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ECON 1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Monopolistic Competition, Perfect Competition, Bottled Water

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coffeewolf393
26 May 2018
School
Berkeley
Department
Economics
Course
ECON 1
Professor
Moretti

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#15 Thursday 3/15 (Ch.16 Competitive Monopolistic
Markets)
Two extremes
● Perfect competition: many firms, identical products
● Monopoly: one firm
In between:
Monopolistic competition:
● Many firms sell similar but not identical products.
● Free entry, 0 profits
Monopolistic Competition
Differentiated products are everywhere
Examples
● Apartment
● Books
● Bottled water
● Clothing
● Fast food
● Night clubs
Comparison with Monopoly and Competition
● Because the product is differentiated, the firm faces a downward-sloping D
curve
○ Like monopoly
○ Different from perfect competition, where firms sell the same product, face horizontal D curve
● Because there is free entry, no long run profits
○ Like perfect competition
○ Different form monopoly
Short Run - Profits
To maximize profit, firm produces Q where MR
= MC
.
The firm uses the D
curve to set P
.
(like monopoly)
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Document Summary

Many firms sell similar but not identical products. Because the product is differentiated, the firm faces a downward-sloping d curve. Because there is free entry, no long run profits. Different from perfect competition , where firms sell the same product, face horizontal d curve. To maximize profit, firm produces q where mr = mc . The firm uses the d curve to set p . (like monopoly) If profits in the short run: new firms enter, taking demand away from existing firms, prices and profits fall. If losses in the short run: some firms exit, remaining firms enjoy higher demand and prices. Entry and exit occurs until profit is zero. Why monopolistic competition is less efficient than perfect competition. P > mc, markup over marginal cost. Monopolistic competition does not have all of the desirable properties of perfect competition. There is a deadweight loss caused by the markup of price over marginal cost.

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Related Questions

1. if the government attempts to break up a natural monopoly to enforce competition in an industry

A. the average cost of producing the good will increase

B. the smallest firm will have a significant cost advantage over the larger, less efficient firms

C. the average cost of producing the good will decrease

D. the price paid by consumers will be expected to remain the same.

2. which statement is true?

A. the monopolistic competitor always makes a profit in the short run

B. the monopolistic competitor operates at peak efficiency

C. product differentiation takes place in the minds of the buyers

D. none of these statements is true

3. Price discrimination

A. occurs when a good or service is resold

B. is prohibited by law

C. occurs when a seller charges two or more prices for the same good or service

D. occurs when the seller charges different prices for different quality products

4. Monopolistic competition may lead to each of the following except

A. inefficiency

B. overdifferentiation

C. overcapacity

D. monopoly profits

5. In the long run in monopolistic competition

A. most firms are making a profit

B. the absence of entry barriers ensures that there are no profits

C. economies of scale ensure that there are no profits

D. most firms are losing money

6. Price discrimination means

A. charging different prices for identical goods that have identical production costs

B. paying wages according to race or sex rather than productivity

C. exploiting the working masses by charging the highest single price possible.

D. eliminating all costs so that only pure profits are realized

7. The definition of monopolistic competition includes

A. few firms and ease of entry and exit

B. few firms and barrieres to entry and exit

C. many firms and barriers to entry and exit

D. many firms and ease of entry and exit

8. Which statement is true?

A. there are many firms in a monopolistically competitive industry.

B. monopolistic competitors produce an identical product

C. in order for product differentiation to take place, there must be clear physical differences amont the products sold

D. none is true

9. Long-run equilibrium for firms in monopolistically competitive industries is similar to that for firms in perfect competition in that

A. price equals minimum possible average total cost

B. price equals marginal cost

C. marginal revenue equals average total cost

D. price equals average total cost

10. Which statement is false?

A. Oligopolies are illegal in most states

B. most oligopolies engage in outright collusion

C. Ford motor company is an oligopoly

D. none of these statements is false

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.

Homework help and study guide help, all multiple choice

A monopolist:

A) can sell as much as it wants at the chosen price because it is the only seller.

B) can increase the price only if it is willing to decrease the quantity sold.

C) can increase the price and the quantity sold at the same time.

D) is not restricted by the law of demand.

A monopolistically competitive firm:

A) produces where marginal revenue equals marginal cost and charges the price consumers are willing to pay as given by the demand curve.

B) produces where marginal cost equals average total cost and charges the price consumers are willing to pay as given by the demand curve.

C) chooses price and quantity based on where the marginal cost curve meets the demand curve.

D) chooses price and quantity based on where the average total cost curve meets the demand curve.

21) Oligopoly is A) like a monopoly because there are barriers to entry. B) like perfect competition because oligopoly firms all sell homogeneous goods. C) like monopolistic competition because oligopoly firms all sell differentiated goods D) like perfect competition because there are many firms in the industry
ECON 1102 (Microeconomics) Test 4 (043015)


In ________ market structure, a firm's output depends ________.

A) an oligopoly; only on its own marginal revenue and marginal cost curves

B) a monopolistically competitive; in part on its competitors' price and quantity decisions

C) an oligopoly; in part on its competitors' price and quantity decisions

D) a monopolistically competitive; only on its marginal revenue curve