Final answer:
Most governments implement regulations to prevent monopolies to safeguard consumer surplus and maintain economic efficiency. These regulations may include antitrust laws, price regulation for natural monopolies, and policies against anti-competitive practices.
Step-by-step explanation:
Because monopolies can reduce consumer surplus and economic efficiency, most governments have implemented regulations to prevent monopolies. This includes the government's role in blocking potentially anti-competitive mergers between large companies, prohibiting contracts that might limit competition, and imposing price regulation on natural monopolies.
With the presence of a natural monopoly, where competition is less likely to be effective, government regulations may dictate the price and output levels to prevent the negative impacts on consumers that an unrestricted monopoly could bring. Additionally, there has been a trend towards deregulation, with less government intervention in the decisions of businesses regarding price and output. All of these are measures to promote a healthier level of competition in the market.