Market failure
Part 2
Market control:
When one party has too much control over a market, this can also create imbalanced pricing and lead to market failure. In the case of a monopoly or oligopoly, a single seller or a small group of sellers can manipulate pricing. In other situations, known as monopsony or oligopsony, it is the buyers that have the advantage. In either case, the disrupted balance of supply and demand could cause market failure.
Public goods:
Public goods are another example of market failure because they defy the tenets of supply and demand that drive the free markets. Public goods and services are nonexcludable—once something like a street light is produced, it is accessible to everyone, and the producer cannot limit consumption only to paying customers. Public goods are also nonrival, as use by one individual does not limit consumption by others. Given these characteristics, the private sector has little incentive to produce public goods, which leads to market failure, and the government usually has to provide these goods or subsidize their production.
