The Common Room Canteen Monopoly

In their previous post, classical economists Sam Buckell and Kyle Dooley mentioned the monopoly occuring in Fullbrook sixth form. Our common room in the sixth form has its own small canteen and vending machines - great some people say; we dont have to leave the warmth of sixth form and stray out into the cold grounds of the school to buy a sandwich. However, if we delve deeper and look beyond the lady behind the counter, we can see things are not all student friendly.


The canteen has recently been speculated to be operating a monopoly. It takes advantage of the demand that we as students have; our constant demand for junk food such as chocolate and crisps or quick snacks like paninis seemingly being the perfect oppurtunity to squeeze more pennies out of our wallets. The canteen has relatively little competition, and like the larger monopolies on the market, exerts this power by charging high prices for the basic ammenitiies we crave.


Around a 5 minute walk away we have a Waitrose. If we look at the prices Waitrose charges for its confectionery, and compare them to the vending machine in our common room, it becomes obvious that a monopoly power is being exerted by the vending machine. In Waitrose, a kit kat costs 50p, whereas 55p is charged in our common room. Just think, which group of people has more disposable income; people who regularly shop in Waitrose or students in Fullbrook sixth form?


So, how can this problem be solved? How can the burden that the monopoly creates be reduced on the students in our sixth form? The answer lies with the simple packed lunch. Students bringing in a packed lunch would create competition for the canteen, competition that is needed in the sixth form. Students with a packed lunch would reduce the market share the canteen has, and their ability to manipulate prices in favour of profit maximisation, a classic example of monopolistic behaviour. However, although the packed lunch seems like the best option, it does have negative impacts, such as increasing expenditure of parents and increasing the revenues gained by the supermarket monopolies.

Even though the solution still poses problems, it must be conceded that these problems are small and only require small changes to a families spending patterns. The problem of the Fullbrook sixth form canteen monopoly is one that needs to be retified, otherwise students of this fine establishment will find themselves being manipulated for many years to come.