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

Market economy can function within the framework of several models, which in some cases have rather dissimilar features. What criteria can predetermine the appropriate 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 enterprise funds, freedom of competition, limited government intervention in economic processes. This model assumes that companies, striving to achieve the highest profitability, maximize their effectiveness, in many respects in the aspect of satisfying the client's needs. One of the key mechanisms of such a phenomenon as the market system of the economy is the free formation of demand and supply. First of all, it predetermines the level of prices for goods, and therefore, the volume of capital turnover. The selling price of the goods is also an indicator that reflects how optimally the supply-demand relationship is built.

Market economy: theory and practice

The above-described signs, which characterize the market system of management, are set out by us at the level of theory. In practice, the most optimal balance of supply and demand, according to many experts, is not very common. The markets of many countries that seem to be characterized by complete freedom in the aspect of entrepreneurship do not always form an environment where businesses have truly equal opportunities. In the national economies of the developed world, according to some experts, models of oligopoly can develop, or monopolistic tendencies may manifest themselves.

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 to a system where prices are set by the largest enterprises, they also affect the demand and buying preferences through advertising, propaganda and other resources. The market system of management is not so self-regulating as it may sound in theory. At the same time, it is within the power of state institutions to maximally approximate its properties to ideal models, which are described in theoretical concepts. The only question is how to correctly build the market regulation system.

Stages of development of market economy

We can try to study possible options for the state's influence on the free economy by starting with a study of historical models of the functioning of the corresponding economic systems. What can be the periodization of the formation of the market? Experts believe that the development of the economy (if we talk about the models that were formed today in the developed countries) occurred within the framework of 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 classical capitalism. Historians believe that this system functioned for a sufficiently long period - from the XVII century to the first decades of the twentieth century. The main signs of the market of the corresponding type were as follows:

- predominantly private ownership of the main production resources;

- almost free competition, easy entry to the market for new players;

- a minimum of obstacles to the direction of capital flows;

- the predominance of small and medium-sized producers, relatively weakly expressed consolidation;

- underdeveloped labor law;

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

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

At the current stage, the state practically did not intervene in the development of the economy. For a long time classical capitalism was a fairly successful model. Thanks to competitive mechanisms, enterprises actively introduced the achievements of scientific and technical progress, improved the quality of goods and services. However, by the beginning of the 20th century classical capitalism no longer fully met the needs of the developing society. This mainly concerned aspects of social protection. The fact is that one of the indispensable attributes of the capitalist market is the crises that arise as a result of imbalance in supply and demand, mistakes or deliberate actions of market players aimed at destabilizing some segments of the economy in order to make profit. As a result, an arbitration judge - the state - appeared on the business arena. The so-called mixed economy was formed.

Its main feature is the significant role of the public sector in business, as well as the active interference of the authorities in the development of the market. Mainly in those segments that required investment of significant resources - transport infrastructure, communication channels, banking. Government intervention presupposes that the 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, to save on staff salaries or to take actions in their own The interests that can 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 point is that under pure capitalism and a mixed model, the principle of maximizing profit for the business owner, the priority of investing in assets, still prevailed in the activity of enterprises. However, over time, market players began to realize that it is more expedient to have other values in the 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, not only the capitals became the criterion of leadership, but also the public significance of the company's actions. Relatively speaking, a successful business was not only the one with revenue and profitability higher, but one that fulfilled a tangible social role - for example, created a product that changed the preferences of people and made their life easier.

The modern economy of most developed countries, according to some experts, generally has signs of "sociality." At the same time, there are significant differences between the economic systems of different countries, conditioned by 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

There is an opinion that the modern economy of developed countries functions in such a way as to ensure an optimal balance between the priorities of business, the state and society. The interaction between these spheres, as a rule, is expressed in the ways of solving the tasks that face the relevant actors - entrepreneurs, authorities, citizens. All of them tend to some order. Experts identify two of its main varieties - economic and social. Let's consider their features.

The economic order is a set of institutions, as well as norms that regulate the functions of the economy, the course of economic processes. The main areas of regulation here are property rights, monetary and monetary policy, competition, foreign economic cooperation. Social order is, in turn, institutions and norms that affect the state of society as a whole and its individual groups, people's relations with each other. The main areas of regulation in this case - the scope of labor, social assistance, property, housing, environmental law.

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

On market structures

Despite the significant role of the state in modern economic systems, as well as significant control over its compliance with the interests of society, the main driving force behind growth is business. The enterprisingness of private individuals predetermines the introduction in the life of the results of technological progress. 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, the authorities and society would not be able to build an effective and competitive national economy.

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

Let's start with the definition of this term. One of the most common sounds like this: a market structure is a set of characteristics and characteristics that reflect the features of the functioning of the economy as a whole or some of its industry in particular. Depending on what specifically represents a particular characteristic, market models are defined. What are they like? Proceeding from the methodological approaches established in modern Russian economic theory, three main market models stand out: perfect competition, monopoly, oligopoly. Some experts are inclined to single out another model. This is the so-called monopolistic competition.

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

Market structures are a combination of the properties of the economic environment within which enterprises operate. This can be, for example, the total number of companies registered in the industry, the industry's turnover, the number of potential customers or buyers. The characteristics of the relevant structures can influence the equilibrium in the market in the aspect of supply and demand. The aggregate of a certain kind of indicators can indicate which of the four models of the market at a particular moment is functioning - at the level of the national economy, the region or, possibly, a particular locality. But, as a rule, economists calculate a certain averaged set of parameters for determining the properties of the national economic system.

Monopolism

What characterizes the monopolistic market and the market structures of the relevant types? First of all, this is the existence of a resource for a fairly narrow group of producers, which makes it possible to influence the overall situation in its segment of the economy (or at its national level as a whole). Some experts call this kind of instrument "market power", which is held by monopolies - usually 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 basic ones, then it is assumed that businesses that are not part of the "market power" structure, nevertheless have a chance to influence prices. In practice, this can be traced to the level at which the business operates. If this, relatively speaking, a small grocery store, then it can influence the price of some groups of goods in your neighborhood or street. If it is a network business, the scale of influence on the selling value of the products sold can be expanded to a city or even a region. That is, there is competition, but it carries monopolistic signs. Equilibrium in the market is practically not formed. Although, of course, the policy of building prices takes into account local demand. At the same time, as the number of enterprises in the industry grows, in a city or in a single district, monopolistic competition and market structures corresponding to it can grow into another economic model.

Oligopoly

Consider the signs of oligopoly. This market structure is sufficiently close to monopoly. A number of experts believe that the second one is one of the first forms. In any case, there is a difference between the oligopoly and the monopoly. The first is formed by market structures, speaking of them, meaning elements of economic systems that are characterized by frequent occurrence of precedents reflecting the presence of several leading and, as a rule, large business structures in the industries. That is, with a monopoly there is, mainly, one leading player who has concentrated in his hands "market power". In the oligopoly there may be several. At the same time, cooperation between them does not necessarily mean price management. Quite the opposite, within the framework of such a market structure as oligopoly, competition can be quite pronounced. And, as a consequence, the formation of the selling price of goods - is completely free. A vivid 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 monopolistic characteristics, the price for the corresponding devices would be dictated by it. But today we have quite competitive, as experts believe, the market of electronic devices, the price of which units in recent years, even if growing, then, as a rule, not ahead of inflation. And even at all sometimes it decreases.

Perfect competition

The opposite of a monopoly is perfect competition. With it, none of the subjects of the economic system has the so-called "market power". At the same time, the opportunities for consolidating resources for the purpose of subsequent joint control over prices are, as a rule, limited.

The main market structures, if understood as constituent parts of economic processes, are characterized in perfect competition by signs that are significantly different from those characteristic of monopoly and oligopoly. Next, we will consider their relationship for each of the models of economic systems.

Comparison of market structures

We studied the concept of market structure. We saw that the interpretation of this term is dual. First, the "market structure" can be understood as such a market model - a monopoly or, for example, an oligopoly. Secondly, this term can be understood as a characteristic of any entity involved in economic processes. We gave several typical options, if we talk about modern economic concepts: the number of companies present in the market or in a separate segment, the number of buyers, and barriers to entry for both.

The most important thing that should be noted is that both these and other interpretations of the term can come into close contact. How? We will be helped 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. At the same time, it should be noted: if it is a question of the economy of a city or a region, it can be characterized by signs that make it unlike that of other settlements. And in this case it will be quite difficult to unequivocally determine which model is closer, in turn, to the national economy.