EC120 Chapter 17: Chapter 17 – Oligopoly Complete.docx

2. Deviating from the collusive outcome

Mays and McCovey are beer-brewing companies that operate in a duopoly (two-firm oligopoly). The daily marginal cost (MC) of producing a can of beer is constant and equals $0.80 per can. Assume that neither firm had any startup costs, so marginal cost equals average total cost (ATC) for each firm.

Suppose that Mays and McCovey form a cartel, and the firms divide the output evenly. (Note: This is only for convenience; nothing in this model requires that the two companies must equally share the output.)

Place the black point (plus symbol) on the following graph to indicate the profit-maximizing price and combined quantity of output if Mays and McCovey choose to work together.

Monopoly Outcome PRICE (Dollars per can)QUANTITY (Thousands of cans of beer)DemandMRMC = ATC

When they act as a profit-maximizing cartel, each company will producecans and chargeper can. Given this information, each firm earns a daily profit of, so the daily total industry profit in the beer market is.

Oligopolists often behave noncooperatively and act in their own self-interest even though this decreases total profit in the market. Again, assume the two companies form a cartel and decide to work together. Both firms initially agree to produce half the quantity that maximizes total industry profit. Now, suppose that Mays decides to break the collusion and increase its output by 50%, while McCovey continues to produce the amount set under the collusive agreement.

Mays’s deviation from the collusive agreement causes the price of a can of beer to toper can. Mays's profit is now, while McCovey’s profit is now. Therefore, you can conclude that total industry profit when Mays increases its output beyond the collusive quantity.

1. When two or more large companies in the same industry set prices or quantities in unison, economists refer to them as:

a. Monopolist competitors

b. A cartel

c. Dominant firms

d. Perfect competitors

e. Jerks

2. According to our discussion, oligopoly markets will generally result in the same price and quantity as we would observe in a monopoly market

a. True

b. False

3. The example of the prisoner's dilemma is primarily meant to demonstrate

a. The difficulty of maintaining cooperation in decisions that involve strategic interdependence

b. The concept that each person looking out for his or her own best interests results in the best overall outcome for the group involved in the decision

c. The benefits of government regulation in a non-competitive market

d. What happens to snitches

4. A Nash equilibrium is

a. The outcome that maximizes the payoff of all players

b. Never achieved without cooperation between players

c. The outcome in which no player can improve their payoff by changing his or her strategy, (given the strategy of the other player)

d. All of the above

1. Which of the following statements about oligopolies is not correct?

2. Which is true of an oligopoly market that reaches a Nash equilibrium?

3. In game theory, what is a dominant strategy?

4. Which of the following situations produces the largest profits for oligopolists?