Although in our exhibits the cost curves look the same, firms in monopolistic competition spend more money on items like advertising and other promotions to make their product different than the rest. Some economists argue that monopolistic competition results in too many suppliers and in product differentiation that is not real. But Edward Chamberlin, a developer of monopolistic competition theory in the 1930 s, argued that consumers are willing to pay a higher price for having greater selection. Chamberlin believed that consumers benefit from the wider choice. Oligopoly Oligopoly comes from the Greek word meaning few sellers.
Big business is an example of oligopoly.
It is a market dominated by few sellers. These are industries like steel, automobiles, oil, and breakfast cereals. Because there are few firms, each firm must consider how their policies are going to effect their competitor's behavior. In some oligopolist industries there is a homogeneous product. Steel, Oil, etc.