Final answer:
Price structures are often built around competition within different market structures, influencing consumer choices and firm strategies in pricing, advertising, and product differentiation. Oligopoly, as a common structure, benefits from barriers to entry but may lack incentives for innovation without competition.
Step-by-step explanation:
Price structures in different market structures are most often built around competition, which impacts the choices consumers make. Firms can compete on the basis of price, which is common in market structures like Perfect Competition, where many competitors sell virtually identical products and price is the main differentiator. In other structures like Monopoly, where a single company dominates the market, there may be less emphasis on price competition due to lack of alternatives for consumers. Monopolistic Competition and Oligopoly are structures where firms compete on either price, advertising, or product differentiation.
In an Oligopoly, which is a common market structure, a few firms dominate the market and are likely to provide innovative products and high-quality service due to the significant barriers to entry which allow them to earn sustained profits. However, without vibrant competition, they may lack incentives to minimize costs and maximize product quality and innovation.