In economics, government monopoly is a form of coercive monopoly, in which a government agency is the sole provider of a particular good or service and competition is prohibited by law. It is usually distinguished from a government-granted monopoly, where the government grants a monopoly to a private individual or company.

A government monopoly may be run by any level of government - national, regional, local; for levels below the national, it is a local monopoly . The term state monopoly usually means a government monopoly run by the national government, although it may also refer to monopolies run by regional entities called "states" (notably the US states).

The most infamous Government monopoly - Salt -

still on the statutes of many a constitution

Every monopoly must be considered to be potentially "bad "

It may temporarily be for the "good" so long as there is always an alternative - but then it wouldnt be a monopoly

By definition a monopoly allows exclusive distribution of a product or service, however the control and regulation of a human need in the hands of another human is at its most dangerous when its basic availability is at stake - sooner or later the exclusivity is mishandled either intentionally or not. Slavery was clearly the ultimate result of monopoly at its most cruel.

Such was the monopoly of the supply of salt - a human need equivilent to the air we breath, the water we drink and the proteins we need to consume in order to live. SALT MADE THE WORLD GO ROUND David Bloch

See also

• nationalization
• government-granted monopoly
• coercive monopoly
• natural monopoly
• monopoly