a discussion 21

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Research the development and rise, as well as the pros and cons of the Amazon marketplace.

  • How did this company become so large?
  • What are the benefits of this amazing growth?
  • The potential risks?
  • Should antitrust regulations interfere and set a limit to how big one firm can become?
  • Are you a customer? Would you mind if local bookshops (like Borders and others) go out of business as they cannot compete with Amazon’s prices?

These and more questions arise when observing the growth of one company. In your answer I will be looking for content with respect to the questions that I posted, as well as connections to some topics we learned about (for example: monopoly market structure, antitrust regulations, price discrimination, economies of scale, labor costs, opportunity cost).

I am including one article that contains a lot of information, however you can find other sources as well. (Please cite your sources)

https://www.yalelawjournal.org/note/amazons-antitrust-paradox (Links to an external site.)

Alternatively, you can also research a recent merger and apply the same questions in your analysis: for example a few days ago AT&T proposed a merger with Time Warner.

  • What are the benefits of this merger?
  • The potential risks?
  • Should antitrust regulations interfere and set a limit to how big one firm can become?
  • Is it a horizontal or vertical merger?
  • Are you a customer of these service providers?