WORD OF THE DAY: Monopsony
[mə-NAHP-sə-nee]
Part of speech: noun
Origin: Greek, 1930s
Definition: (Economics) A market situation in which there is only one buyer.
Examples of Monopsony in a sentence
“The conglomerate used questionable tactics to create this monopsony.”
“Is Amazon a monopsony in the goods market?”
About Monopsony
This word stems from the Greek suffix “mono-” meaning “one” and the Greek “opsōnein,” meaning “buy provisions.”
Did you Know?
“Monopsony” can be easily mistaken with “monopoly,” but they have somewhat inverse definitions. While a “monopsony” is a market situation in which there is only one buyer of a good or service, a “monopoly” is a situation in which there is only one producer of a good or service. Economic theory proposes that monopsonies can lead to lower wages for workers because they are paid less than their marginal revenue product.
