the.com/oligopsony
few buyers, all the power — sellers line up, prices bow down.
means a market structure where only a handful of buyers control demand, letting them dictate prices to many sellers who have nowhere else to go.
from from greek oligos, meaning few, and opsonia, meaning purchase — coined as the buyer-side mirror of oligopoly, first formalized by economist joan robinson in her 1933 work on imperfect competition.
mirror termopposite of oligopoly, which is few sellers
wage effectlets employers suppress pay below competitive levels
legal flashpointcentral to antitrust cases against labor-market collusion
for instance
meatpacking industry — four firms buy most us cattle, squeezing rancher prices
tobacco leaf buyers — few companies purchased nearly all us tobacco crops for decades
college sports recruiting — ncaa long acted as sole buyer of athlete labor
amazon book buying — dominant purchaser power let it set terms with publishers