Monopoly and oligopoly are two economic market conditions. Both are likely to coexist in our world and are differentiated from each other. In this written article, I will describe both market conditions. I will describe the characteristics of each of them in terms of number of suppliers, product differentiation, advantages and disadvantages, and the most difficult types of entry barriers that exist in both market structures. A monopoly is a market structure in which there is only one producer/seller of a product or service. In other words, the single enterprise is the industry. This individual producer/seller has the power to influence prices and market decisions. In a very extreme case, a monopolist might be the sole owner and seller of a product or service in an industry. A monopoly has a huge number of buyers and never has any big competitors. This is because it has the power to destroy the competition. A monopoly controls the prices of goods and also determines prices. Unlike a perfectly competitive market, consumers/customers in a monopolistic market do not have perfect information about the products or services they purchase. Consumers have limited choices and must choose from what is offered to them. The monopolist claims all the power while consumers have no choice. For example: Imagine if Comcast was the only mass media company capable of providing cable television. If someone wants to watch TV, they will have to purchase Comcast's cable service at a given price because it will be the only cable TV provider. A monopoly has advantages and disadvantages. One of the advantages is the big profits. A monopoly benefits from economies of scale because it is the sole supplier of a product...... middle of paper ......ncompetitive with other businesses. If companies reduced their prices, they would gain a large increase in market share, but they are unlikely to allow this. If this happens, other companies will follow and reduce their prices as well. Demand will increase only slightly: demand is inelastic to a fall in price. In a nutshell, monopoly and oligopoly are two market structures that may have their differences, but certainly share similarities. In both market structures, there are dominant firms that control the markets in which they operate. Both structures need high barriers to entry to exist. Monopolistic and oligopolistic firms are very large and both generate large profits. Advantages and disadvantages coexist in both market structures, but this is ultimately why they differentiate from each other..