Chapter 07 - Monopoly

Chapter 7 Web Activities

  1. Go to the website of your school’s bookstore (or to the bookstore itself if there isn’t a website) and look up two items: one new textbook and one other “general merchandise” item. Record the prices. Then, search for the exact same item (use ISBNs for textbooks and model/serial numbers for other products if possible) on Amazon ( or Google Product Search ( and record the prices you find there.
  2. What are the items, and what are the two prices you found for each?
  3. For each item, who charged the higher price? How significant is the price difference? Is this what you expected to find?
  4. Write a short explanation for the economic reasons for the price differences. You may want to refer to barriers to entry, elasticity of demand, and economies of scale in your answer.
  1. From the main webpage of the World Trade Organization (WTO), accessible at mouse over “Trade Topics” in the upper navigation bar, then select “Intellectual Property” and “Intellectual property gateway page.” TRIPS stands for trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights. Browse through the links and news until you understand what intellectual property rights are and how they are related to trade agreements. See in particular the links “What are intellectual property rights?” and “Basic introduction to the WTO’s intellectual property agreement.”
  2. Explain intellectual property rights in the context of the chapter’s analysis of monopoly.
  3. The TRIPS agreement has come under criticism particularly in the area of pharmaceutical drugs. Discuss the trade-offs in public health involved with granting strong patents for pharmaceuticals or other medical products.
  1. Obviously, the most familiar use of the word “monopoly” to most people is in reference the popular board game. Go to Hasbro’s official Monopoly website ( and familiarize yourself with the game and its rules. (Complete instructions can be found on Hasbro’s Customer Service site.)
  2. Why is the game called “Monopoly”? What type of monopoly does this refer to? Is Monopoly a monopoly?
  3. What happens if you own all of the properties in a color group (or if you own multiple railroads)? How does this relate to the material in the chapter?
  4. How is the goal of monopoly similar to the goal of real-life businesses? How does the game of monopoly end? Would this outcome be desirable in real life?

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