the.com/duopolist
One of two companies pretending competition exists while splitting the market like dessert.
means A firm that is one of only two major sellers in a market, able to shape prices and supply with little real competitive pressure.
from Built from 'duo' (Latin, 'two') plus '-opolist,' the agent form tied to 'monopolist' — itself from Greek 'monos' (alone) and 'polein' (to sell). So 'monopolist' gave the template, and 'duo' simply swapped in for 'mono,' turning 'sole seller' into 'one of two sellers.' The coinage is a 19th/20th-century economists' word, built by analogy rather than inherited whole from Greek.
- classic examples
- Coke and Pepsi, Visa and Mastercard, Boeing and Airbus
- game theory
- invented Cournot model to explain their polite mutual restraint
- pricing behavior
- rarely war, usually mirror each other's moves
- antitrust status
- technically legal, suspiciously comfortable