Answer:
Monopolistically competitive firms are assumed to independently set the price of their differentiated product.
Explanation:
Monopolistic competition and oligopoly are two types of market structure.
Monopolistic competition is characterized by several competing sellers in an industry with differentiated products. In this market structure, monopolistically competitive firms have lesser barriers to entry or exit. Additionally, the consumers view the monopolistically competitive firms' products as somewhat different from the goods produced by competing firms. However, the consumers view those competing products as close substitutes. Thus, product differentiation is crucial in the success and longevity of monopolistically competitive firms. Product differentiation is the process of attracting customers by creating a feature or image that will make a product stand out or distinguishable from the existing products in the market. Through product differentiation, monopolistically competitive firms can have some control over setting prices on their products, which gives them limited market power. Although, the amount of products that the firms could sell is also contingent on the number and prices of existing substitute products in the market.
In contrast, oligopoly is a type of market structure characterized by a handful of major producers that have the power to influence to set the prices of their goods through price leadership. The actions taken by an oligopolist may significantly affect the sales of other firms in the same industry—when a leading oligopolistic firm increases its price, the other firms will likely follow suit. Hence, the prices of comparable goods are often similar.
Under this market structure, firms have a cost advantage compared to smaller firms due to increasing returns to scale. This means that the oligopolists could produce their products in larger volumes using lesser inputs. It is also difficult for new entrants to enter an oligopolistic industry due to lack of sufficient capital investment.
