a limited time.
    Predatory Pricing
    A strategy in which an existing firm temporarily cuts prices sharply to discourage or eliminate competitors.
    Trade Secrets
    Methods of production or business practices kept confidential by a firm.
    Trademark
    An identifying symbol, name, or design that distinguishes a firm's goods or services.
    Acquisition
    When one firm purchases another firm.
    Antitrust Laws
    Laws that allow governments to block certain mergers and, in some cases, break up large firms.
    Bundling
    A practice in which multiple products are sold together as a single package.
    Concentration Ratio
    A measure of market concentration based on the share of industry sales accounted for by the largest firms.
    Cost-Plus Regulation
    A regulatory approach that allows a firm to cover costs and earn a normal profit.
    Exclusive Dealing
    An agreement requiring a dealer to sell products from only one manufacturer.
    Four-Firm Concentration Ratio
    The percentage of total industry sales accounted for by the four largest firms.
    Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI)
    A measure of market concentration calculated by summing the squared market shares of all firms in an industry.
    Market Share
    The percentage of total sales in a market accounted for by a particular firm.
    Merger
    When two previously separate firms combine into a single firm.
    Minimum Resale Price Maintenance Agreement
    An agreement requiring dealers to sell a product at or above a specified minimum price.
    Price Cap Regulation
    A regulatory system that sets the maximum price a firm can charge over a specified period.
    Regulatory Capture
    A situation in which regulated firms exert significant influence over the rules and agencies intended to regulate them.
    Restrictive Practices
    Business practices that reduce competition without direct agreements to raise prices or reduce output.
    Tying Sales
    A practice requiring customers to purchase one product in order to buy another product.

    This page titled 9.5: Key Terms was last modified on Wed, 02 Sep 2026 21:02:35 GMT and is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Ravjeet Singh.

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