Re: power and markets

["Paul Koch" <PKOCH@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

This note is a response to Greg Nowell's recent and interesting post
concerning the degree to which markets and market prices reflect
prevailing institutional arrangements within those markets.

Doesn't the degree of power which a firm or cartel possesses depend
on how narrowly or broadly we define "the market"?  It seems to me
that this would be especially relevant in those markets where there
is considerable room for product differentiation.  By contrast,
Greg's examples focused on the market for oil, which is a
(reasonably) homogenous product.

Paul Koch
Associate Professor of Economics
Olivet Nazarene University
Kankakee, Illinois  60901-0592
pkoch@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx