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Economics glossary · Firms and competition

Barriers to entry

What barriers to entry means in economics, with an example and a question to test yourself.

Definition
Barriers to entry
Barriers to entry are the legal, technological or market forces that discourage or prevent potential competitors from entering a market.
Not to be confused with: Monopoly
A monopoly is a market in which one firm produces all of the output, so it faces no significant competition.
Test yourself

What is the difference between barriers to entry and monopoly?

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