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Barriers to Entry Builder

Run the Barriers to Entry Builder MicroSim Fullscreen
Edit in the p5.js Editor

About This MicroSim

This MicroSim lets you toggle different barriers to entry on and off to see how they affect market competition. As you activate barriers like patents, high startup costs, network effects, government licenses, economies of scale, and control of key resources, the number of firms in the market shrinks and the market structure shifts from perfect competition toward monopoly. The animated visualization shows firms growing larger and fewer, making it easy to see how barriers concentrate market power.

How to Use

  1. Check or uncheck the barrier checkboxes (Patents, High Startup $, Network Effects, Gov. License, Economies/Scale, Key Resource) to activate or deactivate each barrier.
  2. Watch the firm visualization in the center. As you add barriers, firms disappear and the remaining ones grow larger, representing increased market share concentration.
  3. Read the competition meter on the right side, which shows how the level of competition changes from high (green) to low (red).
  4. Check the market structure label at the top to see the resulting classification (Perfect Competition, Monopolistic Competition, Oligopoly, or Monopoly).
  5. Use the Preset dropdown to see barrier combinations for real industries like Restaurants, Streaming Services, Pharmaceuticals, and Electric Utilities.
  6. Click Reset to clear all barriers and return to the starting state.

Iframe Embed Code

You can add this MicroSim to any web page by adding this to your HTML:

<iframe src="https://dmccreary.github.io/economics-course/sims/barriers-to-entry/main.html"
        height="522px"
        width="100%"
        scrolling="no"></iframe>

Lesson Plan

Grade Level

9-12 (High School Economics)

Duration

10-15 minutes

Prerequisites

  • Understanding of market structures (perfect competition through monopoly)
  • Basic knowledge of what competition means in a market context

Activities

  1. Exploration (5 min): Have students activate barriers one at a time and observe the effect on firm count and the competition meter. Ask them to rank which barriers have the greatest impact on reducing competition.
  2. Guided Practice (5 min): Use the industry presets to explore real-world examples. For each preset, ask students to explain why those specific barriers exist in that industry and whether the resulting market structure seems accurate.
  3. Assessment (5 min): Students choose a real industry not in the presets (e.g., ride-sharing, fast food, internet search) and select the barriers they believe apply, then explain whether the simulation's predicted market structure matches reality.

Assessment

  • Students can name at least four types of barriers to entry and give a real-world example of each.
  • Students can explain how barriers to entry determine the number of firms and the resulting market structure.
  • Students can evaluate whether barriers in a given industry benefit or harm consumers.

References

  1. Barriers to entry - Wikipedia -- Comprehensive overview of economic and strategic barriers that prevent new firms from entering markets.
  2. Barriers to Entry - Investopedia -- Practical explanation of common barriers with industry examples.
  3. Network effect - Wikipedia -- How network effects create powerful barriers to entry in technology markets.