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ECON254 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Market Power, Takers, Perfect Competition

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School
University of Waterloo
Department
Economics
Course
ECON254
Professor
Phillip Curry

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Document Summary

Refers to the study of markets in absence of perfect competition. Both firms and buyers as price takers: lots of firms produce the same good, lots of buyers out there, if one firm increase their price, then buyer will not buy, there will eventually be an equilibrium. If a firm can raise its price and not lose all its customers, then that firm has some degree of monopoly power: not a pure price taker, the firm can set a price. Profit ( ) = total revenue (tr) total costs (tc) Once the firm decides how much quantity they want to sell, they can determine the profit. What is the product: merchandise, tv programming, tickets to see the game. Who is the firm: sometimes the league, sometimes the individual team depending on the product, in this class: the firm is the team.

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Related Questions

A. A competitive firm

  1. can consider only its location in setting the price.
  2. must base its competitive price on product differentiation.
  3. has the ability to set its own price.
  4. must accept the price determined by the intersection of the market supply and demand curves.
  5. has no supply curve.

B. If a firm is making an economic profit, then

  1. the factors of production are being paid their opportunity costs.
  2. there will be no change in the number of firms if the industry is perfectly competitive.
  3. the factors of production are being paid less than their opportunity costs.
  4. the factors of production are being paid more than their opportunity costs.
  5. the firm will exit the industry

C. Along a downward-sloping monopoly demand curve,

  1. marginal revenue is greater than price.
  2. the elasticity of demand is constant.
  3. marginal revenue decreases when the price decreases.
  4. marginal revenue is equal to zero when the price is equal to zero

D. If, in the short run, a perfectly competitive firm is producing at a point where the total cost is greater than total revenue, then the firm should

  1. shut down because economic profits are negative.
  2. continue to produce as long as P > AVC.
  3. continue to produce because accounting profits are positive.
  4. set a higher price for its output.
  5. set a lower price for its output

E. For a perfectly competitive firm, the demand curve is

  1. the marginal revenue curve.
  2. perfectly inelastic.
  3. always equal to marginal cost.
  4. the same as the market demand curve

F. A firm in a(n) industry will have the most elastic demand curve

  1. monopolistic
  2. oligopolistic
  3. monopolistically competitive
  4. perfectly competitive

G. If the demand curve of a monopolist is in the inelastic range, then

  1. total revenue will fall if the price increases.
  2. total revenue will be unchanged if the price increases.
  3. total revenue will rise if the price increases.
  4. the total supply will increase by an equal amount if demand increases.
  5. the price will be unchanged if total revenue increases

H. Monopolistic competition and oligopoly are examples of

  1. monopoly.
  2. perfect competition.
  3. theories of consumer behavior.
  4. imperfect competition.
  5. the extreme cases on the market structure continuum

I. Under which market structure do firms face the flattest (most elastic) demand curve?

  1. perfect competition
  2. monopolistic competition
  3. oligopoly
  4. monopoly

J. At the point of long-run equilibrium for a perfectly competitive firm,

  1. economic profits are zero.
  2. TR > TC.
  3. TR < TC.
  4. P = AVC.
  5. normal profits are zero.

Which of the following is not necessarily a characteristic of perfect competition? (Points: 1)

low prices
a large number of buyers and sellers
a homogeneous product
perfect information

2. In the short run, a perfectly competitive ball bearing manufacturer will continue to produce at a loss if (Points :1)
it is covering all of its variable cost plus part of its fixed cost

it is covering all of its fixed cost
variable cost is less than the fixed cost
fixed cost is zero

3. The golden rule of profit maximization states that any firm maximizes profit by producing where (Points :
marginal revenue equals marginal cost
demand is unit elastic, and total revenue is the greatest
price equals marginal revenue
price equals marginal cost


4. Which of the characteristics of perfect competition assures that economic profit will be zero in the long run? (Points: 1)
There are easy entry and exit in the market.
Each firm is a price taker.
Each firm has access to perfect information.
Each firm is small relative to the market.


5. A constant-cost industry is distinguished by the fact that(Points: 1)
firms' short-run average total costs are horizontal
firms' short-run marginal cost curves are horizontal
the long-run industry supply curve is perfectly elastic
the short-run industry supply curve is perfectly elastic


6. Commodity products are (Points: 1)
pasteurized
bland
perceived by consumers to be identical
made by one manufacturer


7. In a perfectly competitive industry we are likely to find(Points: 1)
firms producing a wide variety of products
barriers to entry
no profit possible in the short run
firms that do not advertise


8. Perfectly competitive firms are price takers because (Points :1)
all small firms must take the price set by the largest firm in the market
firms take the price that government determines is a "fair" price
each firm is small and goods are perfect substitutes for one another
free entry and exit in the short run creates a constant market price in the long run


9. In perfect competition, if one firm raises its price, (Points :1)
others will follow
that firm will increase its revenues
that firm will lose revenues because other firms will not follow
all consumers will be adversely affected


10. Suppose, at its present rate of output, a perfectly competitive firm's marginal revenue exceeds both its marginal cost and its average variable cost. To maximize profit, the firm should (Points: 1)
lower the price
raise the price
increase output
reduce output



1.
If firms in a monopolistically competitive market are earningpositive profits,
A) firms will likely be subject to regulation.
B) barriers to entry will be strengthened.
C) some firms must exit the market.
D) new firms will enter the market.
2.

Panel c in the set of figures shown is consistent with a firm in amonopolistically competitive market that is


A) earning profit and is in both short-run and long-runequilibrium.
B) earning economic profit and is in short-run equilibrium, but notlong-run equilibrium.
C) earning profit and is in long-run equilibrium, but not short-runequilibrium.
D) earning a negative profit and is not in equilibrium.
3.
When a profit-maximizing firm in a monopolistically competitivemarket is producing the long-run equilibrium quantity,
A) its marginal revenue will exceed its marginal cost.
B) its average revenue will equal its marginal cost.
C) it will be earning positive economic profits.
D) its demand curve will be tangent to its average-total-costcurve.
4.
Monopolistic competition differs from perfect competition becausein monopolistically competitive markets
A) each of the sellers offers a somewhat different product.
B) strategic interactions between firms is vitally important.
C) there are barriers to entry.
D) all firms can eventually earn economic profits.
5.
The free entry and exit of firms in a monopolistically competitivemarket guarantees that
A) economic losses can persist into the long run, but not economicprofits.
B) both economic profits and economic losses can persist into thelong run.
C) economic profits can persist into the long run, but not economiclosses.
D) both economic profits and economic losses disappear in the longrun.
6.


Panel (a) shows a profit-maximizing monopolistically competitivefirm that is

A) All answers are correct
B) earning a zero profit.
C) charging a price that is equal to average total cost.
D) in long-run equilibrium.
7.
Since a firm in a monopolistically competitive market faces a
A) perfectly elastic demand curve, it will always operate withexcess capacity.
B) downward-sloping demand curve, it will always operate atefficient scale.
C) perfectly inelastic demand curve, it will always operate atefficient scale.
D) downward-sloping demand curve, it will always operate withexcess capacity.
8.
In a monopolistically competitive market,
A) firms can enter or exit the market without restriction.
B) each firm takes the price of its product as given.
C) each firm produces a product that is essentially identical tothe products of other firms in the market.
D) there are only a few sellers.
9.
The fact that there is a great deal of advertising of men’s shavingproducts indicates that
A) it costs firms very little to produce those products.
B) the market for those products is perfectly competitive.
C) those products are highly differentiated.
D) All answers are correct
10.
A profit-maximizing firm in a monopolistically competitive marketdiffers from a firm in a perfectly competitive market because thefirm in the monopolistically competitive market
A) has no barriers to entry.
B) faces a downward-sloping demand curve for its product.
C) faces a horizontal demand curve at the market clearingprice.
D) is characterized by market share maximization.