HomeGlossaryCompetitive markets
Competitive markets
Market settings with enough sellers and buyers that no participant sets the price alone—an institutional outcome policy often tries to protect or restore.
The phrase signals entry, information, and contestability rather than the abstract model of “perfect competition.” Deregulation sometimes aimed to unlock competition; concentration metrics show when outcomes fell short.
Beyond textbook charts
This entry complements the competition entry (the economic process) by naming the market configuration antitrust and industrial policy arguments presuppose. State-level trade and (later) industry data help show where rivalry is thick or thin.