Question

Identify whether or not each of the following scenarios describes a competitive market, along with the correct explanation of why or why not.
Scenario
1-There are hundreds of colleges that serve millions of students each year. The colleges vary by location, size, and educational quality, which allows students with diverse preferences to find schools that match their needs.
2-The government has granted the U.S. Postal Service the exclusive right to deliver mail.
3-A few major airlines account for the vast majority of air travel. Consumers view all airlines as providing basically the same service and will shop around for the lowest price.
4-There are dozens of pasta producers that sell pasta to hundreds of Italian restaurants nationwide. The restaurant owners buy from the cheapest pasta producer available to them.
Competitive?
Yes, meets all assumptions
No, no free entry
No, not many sellers
No, not a homogeneous product

Answer 1

1) - we see here that each college is different, so the answer is that they are not competitive because they are not not homogenous - since they can for example not all offer the same courses 2) This is a monopoly - they have the exclusive right to provide some service! it's not a competetive market (other companies don't have free entry). 3) Here there are not too many sellers - it's just a few companies, so people alsco can't choose from too many options. 4) this is a true competitive market - it has a free entry, many sellers and the product is homogenous!