The main organizational forms of economic monopolies are as follows. Cartel- this is an association of several enterprises of the same sphere of production, the participants of which retain ownership of the means of production and the product produced, industrial and commercial independence, and agree only on the share of each in the total production volume, prices, markets.

Syndicate- this is an association of a number of enterprises in one industry, the participants of which retain ownership of the means of production, but lose ownership of the product produced, which means they lose their commercial independence. In syndicates, the sale of goods is carried out by a common sales office.

Trust- this is an association of a number of enterprises in one or more industries, the participants of which lose their ownership of the means of production and the product produced, i.e., industrial and commercial independence. They combine production, marketing, finance, management, and for the amount of invested capital, the former owners of individual enterprises receive trust shares, which give them the right to take part in management and appropriate a corresponding part of the trust's profit. Nowadays, cartels, syndicates, trusts have lost their significance and in their pure form almost never meet.

IN modern conditions based on the diversification of capital, new forms of monopolies are created - a diversified concern, a conglomerate, a consortium.

Diversified concern- this is an association of dozens, even hundreds of enterprises of various industries, transport, trade, whose participants lose ownership of the means of production and the product produced, and the main company exercises financial control over other participants in the association.

Conglomerate is a huge industrial complex in which, under a single financial control, companies operating in different, technologically unrelated areas are concentrated. As a rule, conglomerates are owned by one firm and produce heterogeneous non-competitive goods at one or more stages of production or operate in market segments that do not intersect. Companies have a lot of autonomy. economic activity and their management is decentralized.

Consortium is created on the basis of temporary agreements between several banks and industrial corporations for joint large-scale financial transactions or the implementation of industrial projects (placement of large loans, construction of sea canals, ports, pipelines, etc.). After the expiration of the common work, the consortium breaks up. Characteristic features modern market are the association, interweaving, interpenetration of various organizational forms of monopolies, which indicates the further development, deepening of the processes of monopolization of the modern economy.

In order to maintain such an advantageous position in the market, monopolistic associations decisively crack down on competitors by economic and other methods. Let's describe some of these methods.

1. Economic boycott- partial or complete rejection of economic ties with outsiders (enterprises that are not part of a monopoly association). Monopolies offer buyers dependent on them not to purchase goods from other firms, as they are supposedly of poorer quality.

2. Dumping- the deliberate sale of goods at bargain prices in order to ruin a competitor.

3. Limiting the sale of goods to independent (independent of monopolies) firms (for example, reducing the supply of oil to refineries).

4. Price Maneuvering: The monopoly raises the prices of products sold to small proprietors and at the same time applies secret discounts and concessions in this regard to large buyers.

5. Usage financial resources struggle with competitors (for example, speculation securities on the stock market).

6. Ruin of competitors by legal and illegal means with the aim of their "absorption" and "attachment" to the monopoly. The latter use a wide arsenal of cruel tricks: they counterfeit competitors' products, violate patents, copy trademarks and brand names, and deceive consumers. Many firms use “industrial espionage” against their market opponents (secretly find out production secrets using electronic means, services of “defectors” from competitors' enterprises, etc.). Some monopolies do not disdain criminal methods, including arson, terrorist attacks and contract killings.

The trust is an association in which various enterprises previously owned by different entrepreneurs merge into a single production complex, losing their legal and economic independence. All parties unite in a trust economic activity enterprises, and not just one party, as in a cartel or syndicate. The trust form is convenient for organizing combined production, i.e. association in one company of enterprises of different industries, either representing successive stages in the processing of raw materials, or playing an auxiliary role one in relation to the other.

A trust is a monopoly in which a given group of entrepreneurs will jointly own the means of production and finished products. There are two ways to combine into a trust: a direct merger of the assets of individual companies and the acquisition by the parent company of the trust of a share in the share capital of enterprises.

The situation in which there is only one seller in the market is rare. Much more often, the industry is dominated by a few large manufacturers (suppliers). It becomes profitable for them to create an alliance that occupies a monopoly position in the market (a monopoly based on collusion). Types (forms) of such monopolistic associations can be pools, cartels, syndicates, trusts and concerns.

Historically, three main forms of unions have developed: cartels, syndicates and trusts (Table 1.). The main differences between them are the breadth of the participants' agreements and the scale of their associations.

Table 1

The main forms of monopolistic unions

CARTEL is an agreement between several enterprises on the division of markets, that is, setting prices for goods for all participants, terms of employment work force, the exchange of patents, the delimitation of sales markets and derivative quotas (who produces and how much) of each participant in the total volume of production and sales. Its purpose is to increase prices (above competitive levels), but not to limit production and supply chain activities. The cartel rarely controls the entire market, because it is forced to take into account the policy of non-cartelized enterprises. In addition, cartel members have a rather powerful temptation to deceive their partners by lowering prices or actively advertising their product, which creates conditions for capturing a part of the market. Another way to covertly establish monopoly prices is the so-called LEADERSHIP IN PRICES. Its essence is that when the leading firm in the industry undertakes the desired price change, other firms “silently” follow it.

The cartel form of monopoly associations is most widespread in Germany. The number of cartels here increased from 300 in 1900 to 2200 in 1943; A striking example of an international cartel is the organization of oil exporting countries - OPEC. She was especially successful (for herself) in the 70s. By negotiating production quantities and prices, OPEC countries dominated the world oil market.

To get additional income, monopolists use other price “tricks”. So, for conjugated, complementary goods (printer and ink to it), a “system of linked prices” is established. The price of the printer is not high, but the ink is overpriced.

Cartel agreements, where they are prohibited, are often entered into by CONCLUSION (without significant formalization). But many cartels are temporary market structures and are rare.

SYNDICATE- this is the merger of a number of enterprises of the same industry with the liquidation of their commercial independence. In a cartel, each member of the association independently sells its products at a price set by the cartel. The syndicate provides for the delivery of all products to the syndicate, which sells it through their sales organizations. Syndicates, as a form of monopoly associations, were widely developed in Russia until October 1917. One of the first was created Sellameta, officially called the Society for the Sale of Products of Russian Metal Plants. The company united more than 20% of metalworking plants that produced 80% of the entire industry's products. Then organized Roofing, Pipe sale, Nail, Wire, Prodvagon, Copper, Produgol, etc.. Syndicates arose in light industry, although less.

TRUST- this is the unification of ownership and management of a number of enterprises in one or more industries with the complete elimination of their independence, both in commercial and industrial relations.

When a trust is organized, all the enterprises included in it become the property of the trust. And the entrepreneurs who are part of the trust receive a part of the shares of the trust corresponding to the amount of their capital. Trust not only

sells the products of its enterprises, but also completely disposes of them. Thus, trusts are the most powerful and antisocial manifestation of monopoly. It is no coincidence that in most countries of the world they are prohibited by law.

Sometimes so-called concerns can be among the monopolists. CONCERN is an association of a number of enterprises various industries macroeconomics by establishing a unified financial control- HOLDING through buying their shares. Concerns are the highest form of monopoly associations. Concerns differ from other forms of monopolistic associations in the following two features:

1) they include not only enterprises of various industries, but also transport and trade enterprises, banks and financial institutions;

2) the formation of a concern takes place not by an agreement between individual enterprises on the limitation or loss of their independence, but by buying up the shares of many enterprises by entrepreneurs. As a result, these enterprises, although retaining their legal independence, economically fall under the control of these major entrepreneurs.

For example, the German concern "Reinische Stalwerke" in the late 50s of the XX century. controlled 113 companies in the metallurgical, metalworking, machine-building, shipbuilding, chemical industries with a total capital of about 848 million marks. The Italian concern "Fiat" covers 150 companies in the automotive, aviation, engineering and other industries; its assets in 1964 amounted to 1.3 billion dollars, and 124 thousand people were employed at its enterprises.

Many concerns rely on a dense network of small and medium-sized enterprises and achieve high efficiency through flexible capital maneuvering and directing them to the most profitable sectors of the economy.

The simplest monopolistic association is a temporary agreement between individual companies, called a pool. These can be agreements on the price of products manufactured in the industry, on joint actions against competitors that are not included in this association, on the rules of conduct in the market. this product etc. Since the agreement is temporary, such a monopoly association is unsustainable.

POOL- (from English. pool- common pool) - a form of temporary association of a number of independent companies, in which profits go to a common fund (boiler), and then distributed among the parties to the agreement in accordance with predetermined conditions. Table 2 below presents the distinguishing features of the pool.

table 2

2. Concepts of re-import and re-export

REIMPORT goods - a customs regime under which Russian goods previously exported from the customs territory Russian Federation in accordance with the export regime, are imported back within the statutory deadlines without charging customs duties and taxes, as well as without the application of economic policy measures to them.

To place goods under the customs regime of re-import, they must simultaneously meet a number of conditions:

be removed from the territory of the former USSR until December 31, 1991, and from the territory of the Russian Federation - from January 1, 1992 in accordance with the export customs regime;

Until the moment of exportation, be Russian goods (until December 31, 1991) or be of foreign origin and were released for free circulation on the territory of the Russian Federation (December 31, 1991) with full payment of all customs duties;

Be imported into the customs territory of the Russian Federation within 10 years from the date of export;

Be in the same condition that they were in at the time of export, with the exception of natural wear and tear or loss under normal conditions of transportation and storage.

Natural wear (natural loss) is determined on the basis of norms and standards, as well as other normative and technical documentation in force in Russia.

The use of goods in production or commercial purposes outside the country is not an obstacle to their placement under the customs regime of re-import, provided that the above conditions are met.

These goods may also be subjected to operations to ensure their safety, minor repairs, putting in order, provided that their value, determined at the time of exportation, has not increased as a result of such operations.

The placement of goods under the regime under consideration is practiced when re-importing goods that were in conservation abroad.

Features of registration and calculation of payments.

The identity of the goods placed under the customs regime of re-import, the goods that were exported in accordance with the customs regime of export, the fact of their export, the moment of export, as well as the fact that the goods are Russian, must be established (confirmed) in a way that does not cause doubts officials customs authority in authenticity and reliability. The burden of proving these circumstances rests with the person concerned. With absence customs declaration or if the day of border crossing is not confirmed by the moment of export of goods of Russian origin (until December 31, 1991 - origin former Union SSR) is considered the day of its manufacture. If only the month of manufacture is indicated, then the first day of this month is considered such a day, if only the year is indicated - January 1 of this year. In the absence of documents indicating the day of manufacture of the goods, an examination may be carried out.

The use of goods for industrial or other commercial purposes outside the Russian Federation is not an obstacle to placing these goods under the customs regime of re-import.

Goods can be placed under the customs regime of re-import by any person, regardless of which person exported them.

In case of damage or other deterioration of goods due to accident or action force majeure such goods may be placed under the customs regime of re-import, provided that the fact of an accident or force majeure is confirmed in a way that does not cause doubts among officials of the customs authority in authenticity and reliability.

While outside the Russian Federation, goods may be subjected to operations to ensure their preservation, minor repairs, including putting in order, and other similar operations, provided that the value of such goods, determined at the time of export, has not increased as a result of such operations. The ratio of the value at the time of exportation to the value at the time of importation is determined on the basis of the US dollar. If the prices in the contract or other document are expressed in any other currency, these currencies are recalculated at the exchange rate against the US dollar, respectively, at the time of export or import.

Application of customs duties, taxes and other payments and reimbursement

When goods are re-imported within three years from the date of export, the customs authority returns the paid amounts of export customs duties and export tax. Refunds of the amounts paid are made under the following conditions:

If the goods were exported and imported by the same person who paid the export customs duty or export tax, or in whose interests such payments were made;

If a copy of the customs declaration is submitted to the customs authority, on the basis of which export customs duties or export tax were charged and paid, and a written confirmation of the customs authority to which these payments were paid, or its successor on the actual receipt of payments to the accounts of customs authorities or directly to the budget. Written confirmation must comply with the requirements for financial documents;

If the export tax was paid to the customs authorities located on the territory of the Russian Federation;

If the person who paid the export customs duty or export tax, or in whose interests such payments were made, submits a written application to the customs authority for the return of the amounts paid. Such a statement is made in any form. An application for the refund of the amounts paid must be submitted customs authority before the expiration of one year from the date of acceptance of the cargo customs declaration, according to which the goods are placed under the customs regime of re-import.

If at least one of the specified conditions the refund of the paid amounts of export customs duties and export tax is not made.

Only the amount of customs duty and export tax paid is refundable. At the same time, the refund of fines, deferral fees and similar payments is not made, and the refunded amounts are not indexed, interest is paid on them.

Payment is made in the currency of the Russian Federation, regardless of the currency in which customs duties and export taxes were paid. If the payment was made in a foreign currency, the exchange rate of which is quoted by the Central Bank of Russia, the conversion of foreign currency into the currency of the Russian Federation is made at the rate of the Central Bank of Russia, effective on the day of acceptance of the customs declaration with the declared customs regime of re-import. If the payment was made in another foreign currency, its conversion into rubles is carried out at the rate that was in effect on the day the payment was made.

The refund of the amounts paid is provided by the customs authority that produces customs clearance goods placed under the customs regime of re-import.

When a part of a consignment of exported goods is placed under the customs regime of re-import, the refund of the amounts paid is made according to the quantitative ratio of this part to the consignment of exported goods.

Re-imported goods when imported into the customs territory of the Russian Federation are not subject to import customs duties.

When re-importing goods exported from the territory of the Russian Federation after January 1, 1992, the declarant pays to the customs authority the amounts of VAT returned in connection with export, or from which the goods were exempted in connection with export, as well as excises at the rates in force at the time of export goods.

The amounts payable are determined at the rates in force at the time the goods were exported.

Value added tax benefits granted exclusively to goods imported into the customs territory of the Russian Federation shall not apply.

The customs value for calculating the amounts payable is determined on the day of acceptance of the cargo customs declaration, according to which the goods are placed under the customs regime of re-import. Customs clearance of goods placed under the customs regime of re-import

Customs clearance of re-imported goods is carried out at the customs authority in the region of activity of which their recipient or its structural subdivision is located.

When placing goods under the customs regime of re-import to the customs authority, the declarant shall submit the following documents:

Cargo customs declaration;

Permission of others government agencies if the re-imported goods are subject to the control of these authorities;

A copy of the cargo customs declaration, according to which the re-imported goods were placed under the customs regime of export, or other documents confirming the fact and time of export of such goods from the territory of the USSR (before December 31, 1991) or the territory of the Russian Federation (from January 1, 1992 years) - shipping documents, etc.;

Other documents stipulated by the Regulations on the customs regime of re-import of goods of 09.12.1993 or arising from it, necessary for the customs clearance.

In the absence of reliable and documented information on compliance with the requirements of the Regulation of 09.12.1993, the placement of goods under the customs regime of re-import is not allowed.

For customs clearance of re-imported goods are charged customs duties in the currency of the Russian Federation in the amount of 0.1% of the customs value of goods and in foreign currency, the exchange rate of which is quoted by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, in the amount of 0.06% of the customs value of goods.

RE-EXPORT goods - a customs regime under which foreign goods are exported from the customs territory of the Russian Federation without collection or with a refund of import customs duties and taxes and without the application of economic policy measures (licensing and quotas) (Article 100 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

Re-export of goods is allowed with the permission of the customs authority, submitted in accordance with the procedure established by the State Customs Committee of the Russian Federation.

Customs clearance of foreign goods exported from the customs territory of Russia in accordance with the customs regime of re-export is carried out only with the permission of the State Customs Committee of Russia and only if the payment of customs duties and taxes is ensured by depositing the amounts due on the deposit of the customs office in which the customs clearance of goods will be carried out.

If the goods upon their import are declared to the customs body of the Russian Federation as destined directly and exclusively for re-export, the period of their import into the customs territory of the Russian Federation may not exceed 6 months. Such goods, if it is impossible to immediately export them, must be placed in a temporary storage warehouse or a customs warehouse.

It is also possible to place goods under the re-export customs regime that were originally declared under a different customs regime, for example, a customs warehouse, but this can be done under Russian law no later than 2 years from the moment the goods were imported. At the same time, the re-exported goods must be in the same condition in which they were at the time of importation, except for changes due to natural wear and tear or loss under normal conditions of transportation and storage, after confirmation of the fact of exportation of goods by the applicant of the regime, the paid import duties and taxes are returned.

List of used literature

1. Gravina A.A., Tereshchenko L.K., Shestakov M.P., Commentary on the Customs Code of the Russian Federation. Legal literature., 2006;

2. Grachev, Yu. N. Foreign economic activity. Organization and technique

foreign trade operations: study.-pract. allowance / Yu. N. Grachev. –M. : Business School "Intel-Sintez", 2005. - 592 p.

3. Degtyareva, O. I. Foreign economic activity: tutorial/ Degtyareva O. I. [and others]. - M. : Delo, 2008. - 320 p.

4. Kulikov L. M. "Fundamentals of economic knowledge" M.: Finance and statistics, 2007

5. Regulations on the customs regime for the re-import of goods dated 09.12.1993, No. 525; in red. 06/01/1999;

6. About customs tariff: the federal law dated March 21, 2003 No. 5003-1 (as amended on August 22, 2004) // SZ RF. 2004. No. 12.

7. Prokushev, E. F. Foreign economic activity: studies.-practical. allowance / E. F. Prokushev. - M .: IVTs "Marketing Textbook", 2008. -208 p.

8. Troshkina T. N. Customs code of the Russian Federation in questions and answers. - M.: New legal culture, 2004 - 330 p.

Q, units

Definition of monopoly profit:

D - demand;

MR - marginal revenue;

MC - marginal cost

With optimal positive volume for a monopoly to maximize profits as long as the firm does not stop production, marginal revenue must equal marginal cost (MR=MC).

1.2. Forms and types of monopolies

Monopoly has various forms: corner, cartel, syndicate, branch holding, trust, concern, consortium, conglomerate.

Corner - a method invented by German merchants back in XVI century. The meaning of this method is simple: merchants or producers enter into a secret agreement to buy up or temporarily withdraw some product from the market in order to artificially create its shortage and cause prices to rise. After that, the goods from the stocks are thrown onto the market, and the participants in the collusion receive an increased income.

For example, in 1931. members of the International Tin Cartel organized a tin corner. They bought huge amounts of tin and created a rush for it, which in turn caused a sharp rise in prices. Having achieved this, the participants of the corner sold off their stocks of metal a year later at a huge profit.

Cartel - an agreement between enterprises of the same industry on sales volumes, prices, markets, distribution of profits. However, the cartel agreement did not concern the production and, moreover, the supply and marketing activities of the enterprise. Regulation of such a monopoly is usually carried out through quotas and the definition of sales areas. A typical cartel is the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which includes 14 countries that produce about 70% of oil. It establishes not only uniform prices for oil, but also distributes quotas for its production.

Syndicate usually represented by an association of enterprises, characterized by the fact that the distribution of orders, the purchase of raw materials, the sale of manufactured products are carried out through a single sales organization. The members of the syndicate are production independent from each other, but they do not have freedom of action commercially. The organizational and legal form in which syndicates operate is multifaceted. It could be Joint-Stock Company, limited liability company, additional liability company, general partnership, etc.

Industry holding - a method consisting in buying up controlling stakes in competing firms and thereby establishing economic control over them in order to pursue a single monopoly policy of sales and prices.

More complex forms of monopolistic associations arise when the process of monopolization extends to the sphere of direct production. On this basis, such a higher form of monopolistic associations as a trust appears.

Trust - about association in which the participants lose their industrial and commercial independence. The trust is managed from a specially created united center. The profit received as a result of the economic activity of this organization is distributed in accordance with equity participation enterprises included in it. In this case, one-industry and combined, multi-industry trust is usually distinguished, when the association captures enterprises of another industry. A combined trust that unites enterprises from different industries gets the opportunity to derive additional profit, firstly, by using by-products and waste from another industry, and secondly, by organizing vertical combination, when one enterprise processes raw materials, another manufactures parts from it, the third turns them into commodities, and so on. In modern economic life, this form of monopoly organization of production is extremely rare.

Concern - one of the complex forms of monopoly associations . As a rule, it includes enterprises of various industries, transport, trade and banking. Such an association is undertaken in order to reduce inter-industry competition through a single, centralized management of production, supply, sale of goods, planning their actions to introduce new technology and a forward-looking strategy for common action in the future. An important feature of the concern's activity is, on the one hand, strict intra-financial control, and, on the other hand, the economic independence of firms, branches, branches and decentralization of management for the main product groups and territories. Its goal is to specialize and integrate its enterprises into a single economic complex. It is believed that the concern is the most developed form of association of enterprises, based on common interests and carried out through a system of participation, financial ties, personal unions.

Consortium - a temporary union of economically and commercially independent producers, the purpose of which is the implementation of any specific economic projects. The consortium is formed on the basis of an agreement between the participants, which provides for the share of each of them in the costs, as well as the forms of participation of the project organization, and other conditions for modern activities. Consortium participants can be legal entities and individuals, private and public organizations, the state itself. The consortium is headed by one of its members, whose functions are stipulated in the agreement.

Conglomerate - from the influence of firms engaged in entrepreneurial activities in various sectors of the economy. This form of monopoly organization is characterized by a high level of management decentralization, within which production units have a fairly wide autonomy. A conglomerate is one of the modern forms of monopolistic associations that arose in the United States in the early 1960s.

The market is dominated by entrepreneurial, state and natural monopolies.

Entrepreneurial monopolies are the most common. They arise as a result of successful competition. Two paths lead to this. The first is the successful development of the enterprise, the constant increase in its scale through the concentration of capital. The second (faster) is based on the processes of centralization of capital, that is, on the voluntary association or absorption of bankrupt winners. But, as a rule, such a monopoly is temporary. Sooner or later, you have to give way to even more successful competitors.

State monopoly expressed, on the one hand, in granting individual firms the exclusive right to perform a certain type of activity, for example, the production of alcoholic beverages, the export of gold, furs. On the other hand, these are organizational structures for state-owned enterprises, when they unite and report to different central administrations, ministries, and associations. Here, as a rule, enterprises of the same industry are grouped. They act on the market as one economic entity and there is no competition between them.

Modern Russia retains the presence of the state in strategically important industries for the country. The share of the state in blocks of shares in various enterprises varies by industry, the main sectors of the economy. Most state-owned companies are in industry, transport, communications, and R&D.

TO natural monopolies include industries and enterprises in relation to which the development of competition is impossible, inefficient and impractical. They arise in those industries where one firm or corporation serves the entire market, for example, when it owns the only sources of minerals or raw materials. Also, a natural monopoly arises in those areas where copyright is in force, because the author is a monopolist by law.

There are two types of natural monopolies:

natural monopolies . The birth of such monopolies is due to the barriers to competition erected by nature itself. The law protects the rights of the owner, even if he eventually turned out to be a monopolist (which does not exclude the regulatory intervention of the state in the activities of such a monopolist)

techno-economic monopolies . Their occurrence is dictated by either technical or economic reasons associated with the manifestation of economies of scale.

Large natural-type monopolies in the Russian Federation are Gazprom, RAO UES of Russia, and the Ministry of Railways. Occupying only 4% of workers and employees, these three monopolies provide 13.5% of GDP, 20.6% of investments, 16.2% of profits, 18.6% of tax revenues of the consolidated budget of the Russian Federation. The role of Gazprom is especially great due to its export potential: it provides more added value than RAO UES and the Ministry of Railways combined, employing only 300 thousand employees, and profits and taxes are twice as much as they are.

The existence of natural monopolies is explained by a special effect associated with the scale of production - the effect of saving resources as a result of the consolidation of production. Due to better technical equipment and greater power large enterprise there is an increase in labor productivity, which means a decrease in costs per unit of output. This means more efficient use of resources. The macroeconomic aspect of the problem is also important. Infrastructure networks, which are natural monopolies, ensure the interconnection of economic entities and the integrity of the national economic system. It is not for nothing that they say that in modern Russia the economic unity of the country is not least determined by common railways, general electricity and gas supply.

Therefore, natural monopolies are becoming a desirable phenomenon for society, although the monopolistic nature still forces them to be regulated.

1.3. Monopoly and competition

K. Marx said: “In practical life we ​​find not only competition, monopoly and their antagonism, but also their synthesis, which is not a formula, but a movement. Monopoly creates competition, competition creates monopoly. The synthesis lies in the fact that a monopoly can be maintained due to the fact that it constantly enters into a competitive struggle.

The most important factor effective development The country's market economy is competition. Competition (Late Latin concurrentia - clash, from concurrere - collide) - a competition between economic entities, when their independent actions effectively limit the ability of each of them to unilaterally influence the general conditions for the circulation of goods in the corresponding commodity market. Such a competition is inevitable and is engendered by objective conditions: the complete economic isolation of each producer, his complete dependence on market conditions, the confrontation with all other commodity owners in the struggle for consumer demand. The market struggle for survival and economic prosperity is the economic law of a commodity economy.

Competition is the main regulatory mechanism in market economy. “This is the force that subordinates producers and suppliers of resources to the dictates of the buyer or the sovereignty of the consumer. In competition, it is the supply and demand decisions of many sellers and buyers that determine market prices.”

A competitive market provides for an unlimited number of sellers, as well as a situation in which each of them does not have the opportunity to influence the price. There is also a free, unhindered access of economic entities to any type of activity, clear and accessible information about the state of the market and possible alternatives to everyone, here there is a dictate of the consumer over production. All this testifies to the dominance of free competition.

Healthy, normal competition is achieved with the equality of the subjects of market relations, understood not only as equality in the market of commodity producers, but also as equality in relations between all market entities: producers and consumers, production structures and market infrastructure, government agencies and market economy structures.

But the insecurity of competition pushes entrepreneurs to try to evade it, and this is possible only if they win a monopoly position. The advantages of a monopoly position are so attractive that the desire for a monopoly seizure of the market, the displacement of competitors in order to obtain monopoly high incomes is an objective reality.