ECO 108 Lecture Notes - Lecture 24: Marginal Revenue, Market Power, Economic Surplus

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peachwoodchuck721

3 Aug 2018

School

University of Rochester

Department

Economics

Course

ECO 108

Professor

landsburg

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Document Summary

All firms, whether price-taking (competitive), or price-seeking (monopolist), want to operate where marginal cost equals marginal revenue. The key difference between a price-taker and a monopolist is that with monopolists the price at which they can sell varies with the quantity they offer. That"s because the monopolist faces the whole market demand curve. The monopolist also has a marginal cost curve, and just like any producer, whether price- taker or priceseeker, the monopolist will choose the profit-maximizing quantity. That always occurs where marginal cost equals marginal revenue. To compare social gain under a monopoly to social gain in a competitive market, let"s suppose this monopoly was broken up into a bunch of competing firms that all produce the same good as the original monopolist. In that case the marginal cost curve becomes the industry supply curve. And in a competitive industry we expect to end up at the point where supply equals demand.

Related Questions

Suppose a monopolist faces a demand curve for its output of P = 300âQ. This means that the marginal revenue curve of the monopolist is M R = 300 â 2Q. Assume that the marginal cost of production is constant and equal to $40.

a) Write down an expression for the monopolists profit, as a function of the quantity of output it produces.

b) If the monopolist must charge the same price for all units of output that it sells (that is, if the monopolist is a single price monopolist), what level of output will maximise the monopolists profit? What price will the monopolist charge? What is its level of profit?

c) If this were a competitive market instead of a monopoly, what level of output would be produced and what price would be charged? What is the level of profit for firms if it were perfectly competitive?

d) Draw a diagram of demand, marginal revenue, and marginal cost that illustrates your answer to part b). From this work out consumer surplus and producer surplus.

e) Draw the same diagram but for your answer to c), the case of the competitive market. From this work out consumer surplus and producer surplus. How much deadweight loss is there from the monopoly? Why?

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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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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

ECO 108 Lecture Notes - Lecture 24: Marginal Revenue, Market Power, Economic Surplus

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