Identify the barrier to entry that best matches the following news stories about monopolies:

The barrier to entry that best matches is:

Select one:

a.

Patents

b.

Economies of scale

c.

Control of key inputs

d.

Mergers or acquisition

IN THE NEWS US FTC Enables Boeing-Lockheed "Monopoly" On 3 October 2006, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced its tentative approval of merging Boeing and Lockheed Martin's space launch divisions to create the United Launch Alliance (ULA). ...-this decision in essence creates a single-source supplier for putting US satellites on orbit. In August 2006, Kenneth Krieg, head of acquisitions for the Pentagon, wrote to the FTC to support the proposed merger. He acknowledged that while it "will almost certainly have an adverse effect on competition, including higher prices over the long term, as well as a diminution in innovation and responsiveness," he still thought, "The national security advantages of ULA are paramount to the department's support of the transaction." Apparently, the FTC took his recommendation to heart. -Victoria Samson for Center for Defense Information (CDI) November 30, 2006 Source: Samson, Victoria, "US FTC Enables Boeing-Lockheed 'Monopoly," Center for Defense Information. @2017 ETH Zurich