Skip to ContentGo to accessibility pageKeyboard shortcuts menu
OpenStax Logo

allocative efficiency
producing the optimal quantity of some output; the quantity where the marginal benefit to society of one more unit just equals the marginal cost
barriers to entry
the legal, technological, or market forces that may discourage or prevent potential competitors from entering a market
copyright
a form of legal protection to prevent copying, for commercial purposes, original works of authorship, including books and music
deregulation
removing government controls over setting prices and quantities in certain industries
intellectual property
the body of law including patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secret law that protect the right of inventors to produce and sell their inventions
legal monopoly
legal prohibitions against competition, such as regulated monopolies and intellectual property protection
marginal profit
profit of one more unit of output, computed as marginal revenue minus marginal cost
monopoly
a situation in which one firm produces all of the output in a market
natural monopoly
economic conditions in the industry, for example, economies of scale or control of a critical resource, that limit effective competition
patent
a government rule that gives the inventor the exclusive legal right to make, use, or sell the invention for a limited time
predatory pricing
when an existing firm uses sharp but temporary price cuts to discourage new competition
trade secrets
methods of production kept secret by the producing firm
trademark
an identifying symbol or name for a particular good and can only be used by the firm that registered that trademark
Citation/Attribution

This book may not be used in the training of large language models or otherwise be ingested into large language models or generative AI offerings without OpenStax's permission.

Want to cite, share, or modify this book? This book uses the Creative Commons Attribution License and you must attribute OpenStax.

Attribution information
  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a print format, then you must include on every physical page the following attribution:
    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/principles-economics-3e/pages/1-introduction
  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a digital format, then you must include on every digital page view the following attribution:
    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/principles-economics-3e/pages/1-introduction
Citation information

© Jul 18, 2024 OpenStax. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License . The OpenStax name, OpenStax logo, OpenStax book covers, OpenStax CNX name, and OpenStax CNX logo are not subject to the Creative Commons license and may not be reproduced without the prior and express written consent of Rice University.