ECO 1302 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Deadweight Loss, Tacit Collusion, Oligopoly

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chocolaterat107

10 Apr 2018

School

St. John's University

Department

ECO - ECONOMICS

Course

ECO 1302

Professor

Mark Zi Long Li

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Document Summary

A natural monopoly is a firm in which the most efficient scale is very large. Here, average total cost declines until a single firm is producing nearly the entire amount demanded in the market. With one firm producing 500,000 units, average total cost is per unit. With five firms producing 100,000 units, average total cost in per unit. A barrier to entry that grants exclusive use of the patented product or process to the inventor. In some cases, governments impose entry restrictions on firms as a way of controlling activity. If production requires a particular input and one firm owns the entire supply of that input, that firm will control the industry. Network externalities- the value of a product to a consumer increases with the number of that product being sold or used in the market. Deadweight loss or excess burden of a monopoly- the social cost associated with the distortion in consumption from a monopoly price.

Related Questions

Select the correct answer:

A (legal; natural) monopoly exists when one firm can meet the entire market demand at a lower average total cost than two or more firms could.

A monopoly that is able to sell different units of a good or service for different prices is a (natural-price; price-discriminating) monopoly.

The act of obtaining special treatment by the government to create an economic profit is called (government surplus; rent seeking).

Regulated firms have an incentive to inflate their costs under (rate of return; price cap) regulation.

The U.S. Postal Service has a (natural; legal) monopoly on first class mail delivery.

A (single-price; price discriminating) monopoly maximizes profit by producing the quantity at which marginal revenue equals marginal cost and then charging the maximum price that consumers are willing to pay for that quantity.

The key idea behind price discrimination is to convert (consumer surplus; producer surplus) into economic profit.

If a monopolist or a perfectly competitive firm is producing at a break-even point, then:
i. average revenue is equal to average variable cost
ii. average revenue is equal to average total cost
iii. total revenue is equal to total variable cost
iv. total revenue is equal to total cost

iii

i and iii

ii and iv

A natural monopoly, such as a local electricity provider, is the result of:
i. a firm owning or controlling a key input used in the production process
ii. economies of scale existing over a wide range of output
iii. long-run average total costs declining continuously as output increases
iv. long-run total costs declining continuously as output increases

What do economies of scale, the exclusive ownership of essential raw materials used in the production process, and patents have in common?

they are all barriers to entry

they all help explain why a monopolists demand and marginal revenue curves are identical

they must all be present before a monopolist may practice price discrimination

they all help explain why a firms short run average total cost curve is U-shaped

#10

The principle that a firm should produce up to the point where the marginal revenue (MR) from the sale of an extra unit of output is equal to the marginal cost (MC) of producing the extra unit applies:

to both perfectly competitive firms and monopolies

only to monopolies

only to perfectly competitive firms

only to firms that can employ discriminatory pricing strategies

#11

A monopoly is producing a level of output such that marginal revenue is equal to marginal cost. The firm is selling its output at a price of $8 per unit and is incurring average variable costs of $5 per unit and average total costs of $10 per unit. Given this information, it may be concluded that the firm:

is operating at maximum total profit

is operating at a loss that could be reduced by shutting down

is operating at a profit that could be increased by producing more output

is operating at a loss that is less than the loss incurred by shutting down

#12

Suppose the demand function for a profit maximizing monopolists good is P = 120 - 0.2Q, its total cost function is TC = 40 + 4Q + Q2, and its marginal cost function is MC = 4 + 2Q. If the firm uses a uniform pricing strategy, then rounded to the nearest unit of output and to the nearest dollar the firm will:

produce 48 units of output, charge a price of $110, and earn a total profit of $5280

produce 48 units of output, charge a price of $110, and earn a total profit of $2744

produce 52 units of output, charge a price of $134, and earn a total profit of $5322

produce 52 units of output, charge a price of $134, and earn a total profit of $4016

magentabuffalo597

1. A perfectly competitive firm will continue producing in the short run as long as it can cover its:

A.total cost.
B.average total cost.
C.average variable cost.
D.average fixed cost.

2. A perfectly competitive firm will earn a profit and will continue producing the profit-maximizing quantity of output in the short run if price is:

A.greater than marginal cost.
B.less than marginal cost.
C.less than average variable cost.
D.greater than average total cost.

3. Monopolistic competition is an industry characterized by:

A.a product with many close substitutes.
B.a horizontal demand curve.
C.a small number of firms.
D.barriers to entry and exit.

4. If a perfectly competitive firm increases production from 10 units to 11 units, and the market price is $20 per unit, total revenue for 10 units is:

A.$10.
B.$20
C.$200.
D.$210.

5. The demand curve facing a monopolist is:

A.horizontal, the same as that facing a perfectly competitive firm.
B.downward sloping, the same as that facing a perfectly competitive firm.
C.upward sloping, the same as that facing a perfectly competitive firm.
D.downward sloping, unlike the horizontal demand curve facing a perfectly competitive firm.

6. Suppose that a monopolist increases production from 10 units to 11 units. If the market price declines from $30 per unit to $29 per unit, marginal revenue for the eleventh unit is:

A.$1.
B.$9.
C.$19.
D.$29.

7. Most electric, gas, and water companies are examples of:

A.unregulated monopolies.
B.natural monopolies.
C.restricted-input monopolies.
D.sunk-cost monopolies.

8.If a perfectly competitive firm is producing a quantity that generates P > MC, then profit:

A.is maximized.
B.can be increased by increasing the price.
C.can be increased by decreasing the price.
D.can be increased by increasing production.

ECO 1302 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Deadweight Loss, Tacit Collusion, Oligopoly

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