A market structure is a term used in economics to refer characteristics of a certain market (made up of buyers and sellers who together determine (directly and indirectly) the price of a good). The market structure influence both the activity within a market and the behavior of buyers and sellers Examples would be a monopoly and perfect competition. In a monopoly, there is only one provider (seller) of a good or set of goods. They control all market share and the price of a good or set of goods. They have no market competition. Prices can be astronomical because of this control. The opposite is a perfect competitive market where there are unlimited buyers and sellers, prices are set by demand and competition, and prices remain low because there are major efficiencies. This is a theoretical structure because it is unrealistic.
