guys I just love talking about economics let me tell you why

[Potjeh]

You just can't get a foot in in a niche controlled by a monopoly. He who has more money crushes the competition, it's just how things work.

[jorb]

A "private monopoly" is in fact a floating abstraction that no one could possibly hope to define in any rational or measurable terms.

EDIT: Srsly, what does it even mean?

[Potjeh]

It means a company holds a large enough share of the market to dictate the prices.

[downpourguy]

I thought a monopoly was a single person or company owning the majority of a market, global or local, to dictate the prices within said market.

A private monopoly would be within the bounds of a city, company or local market and not to the global market.

[jorb]

It means a company holds a large enough share of the market to dictate the prices.

Are bananas to be considered one market, or is there a general fruit category?

[Potjeh]

That depends on whether bananas have perfect substitutes.

[jorb]

That depends on whether bananas have perfect substitutes.

What is a "perfect substitute"?

[Potjeh]

Isn't it self-explanatory? It's the good which can replace bananas without any loss of consumer satisfaction. If it's a European market you could replace bananas with other fruit, but in a culture where bananas are a pillar of cuisine there is no substitute.

Kinda like you can substitute wine with beer in USA, but not in France.

But some goods don't have perfect substitutes anywhere. Oil, for example.

[jorb]

Isn't it self-explanatory?

Most definitely not. How could it be?

It's the good which can replace bananas without any loss of consumer satisfaction.

Satisfaction compared to what? People were satisfied with horses before there were cars, right? Apples can be just as tasty, but you can't make a banana smoothie with them. Is this a statistical report on fruit eater preferences? A vote among the connoisseurs?

If it's a European market you could replace bananas with other fruit, but in a culture where bananas are a pillar of cuisine there is no substitute.

How is this pillar of cuisine thingy measured? Is there anyway for me as a banana importer to know whether or not I'm at risk of becoming a monopolist? And, really, bananas aren't comparable to pineapples, are they? I mean, they taste very differently. If someone took away my bananas and replaced them with pineapples, there'd be raeg coming their way. Does this indicate that consumer satisfaction isn't met in that case?

What is "the market"? Is it a town? A city? A country? The world?

[jorb]

Kinda like you can substitute wine with beer in USA, but not in France.

Do people drink wine with their pretzels in France?

But some goods don't have perfect substitutes anywhere. Oil, for example.

What kind of oil? Crude oil? Oil qua fuel can be synthesized from coal, and that's been possible since the 40's. How is that not a "perfect substitute"?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_fuel