《經(jīng)濟學(xué)專業(yè)英語教程（第四版·上）》

Text:Monopoly

（壟斷）1.Keywords2.Whymonopoliesarise3.Publicpolicytowardmonopolies4.TranslatethefollowingintoChinese5.Questions1.Keywordsbarrierstoentrymarketpowerbusinesslicensepatentandcopyrightlawsnaturalmonopolyeconomiesofscalemonopolypowereconomicwell-beingtotalsurplusmarginal-costpricingdead-weightlossaverage-costpricingregulatorysystempublicownershipspecial-interestgroupindustrialorganizationmarketfailurepoliticalfailure2.Whymonopoliesarise2.1DefinitionandthefundamentalcauseofMonopoly2.2Threemainsourcesforbarrierstoentry2.1DefinitionandthefundamentalcauseofMonopoly2.1.1DefinitionofMonopoly2.1.2FundamentalcauseofMonopoly2.1.1DefinitionofMonopolyAfirmisamonopolyifitisthesolesellerofitsproductandifitsproductdoesnothaveclosesubstitutes.2.1.2FundamentalcauseofMonopolyThefundamentalcauseofmonopolyisbarrierstoentry:Amonopolyremainstheonlysellerinitsmarketbecauseotherfirmscannotenterthemarketandcompetewithit.Barrierstoentry,inturn,havethreemainsources:Akeyresourceisownedbyasinglefirm;Thegovernmentgivesasinglefirmtheexclusiverighttoproducesomegoodorservice;Thecostsofproductionmakeasingleproducermoreefficientthanalargenumberofproducers.2.2Threemainsourcesforbarrierstoentry2.2.1MonopolyResources2.2.2Government-CreatedMonopolies2.2.3NaturalMonopolies2.2.1MonopolyResourcesThesimplestwayforamonopolytoariseisforasinglefirmtoownakeyresource.Althoughexclusiveownershipofakeyresourceisapotentialcauseofmonopoly,inpracticemonopoliesrarelyariseforthisreason.Actualeconomiesarelarge,andresourcesareownedbymanypeople.Indeed,becausemanygoodsaretradedinternationally,thenaturalscopeoftheirmarketsisoftenworldwide.Thereare,therefore,fewexamplesoffirmsthatownaresourceforwhichtherearenoclosesubstitutes.2.2.2Government-CreatedMonopoliesInmanycases,monopoliesarisebecausethegovernmenthasgivenonepersonorfirmtheexclusiverighttosellsomegoodorservice.Sometimesthemonopolyarisesfromthesheerpoliticalcloutofthewould-bemonopolist.Atothertimes,thegovernmentgrantsamonopolybecausedoingsoisviewedtobeinthepublicinterest.Thepatentandcopyrightlawsaretwoimportantexamplesofhowthegovernmentcreatesamonopolytoservethepublicinterest.2.2.3NaturalMonopoliesAnindustryisanaturalmonopolywhenasinglefirmcansupplyagoodorservicetoanentiremarketatalowercostthancouldtwoormorefirms.Anaturalmonopolyariseswhenthereareeconomiesofscaleovertherelevantrangeofoutput.Inthiscase,asinglefirmcanproduceanyamountofoutputatleastcost.Thatis,foranygivenamountofoutput,alargernumberoffirmsleadtolessoutputperfirmandhigheraveragetotalcost.3.Publicpolicytowardmonopolies3.1Increasingcompetitionwithantitrustlaws3.2Regulation3.3Publicownership3.4Doingnothing3.1IncreasingcompetitionwithantitrustlawsThegovernmentderivesitspoweroverprivateindustryfromtheantitrustlaws,acollectionofstatutesaimedatcurbingmonopolypower.Theantitrustlawsgivethegovernmentvariouswaystopromotecompetition.Theyallowthegovernmenttopreventmergers.Antitrustlawshavecostsaswellasbenefits.Sometimescompaniesmergenottoreducecompetitionbuttolowercoststhroughmoreefficientjointproduction.Thesebenefitsfrommergersaresometimescalledsynergies.3.2RegulationMeansregulatingthebehaviorofmonopolists.Thissolutioniscommoninthecaseofnaturalmonopolies,suchaswaterandelectriccompanies.Thesecompaniesarenotallowedtochargeanypricetheywant.Instead,governmentagenciesregulatetheirprices.3.3PublicownershipThatis,ratherthanregulatinganaturalmonopolythatisrunbyaprivatefirm,thegovernmentcanrunthemonopolyitself.ThissolutioniscommoninmanyEuropeancountries,wherethegovernmentownsandoperatesutilitiessuchasthetelephone,water,andelectriccompanies.IntheUnitedStates,thegovernmentrunsthePostalService.ThedeliveryofordinaryFirstClassmailisoftenthoughttobeanaturalmonopoly.3.4DoingnothingEachoftheforegoingpoliciesaimedatreducingtheproblemofmonopolyhasdrawbacks.Asaresult,someeconomistsarguethatitisoftenbestforthegovernmentnottotrytoremedytheinefficienciesofmonopolypricing.4.TranslatethefollowingintoChinese(1)Afirmisamonopolyifitisthesolesellerofitsproductandifitsproductdoesnothaveclosesubstitutes.(2)Anindustryisanaturalmonopolywhenasinglefirmcansupplyagoodorservicetoanentiremarketatalowercostthancouldtwoormorefirms.(3)AstheU.S.SupremeCourtonceputit,theantitrustlawsare“acomprehensivecharterofeconomiclibertyaimedatpreservingfreeandunfetteredcompetitionastheruleoftrade.”(4)Inmyview,however,thedegreeof“marketfailure”fortheAmericaneconomyismuchsmallerthanthe“politicalfailure”arisingfromtheimperfectionsofeconomicpoliciesfoundinrealpoliticalsystems.5.Questions(1)Whatarethethreereasonsthatamarketmighthaveamonopoly?(2)Giveanexampl