The market system of the economy. Market structures: types and defining characteristics

A market economy can function within the framework of several models, which in some cases have rather dissimilar features. What criteria can determine the corresponding difference? Which of the models are most common in the concepts of modern theorists?

Signs of a market economy

The market system of the economy is usually characterized by the following main features: the predominance of private property in the funds of enterprises, freedom of competition, and limited interference by the authorities in business processes. This model assumes that the companies, striving to achieve the highest profitability, maximize their efficiency, in many respects in the aspect of customer satisfaction. One of the key mechanisms of such a phenomenon as the market system of the economy is the free formation of supply and demand. It determines, first of all, the level of prices for goods, and therefore, the volume of capital turnover. The sale value of a product is also an indicator that reflects how optimally the supply-demand ratio is built.

Market Economics: Theory and Practice

The above-described features that characterize the market management system are set forth by us at the level of theory. In practice, the very optimal balance of supply and demand, as many experts believe, is not too common. The markets of many countries, which seemingly are characterized by complete freedom in the aspect of entrepreneurship, do not always form an environment where businesses have truly equal opportunities. According to a number of experts, within the framework of the national economies of the developed countries of the world, oligopoly models may develop, or monopolistic tendencies may appear.

Thus, the market in its pure form one way or another may have a tendency to turn from a highly competitive environment with free pricing into a system where the largest enterprises set prices, they also affect demand and consumer preferences through advertising, propaganda and other resources. The market management system is not as self-regulatory as it can sound in theory. At the same time, it is within the powers of state institutions to bring its properties as close as possible to ideal models that are described in theoretical concepts. The only question is how to correctly build a system of market regulation.

Stages of development of a market economy

We can try to explore possible options for the influence of the state on a free economy, starting with a study of historical models of the functioning of the respective economic systems. What can be the periodization of market formation? Experts believe that the development of the economy (if we talk about the models that have formed today in developed countries) took place within four main stages - the so-called classical capitalism, the period of mixed economic systems, as well as socially-oriented market models.

Let's start with classic capitalism. Historians believe that this system functioned for a fairly long period - from the XVII century to the first decades of the twentieth century. The main features of the relevant type of market were as follows:

- predominantly private ownership of the main production resources;

- almost free competition, easy entry into the market of new players;

- minimum obstacles in relation to the direction of capital flows;

- the predominance of small and medium-sized producers, their relatively weak consolidation;

- underdevelopment of labor law;

- high volatility in the field of pricing (under the influence of supply and demand);

- minimum speculative component in the aspect of the sale of shares;

The state practically did not interfere in the development of the economy at this stage. Classical capitalism has long been a fairly successful model. Thanks to competitive mechanisms, enterprises actively introduced the achievements of scientific and technological progress, and improved the quality of goods and services. However, by the beginning of the 20th century, classical capitalism no longer fully met the needs of a developing society. This mainly concerned aspects of social security. The fact is that one of the essential features of the capitalist market is crises that arise as a result of an imbalance in supply and demand, mistakes or deliberate actions by market players aimed at destabilizing some segments of the economy for profit. As a result, an arbiter appeared in the business arena - the state. A so-called mixed economy was formed.

Its main feature is the significant role of the public sector in business, as well as the active intervention of the authorities in the development of the market. Mainly in those segments that required significant investments - transport infrastructure, communication channels, banking. Government intervention assumes that a competitive market will still be present and characterized by freedom of relations, but within the limits defined at the macro level, that is, entrepreneurs will not be able to set too low or high prices in a monopoly order, save on staff salaries or perform actions in their own interests that could harm the national economic system. In a mixed economy, entrepreneurs have become more willing to unite - in holdings, trusts, cartels. The forms of collective ownership of private assets began to spread - primarily in the form of shares.

From capitalism to social orientation

The next stage of economic development is the emergence of socially-oriented economic systems. The fact is that with pure capitalism and a mixed model, the principle of maximum profit for the business owner and the priority of investments in assets still prevailed in the activities of enterprises. However, over time, market players began to realize that it was more advisable to have other values ​​in priorities. Such as, for example, social progress, investments in talents. Capital has become a derivative of these components. A competitive market has also survived in the social market economy. However, the leadership criterion on it was not only capital, but also the social significance of the company's actions. Relatively speaking, a successful business was considered not only the one with higher revenue and profitability, but one that played a tangible social role - for example, created a product that changed people's preferences and made their life easier.

The modern economy of most developed countries of the world, as some experts believe, generally has signs of "sociality." At the same time, there are significant differences between the economic systems of different countries due to national specifics, business traditions, and foreign policy features. In some states, the economy may have a significant bias towards "pure capitalism", in others it may be more like a mixed model or have a very pronounced "sociality".

Economic and social order

It is believed that the modern economy of developed countries operates in such a way as to ensure the optimal balance between the priorities of business, the state and society. The interaction between these areas, as a rule, is expressed in ways to solve the problems faced by the relevant entities - entrepreneurs, authorities, citizens. They all strive for some order. Experts identify two of its main varieties - economic and social. Consider their features.

The economic order is a set of institutions, as well as norms that govern the functions of the economy, the course of economic processes. The main areas of regulation here are property rights, monetary and monetary policy, competition, and foreign economic cooperation. The social order is, in turn, institutions and norms that affect the state of society as a whole and its individual groups, the relations of people among themselves. The main areas of regulation in this case are the sphere of labor, social assistance, property, housing, and environmental law.

Thus, the economic system of a socially-oriented type combines the priorities of the main actors involved in the formation of both economic and social order. In the first case, the leading role is played by business (with the regulatory participation of the state), in the second - by the state (with the auxiliary function of entrepreneurs). Society is the subject that dominates both types of orders. That is why the economy is called socially oriented.

About market structures

Despite the significant role of the state in modern economic systems, as well as significant control on its part over the observance of the interests of society, the main driving force that determines growth is business. The entrepreneurship of private individuals predetermines the introduction of the results of technological progress into everyday life. In many ways, it is business initiatives that influence the creation of new jobs, and in some cases even the success of the state’s foreign policy. Without entrepreneurs, authorities and society would be unable to build an efficient and competitive national economy.

Power is exercised through state institutions; society functions within the framework of social ones. Business, in turn, relies on various market structures. What are they according to modern theoretical concepts? What is the characteristic of market structures?

Let's start by defining this term. One of the most common sounds like this: a market structure is a set of signs and characteristics that reflect the characteristics of the functioning of the economy as a whole or of some industry in particular. Depending on what exactly this or that sign represents, market models are determined. What are they like? Based on the methodological approaches established in modern Russian economic theory, three main market models are distinguished: perfect competition, monopoly, oligopoly. Some experts tend to highlight another model. This is the so-called monopolistic competition.

Another definition of the term that occurs in the expert environment implies a slightly different interpretation. In this case, we are talking about "market structures" as the characteristics of the elements and subjects of those processes that occur in the economy. Such may be, for example, the number of sellers, the number of buyers, as well as factors that form barriers to entry in any of the segments.

Market structures are a set of properties of the economic environment within which enterprises operate. This can be, for example, the total number of companies registered in the industry, industry turnover, the number of potential customers or buyers. The characteristics of the respective structures can affect the equilibrium in the market in terms of supply and demand. The totality of a certain kind of indicators may indicate which of the four market models at a particular moment is functioning - at the level of the national economy, region, or, possibly, a specific locality. But, as a rule, economists calculate a certain average set of parameters to determine the properties of the national economic system.

Monopolism

What characterizes a monopolistic market and market structures of the corresponding types? First of all, this is the presence of a fairly narrow group of producers of the resource, which allows influencing the general situation in their segment of the economy (or at its national level as a whole). A number of experts call this kind of tool "market power", the holders of which are monopolies - as a rule, these are large businesses or holdings. Depending on the degree of involvement in the economy of the authorities, they can be private or public. As for monopolistic competition - one of the forms of the market that supplements the three main ones, then it is assumed that businesses that are not part of the "market power" structure still have a chance to influence prices. In practice, this can be seen at the level where the business operates. If this is, relatively speaking, a small grocery store, then it can affect the price of certain groups of goods in your area or street. If we are talking about the network business, then the scale of influence on the selling price of products sold can be expanded to the city or even the region. That is, there is competition, but it carries monopolistic features. Equilibrium in the market is practically not formed here. Although, of course, the policy of pricing takes into account local demand. At the same time, as the number of enterprises in an industry, in a city, or in a particular region grows, monopolistic competition and market structures corresponding to it can develop into a different economic model.

Oligopoly

Consider the signs of oligopoly. This market structure is sufficiently close to monopoly. A number of experts believe that the second is a form of the first. In any case, there are differences between the oligopoly and the monopoly. The first is formed by market structures, if we talk about them, implying elements of economic systems, which are characterized by the frequent occurrence of precedents that reflect the presence in the industries of several leading and, as a rule, large business structures. That is, under the monopoly there is mainly one leading player, who has concentrated "market power" in his hands. In the oligopoly there may be several. Moreover, cooperation between them may not necessarily imply price management. Quite the contrary, in the framework of such a market structure as oligopoly, competition can be quite pronounced. And, as a result, the formation of the sale value of goods is completely free. A striking example is the confrontation in the IT market of giants of the level of Samsung, LG, SONY. If any of these companies were characterized by monopoly features, then the price of the corresponding devices would be dictated by it. But today we have a fairly competitive, according to experts, market of electronic devices, the unit price of which in recent years, even if it has been growing, is usually not outstripping inflation. And sometimes it even decreases.

Perfect competition

The opposite of monopoly is perfect competition. Under it, not one of the subjects of the economic system possesses the so-called "market power". At the same time, opportunities for consolidating resources for the purpose of subsequent joint control over prices are usually limited.

The main market structures, if we understand them as components of economic processes, are characterized in perfect competition by signs that differ significantly from those that are characteristic of a monopoly and oligopoly. Next, we consider their relationship for each of the models of economic systems.

Comparison of market structures

We studied the concept of market structure. They saw that the interpretation of this term is dual. Firstly, a “market structure” can be understood as such a model of the market - a monopoly or, for example, oligopoly. Secondly, this term can mean the characteristic of any subject participating in economic processes. We have given several typical options when it comes to modern economic concepts: the number of companies present in the market or in its individual segment, the number of customers, as well as entry barriers for both.

The most important thing to note is that both interpretations of the term can be closely related. How? It will help us to understand the mechanism of interaction of models or elements that constitute market structures, the table that we will now compile.

Such visualization will allow us to more clearly see the difference between the corresponding models of economic systems - on a national or more local scale.It should be noted: if we are talking about the economy of a city or region, it can be characterized by signs that make it dissimilar to that of other settlements. And in this case it will be quite difficult to unambiguously determine which model is closer, in turn, to the national economy.