In: Economics
How would you describe the market for indentured servants; as a monopoly, an oligopoly, or a competitive market? Justify your answer (why)
Market for indentured servants is a competitive market. In Perfect Competion there are large number of buyers and sellers selling homogeneous product. Buyers and sellers are well informed about the product. Sellers are able to to enter and exit the market freely. A perfectly competitive firm is known as a price taker, because the pressure of competing firms forces them to accept the prevailing equilibrium price in the market. If a firm in a perfectly competitive market raises the price of its product by so much as a penny, it will lose all of its sales to competitors. In case of market for indentured servants, there were many captains in the market, and they were located at the docks in a small number of English seaports. With many demanders and low costs for the servants of seeking additional offers, this was a competitive industry. The indenture system normally operated within a context of competitive markets