ABSTRACT
The European Commission fined computer-chip maker Qualcomm $1.18 billion for alleged anti-competitive actions and abuse of its market dominance. When barriers prevent competitors from entering a market, a small number of firms may become powerful and threaten efficiency. The challenge is for the government to limit market power while promoting innovation and permitting adequate incentives for entrepreneurs. Externalities are effects felt beyond or “external to” the people causing the effects. Public goods are goods whose benefits: can be received by more than one person at a time; and, cannot be kept from people who did not pay for them. Streetlights, TV signals, and military protection are classic examples. Biological diversity, or biodiversity, refers to the variety of ecosystems, species, and genetic differences within species. Biodiversity is in conflict with economic development, which comes at the cost of lost habitat for wildlife. More broadly, economics is the study of the allocation of scarce resources among competing ends.
