Question

an example of a monopoly in the United States economy, past or present. Construct a brief explanation of the monopoly and its impact on the market. Your response should be about three hundred words. Use primary and secondary sources, and cite them.

Answer 1

Answer & Explanation

Monopoly is where in the market there is only one seller in the market has a certain product where no other seller has. It my be goods or services but there is no substitute. This means that the owner of such a product is in full control of his/her supply. The main or the greatest impact of monopoly in the market may favors the the seller only while on the other the side the consumer may be pressed. This mostly occurs when it comes to pricing because a monopoly has potential to rise prices. This is due to lack of competition in the market. An example of monopoly in the united states in the past was :

Standard Oil company - This was an oil producing company which was producing,transporting,refining and marketing oil. It was incorporated under Standard Oil Trust which handled all oil production, transportation, refinement, and marketing. Holds 91% of oil production and 85% of its final sales in the United States Market in the early 1900s.  The main sources of of monopoly were that to join into a certain industry it was very expensive so this became a main barrier.

 

Answer 2

Past monopolies:
Standard Oil - incorporated under Standard Oil Trust which handled all oil production, transportation, refinement, and marketing. Holds 91% of oil production and 85% of its final sales in the United States Market in the early 1900s. 

 The company was sued for engaging in "“discriminatory practices in favor of the combination by railroad companies; restraint and monopolization by control of pipe lines, and unfair practices against competing pipe lines.” which led to its downfall.