Economics 10a Chapter Notes - Chapter 15: Price Discrimination, Monopoly Profit, Sherman Antitrust Act

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26 Jun 2018

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Monopoly (summary pg. 324)

Chapter 15

● Competitive firm= price taker, Monopoly= price maker

● Monopoly:

○ a firm that is the sole seller of product without close substitutes

○ remains the only seller in its market because other firms cannot enter the market

and compete with it

○ chargers a price that exceeds the MC

○ Barriers to entry:

■Monopoly resources:



Ownership of a key resource.

■Government Regulation:



The government gives a single firm the exclusive

right to produce some good.

■The Production Process:



a single firm can produce output at a lower cost

than other producers

● Government Created Monopolies

○ Gov may restrict entry by giving a single firm exclusive rights to sell a good

○ Patent and copyright laws are two examples of Gov creating a monopoly

● Natural Monopolies

○ a monopoly that arises because a single firm can supply a good or service to an

entire market at a smaller cost than could two or more firms

○ arises when there are economies of scale over the relevant range of output

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○ when a firm’s ATC curve continually declines, the firm has a natural monopoly

● Monopoly versus Competition

Monopoly

Competitive Firm

Sole producer

one of many producers

faces a downward sloping demand

curve

faces a horizontal demand curve

price maker

price taker

reduces price to increase sales

sells as much or as little at same price

● A Monopoly’s Revenue (table on pg. 305)

○ Total Revenue= P x Q = TR

○ Average Revenue= TR / Q = AR = P

○ Marginal Revenue= change in TR / change in Q = MR

○ MR is always less than the price of its good

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Document Summary

Competitive firm= price taker, monopoly= price maker. A firm that is the sole seller of product without close substitutes. Remains the only seller in its market because other firms cannot enter the market and compete with it. Chargers a price that exceeds the mc. The government gives a single firm the exclusive right to produce some good. The production process: a single firm can produce output at a lower cost than other producers. Gov may restrict entry by giving a single firm exclusive rights to sell a good. Patent and copyright laws are two examples of gov creating a monopoly. A monopoly that arises because a single firm can supply a good or service to an entire market at a smaller cost than could two or more firms. Arises when there are economies of scale over the relevant range of output. When a firm"s atc curve continually declines, the firm has a natural monopoly.

Related Questions

In which of the following ways is a monopoly beneficial to an economy?

A. Monopoly profits give firms more reason to invest in the creation of new products through research and development.

B. Firms that are allowed monopoly profits search out innovative technologies that they can bring to market.

C. With natural monopolies, costs may be lower than those that would exist in competitive markets with many producers.

D. All of the above.

Which of the following is a difference between a perfectly competitive market and a monopoly?

A. The market demand curve faced by a perfectly competitive firm is horizontal, while the market demand curve in a monopoly is downward-sloping.

B. The equilibrium price in a perfectly competitive market exceeds marginal revenue, while the equilibrium price in a monopoly equals marginal revenue.

C. The sellers in a perfectly competitive market are price-makers, while a seller in a monopoly market is a price-taker.

D. There are huge barriers to entry in a perfectly competitive market, while there are no barriers to entry in a monopoly.

In the United States in 2011, there were 104 fatalities per 100,000 workers in the logging industry. This is the second-highest rate after the fisheries industry. Although the fatality rate in this industry is so high, many workers still choose to work as loggers.

What could explain this?

A. Workers choose these high-risk jobs because they are willing to bear an occupational risk to earn a higher wage.

B. Low-risk jobs are already taken, so workers must choose their next-best alternative, which in this case is logging.

C. Workers in these industries lack human capital and must choose to work as loggers.

D. Loggers must be indifferent between low-risk and high-risk jobs.

In the case of a decrease in product prices:

A. the quantity effect always dominates the price effect.

B. the price effect always dominates the quantity effect.

C. when the price effect dominates the quantity effect, total revenue decreases.

D. when the quantity effect dominates the price effect, total revenue decreases

rubywalrus122

1) Assume that two firms (Firm A and Firm B) operate in the U.S. steel industry. The owner of Firm A writes the following letter to the owner of Firm B:

Dear Owner of Firm B,

I have concluded that if we both restrict output such that we each produce only 3 million tons of steel per year, we can both charge a price that will allow us to effectively monopolize the steel market and to maximize our joint profits. If you would like to enter into this agreement with me, please draft a contract that specifies this agreement and I will be more than willing to meet with you and sign it.

Sincerely,

Owner of Firm A

If this letter were sent in the year 1944, the:

a) Owners of both Firm A and Firm B would not be guilty of violating antitrust laws because antitrust laws in 1944 contained exceptions for certain nationally important industries like the steel industry.

b) Owners of both Firm A and Firm B would not be guilty of anything because there were no antitrust laws in existence in 1944.

c) Owner of Firm A would be guilty of violating antitrust laws only if she met with the owner of Firm B and signed the contract, but she would not be guilty if the attempt to monopolize the market failed because the owner of Firm B never responded to the letter.

d) Owner of Firm A would be guilty of violating antitrust laws because she merely attempted to monopolize the steel industry.

e) Owners of both Firm A and Firm B would not be guilty of violating antitrust laws because antitrust laws in 1944 applied only to industries made up of three or more firms.

2) Entry of new firms will continue in a monopolistically competitive industry until:

a) Marginal cost = 0 (zero).

b) Economic profit is negative.

c) Marginal revenue = marginal cost.

d) Economic profit equals zero.

e) Marginal Revenue = 0 (zero).

3) A monopolistically competitive firm usually charges less than a monopoly firm because:

a) It is part of a group of firms that have formally agreed to control the price and the output of a product.

b) Its primary goal is to reap monopoly profits by replacing competition with cooperation.

c) It has a monopoly, but potential entrants exist in the form of contestable markets.

d) It faces some degree of competition due to low barriers to entry.

e) Producing homogenous output is more expensive than producing differentiated output.

4) An example of price discrimination is when:

a) A single box of Froot Loops costs $3.50, but when purchased in a case of six, it costs only $3.00 per box.

b) You can purchase a new PC for half the price of a new Mac, even though they are both computers.

c) Procter & Gamble charges $9 for a bottle of Tide laundry detergent, while the store brand costs the consumer significantly less, despite being somewhat similar products.

d) Out-of-state students pay more for the same education as in-state students.

e)Movie theaters do not allow children into R-rated movies without a parent or guardian.

5) The Varsity, located in downtown Atlanta, is the world's largest drive-in restaurant. Located near the Georgia Tech campus, the drive-in attracts two distinct types of customers: college students and visitors to Atlanta. The owners are considering offering a student discount of $1 off their combo meal, which is regularly priced at $9. There are 5,000 students interested in purchasing a combo meal, with a maximum willingness to pay of $8. There are 5,000 visiting customers interested in purchasing the combo meal, with a maximum willingness to pay of $9. Assume that each customer, at most, will purchase a single meal and the marginal cost is $5. What will be the amount of total revenue for the Varsity if the owners offer a single price of $8 per combo meal?

a) $65,000

b) $85,000

c) $40,000

d) $80,000

e) $90,000

6) A competitive firm would have:

a) More elastic demand than a monopolistically competitive firm.

b) More inelastic demand than a monopolistically competitive firm.

c) A horizontal demand curve.

d) Bowed-in or bowed-out demand.

e) An upward-sloping demand curve.

7) It is unrealistic to regulate a natural monopoly at marginal cost pricing because:

a) The government is not allowed to regulate markets.

b) With this type of regulation, the firm will want to shut down, and that outcome is not desirable for society.

c) Firms do not need to follow regulations from the government.

d) Regulating a market causes more deadweight loss.

e) Marginal cost pricing ends up having the natural monopoly firm earn zero economic profits.

8) Price discrimination allows businesses to make additional profits and allows markets to work more:

a) Efficiently

b) Unfairly

c) Realistically

d) Equitably

e) Independently

9) Antitrust laws are designed to:

a) Increase prices.

b) Promote monopoly practices.

c) Promote awareness of government programs.

d) Promote competition.

e) Decrease output.

10) Barriers to entry:

a) Do not exist for monopolies.

b) Exist for perfectly competitive firms.

c) Restrict the entry of new firms into the market.

d) Always lead to profits.

e) Measure the ability of firms to set the price for a good.

ultramarinemule185

Answer the following questions pertaining to monopolist production.

1) If a monopolist is producing in the inelastic portion of its demand curve, which of the following will occur if the monopolist decreases its price?

a. Marginal revenue will decrease, but profits will increase.

b. Marginal revenue will increase, but profits will decrease.

c.Total revenue will decrease, but profits will increase.

d.Both total revenue and profits will decrease.

e. Both total revenue and profits will increase.

2) Which of the following statements is true for a perfectly competitive firm but not true for a monopoly?

a.The firm's price is equal to its average revenue.

b.The firm cannot affect the market price for its good.

c.It is difficult for other firms to enter the industry.

d. The demand for the firm's product is unit elastic.

e.The firm must lower its price in order to sell more of its product.

3) Monopolies are inefficient for which of the following reasons?

a. They produce too little of the good.

b.They produce too much of the good.

c. They do not produce an output level at which marginal cost equals marginal revenue.

d. The marginal cost of producing the good is too low.

e. The firm is too large.

4) Which of the following is necessarily true of the profit-maximizing equilibrium of a monopolist who sets a single price?

a. Price equals average total cost.

b. Price is greater than the marginal cost.

c. Average total cost is at its minimum level.

d. Marginal revenue is greater than marginal cost.

e. Marginal cost is minimized.

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Economics 10a Chapter Notes - Chapter 15: Price Discrimination, Monopoly Profit, Sherman Antitrust Act

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