Pure competition and perfect competition are economic concepts that describe the competitive conditions of a market. While both concepts refer to a market with a large number of small firms, there are some key differences between pure competition and perfect competition.
Pure competition is a market structure in which there are many buyers and sellers, and the goods or services being traded are homogenous. This means that all firms are selling the same product, and there is no distinction between one firm's product and another's. Under pure competition, firms have little to no control over the price of their product because they are price takers. This means that they must accept the market price and cannot influence it through their own actions.
On the other hand, perfect competition is a market structure in which there are an infinite number of buyers and sellers, and the goods or services being traded are perfectly homogenous. This means that the product being sold is identical, and there is no way for a firm to differentiate its product from any other firm's product. Like under pure competition, firms under perfect competition are price takers and have no control over the price of their product.
One key difference between pure competition and perfect competition is the number of firms in the market. In pure competition, there are a large number of firms, but in perfect competition, there is an infinite number of firms. This difference is significant because an infinite number of firms means that no single firm has any market power. In other words, no firm can influence the price of the product because there are always more firms ready to enter the market and sell the same product.
Another difference between pure competition and perfect competition is the ease of entry and exit for firms. In pure competition, it is relatively easy for new firms to enter the market and start selling the same product as the existing firms. This means that the market is constantly in a state of flux, with new firms entering and existing firms exiting. In contrast, under perfect competition, it is assumed that it is completely easy for new firms to enter the market and start selling the same product as the existing firms.
Despite these differences, pure competition and perfect competition have some similarities. In both market structures, firms are price takers and have no control over the price of their product. Both market structures also have a large number of firms, which means that there is a high level of competition. Additionally, both market structures have homogenous products, which means that there is no way for firms to differentiate their product from the products of other firms.
In conclusion, pure competition and perfect competition are economic concepts that describe the competitive conditions of a market. While both concepts refer to a market with a large number of small firms, there are some key differences between the two. Pure competition is a market structure in which there are many buyers and sellers and the goods or services being traded are homogenous, while perfect competition is a market structure in which there are an infinite number of buyers and sellers and the goods or services being traded are perfectly homogenous. Despite these differences, both market structures have a large number of firms, are characterized by price taking, and have homogenous products.