• What are the major differences between Artificial Monopolies and Natural Monopolies?

• Why do national/state/local governments enforce AntiTrust Laws to break-up artificial monopolies, while state and local governments simply use public utility commissions to provide oversight for the ongoing operations of natural monopolies?
• Use the pure theory of monopoly to respond to these questions:

• For any pure monopoly with market power, what is the relationship between Product Price (P) and Marginal Revenue (MR) at any one level of output Q? Why?

• Why will the managers of a pure monopoly produce a level of output Q* where Marginal Revenue (MR) = Marginal Cost (MC)?

• To maintain its market position as a monopoly, the monopoly must maintain and protect its "high barriers to entry".

• What do we mean by "high entry barriers", and how is this different from the "free-entry and free-exit" conditions that charaterize perfect competition?

• How do each of the following market characteristics provide monopolies with high entry barriers?
  • Patents, trademarks and similar types of intellectural property rights
  • Government authorized licenses and franchises
  • A monopolist's exclusive control over critical resources

• McGuigan suggests that a monopoly, oligopoly or a monopolistic competitor can make an intentional effort to maintain/protect its market power by employing a "strategy map to engage in value creation". Explain the three key aspects of McGuigan's value creation strategy, as well as offering a comprehensive description of how eacch of the sub-components of the three aspects contribute to a monopoly's ongoing value creation (protecting itself from new competition or entry into its industry).