In the 1870’s, J. D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company was established as a monopoly in the petroleum refining industry in the United States. How he managed to achieve this has always been an economic puzzle because the refining industry, at that time, had many small firms. Moreover, there were minimal barriers to entry into the industry. By 1879, Rockefeller was in control of more than 90 percent of the US’s refining capacity and “maintained a dominant share of refining, in spite of the fact that entry into refining remained easy” (Granitz and Klein 1996, p. 2). Over time, there have been many efforts to explain the Company’s growth; the most sophisticated economic discussion of the monopoly creation is by Elizabeth Granitz and Benjamin Klein in their 1996 article. In 2012, George Priest from Yale University offered an alternative theory for the success of Standard’s refining monopoly. This paper will provide a critical summary of the key issues raised in both the articles.
Granitz and Klein, in their analysis of the case, explain Rockefeller’s success in monopolizing the petroleum industry through transportation rather than refining. In contrast to the refining industry, there were only three railroads that transported petrol in 1870. Entry into the transportation stage was difficult because of high fixed costs. Therefore, it was possible to establish a cartel by “collusively agreeing to stabilize individual railroad market shares and by shifting petroleum shipments between railroads to enforce the agreement” (Granitz and Klein 1996, p. 2). The railroads facilitated Standard’s refinery acquisitions and prevented entry by setting high rates to non-Standard refiners. Rockefeller, very shrewdly, cooperated with the railroads t...
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...ent was that it facilitating the horizontal conspiracy among the railroads and Standard.
The Standard Oil case illustrates how a vertical relationship can create horizontal market power. Granitz and Klein argue that in such a case, the vertical relationship should not be the central aspect of concern for antitrust agencies. It was the explicit horizontal conspiracy by the railroads with the help of Standard that jointly fixed rail rates and railroad market shares. “Such horizontal collusive behavior is clearly anticompetitive, and would be anticompetitive even if there were no vertical connection between Standard and the railroads” (Granitz and Klein 1996, p. 45). They conclude their article by stating that their detailed analysis did not support any new antitrust policy that would condemn a vertical relationship in the absence of a horizontal conspiracy.
Rockefeller was America’s first billionaire, and he was the true epitome of capitalism. Rockefeller was your typical rags-to-riches businessman, and at the turn of the twentieth century, while everyone else in the working class was earning ten dollars max every week, Rockefeller was earning millions. There has been much discussion as to whether Rockefeller’s success was due to being a “robber baron”, or as a “captain of industry”. By definition, a robber baron was an industrialist who exploited others in order to achieve personal wealth, however, Rockefeller’s effect on the economy and the lives of American citizens has been one of much impact, and deserves recognition. He introduced un-seen techniques that greatly modified the oil industry. During the mid-nineteenth century, there was a high demand for kerosene. In the refining process from transforming crude oil to kerosene, many wastes were produced. While others deemed the waste useless, Rockefeller turned it into income by selling them. He turned those wastes into objects that would be useful elsewhere, and in return, he amassed a large amount of wealth. He sold so much “waste” that railroad companies were desperate to be a part of his company. However, Rockefeller demanded rebates, or discounted rates, from the railroad companies, when they asked to be involved with his business. By doing so, Rockefeller was able to lower the price of oil to his customers, and pay low wages to his workers. Using these methods,
The Gilded Age refers to a period in which things were fraudulent and deceitful; the surface was clinquant while underneath that lustrous coat laid corruption. During the Gilded Age companies recruited to corrupt methods to further increase profits, leading to an increase in power, rapid economic prosperity, and domination of industries, leading to monopolistic corporations. As a result, antitrust laws to regulate business began to emerge in the late 19th and early 20th century known as the Progressive Era. Among these companies was Standard Oil, which was founded in 1870 by John D. Rockefeller; in 1880, Standard Oil was responsible for refining 90 percent of America’s oil and between 1880-1910, dominating the oil industry (Marshall). The lack of intervention from the government and regulations impeding monopolistic practices allowed Standard Oil to
None of the competition knew what the rates were for the rebates or the rates that Rockefeller was paying the railroad. This made it hard for the competition to keep up with the Standard Oil Company. The consequences led to many oil companies being secretly bought out by Rockefeller. All in all, 25 companies surrendered to Rockefeller's relentless expansion, which was 20% of the oil industry in America.... ...
Tarbell had always accused the leader of the Standard Oil Company, John D. Rockefeller, of putting her father and many other small oil companies out of business by the use of his ruthless tactics. ...
During the nineteenth and twentieth century monopolizing corporations reigned over territories, natural resources, and material goods. They dominated banks, railroads, factories, mills, steel, and politics. With companies and industrial giants like Andrew Carnegies’ Steel Company, John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company and J.P. Morgan in which he reigned over banks and financing. Carnegie and Rockefeller both used vertical integration meaning they owned everything from the natural resources (mines/oil rigs), transportation of those goods (railroads), making of those goods (factories/mills), and the selling of those goods (stores). This ultimately led to monopolizing of corporations. Although provided vast amount of jobs and goods, also provided ba...
Many people consider Rockefeller a robber of industry because of his forcible ways of gaining his monopolies. Rockefeller was fond of buying out small and large competitors. If the competitors refused to sell they often found Rockefeller cutting the prices of his Standard Oil or in the worst cases, their factories mysteriously blowing up. Rockefeller was obsessed with controlling the oil market and used many of undesirable tactics to flush his competitors out of the market. Rockefeller was also a master of the rebate game. He was one of the most dominant controllers of the railroads. He was so good at the rebate that at some times he skillfully commanded the rail road to pay rebates to his standard oil company on the traffic of other competitors. He was able to do this because his oil traffic was so high that he could make or break a section of a railroad a railroad company by simply not running...
Let us first look at Mr. Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie was a mogul in the steel industry. Carnegie developed a system known as the vertical integration. This method basically cut out the ‘middle man’. Carnegie bought his own iron and coal mines (which were necessities in producing steel) because purchasing these materials from independent companies cost too much and was insufficient for Carnegie’s empire. This hurt his competitors because they still had to pay for raw materials at much higher prices. Unlike Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller integrated his oil business from top to bottom. Rockefeller’s system was considered a ‘horizontal’ integration. This meant that he followed one product through all phases of the production process, i.e. Rockefeller had control over the oil from the moment it was drilled to the moment it was sold to the consu...
John D. Rockefeller and other members of his family produced the fuel that powered America and Europe. In fact, 85% of the world's kerosene supply was produced in a company of Rockefeller's in Pennsylvania. J.P. Morgan, a giant in finance was equally successful by capitalizing small businesses and taking private corporations public. His genius for investing and financing was known world-wide. Because of Morgan and investors like him the American economy grew at a rate that the world had not seen before. His "Gentlemen's Agreement" brought stability to a railroad industry that was unstable because of it's incredible growth. The agreement regulated rates, settled disputes and imposed fines for companies that did not abide by the terms of their contracts. J.P. Morgan helped create a centralized banking system and paved the way for what was to become The Federal Reserve. Henry Ford a corporate giant in transportation built the Ford Motor Company and
...mpanies, it eventually came to the point where they couldn’t keep up and eventually became a part of Standard Oil. By the time Rockefeller had reached the age of 40, his company had controlled all national oil refining by 90% and about 70% of international export of said oil.
...ichest men in the world, monopolizing the oil industry, which played an important role in shaping the economy. In today’s oil business Rockefeller’s effect can still be seem in business strategies, values, and competitive logic. The oil business is now structured and very competitive. It also plays many important roles in the economy.
While the market shares of the ownership types suggest that the UK petrol market is more towards monopolistic competition than oligopoly, the manner in which the companies behave indicates otherwise. Although both monopolistic competitive companies and oligopolies engage in non-price completion, the companies are interdependent and there are considerable barriers to entry. In this case, the UK petrol retail market reflects competitive oligopoly as the retailers are competing against each other.
middle of paper ... ... Also, some railroads gave special rates to some shippers in exchange that the shippers continued doing business with the railroad company. In the Clayton Antitrust Act, it said no one in commerce could regulate rates of price between different buyers (Document E). It said that otherwise, this would create a monopoly in any line of commerce. However, the Elkins Act of 1903 pushed heavy fines on the companies that did that.
...ich developed new corporations. (Gillon p.652) Many in the railroad industry and these newly developed corporations were accused of price fixing, providing illegal kick- backs and challenging government regulations. (Gillon p.652-657) Thus, one could argue that the railroad industry and the titans it produced had a monopolistic approach to business that actually challenged the free market system.
Numerous families living in small town America lost their income because of Standard Oil and forced hardship upon many. The legacy of John D. Rockefeller shall always live on as he has permanently shaped how this country looks. He has funded huge advancements in the fields of education and medicine along with starting the events to end lassiez-faire economics. The petroleum industry changed greatly during his career thanks to his research and completely new business methods were thought up of by him, some still in practice today.
Near the end of the nineteenth century, business began to centralize, leading to the rise of monopolies and trusts. Falling prices, along with the need for better efficiency in industry, led to the rise of companies, the Carnegie Steel and Standard Oil company being a significant one. The rise of these monopolies and trusts concerned many farmers, for they felt that the disappearance of competition would lead to abnormaly unreasonable price raises that would hurt consumers and ultimately themselves. James B. Weaver, the Populist party's presidential candidate in the 1892 election, summed up the feelings of the many American Farmers of the period in his work, A Call to Action: An Interpretation of the Great Uprising [Document F]. His interpretations of the feelings of farmers during that time were head on, but the truth is that the facts refute many of Weaver's charges against the monopolies. While it is true that many used questionable methods to achieve their monopoly, there were also other businessmen out there that were not aiming to crush out the competition. In fact, John D. Rockefeller, head of Standard Oil and a very influential and powerful man of that time, competed ardently to not crush out his competitors but to persuade then to join Standard Oil and share the business so all could profit.