Monopolies

The Pandemic and YOU

Do you think the pandemic has promoted monopolies? Why or why not? When you think of businesses that have shut down during the pandemic, are they big businesses or small businesses? How is the financial impact of COVID-19 different for a large, national, or international business than for a small, local business?

The COVID-19 pandemic brought to light some pharmaceutical monopolies. In particular, the desperately needed surgical and N-95 masks were primarily manufactured in China. As the Coronavirus began to spread around the globe, the Chinese government decided to keep the masks they made for their own population. This caused a shortage of masks around the world (Bradsher 2020).