37) Consider the following information for a regional cable television service provider that is a natural monopoly and has a U-shaped long-run average cost curve. (Assume the service provided is basic cable and units are household connections.) - minimum LRAC = $9.00 per month - minimum efficient scale = 2 million units - current output = 1.7 million units - current LRAC = $10.25 per month If this firm is currently being regulated and is following an average-cost pricing policy, the price of service is per month A) lower than $9.00 B) $9.00 C) between $9.00 and $10.25 D) $10.25 E) higher than $10.25
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Just Me Inc. is the only provider of high-speed internet in Tinytown. The firm charges its customers on an annual basis. It's cost and demand information are given below.
|
Quantity (Millions of subscribers) |
Price ($ per subscriber) |
Total Cost (million $) |
|
1 |
300 |
200 |
|
2 |
260 |
380 |
|
3 |
233.33 |
540 |
|
4 |
210 |
680 |
|
5 |
180 |
800 |
|
6 |
150 |
900 |
|
7 |
100 |
980 |
|
8 |
60 |
1040 |
a. What will the market price be if the government decides to regulate this natural monopoly by forcing them to sell the quantity and price where the market demand curve crosses the average cost?
b. How many units will be sold at what price if the monopoly is not regulated?
c. If the internet was regulated to provide the most allocatively efficient quantity of output, what output would it supply and what price would it charge? What subsidy would be necessary to ensure this efficient provision of internet services? (Remember: allocative efficiency requires that price equals marginal cost).
#7
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
| i |
| ii |
| iii |
| i and iii |
| ii and iv |
#8
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
| i |
| ii |
| iii |
| iv |
| ii and iii |
| ii and iv |
| ii, iii, and iv |
#9
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 |
