ECON 10223 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Oligopoly, Demand Curve, Perfect Competition

1.Which one of the following markets has many firms producing a product that is differentiated in nature?

A. Perfect Competition

B. Monopolistic competition

C. Monopoly

D. Oligopoly

2.Which of the following two markets is characterized by the tendency that in the long-run firms will be limited to zero economic profit?

A. Perfect competition

B. Monopoly and Perfect Competition

C. Monopoly and Oligopoly

D. This is a trick question, no firm will produce in the long run with no economic profit

3. If in the short run, a firm's marginal revenue is lower than the average variable cost, we will see the firm do what?

A. Shut down immediately

B. Stay in business but produce less

C. Keep producing in the short run and then shut down

D. Increase output

1. Which of the following is a characteristic of pure monopoly?

A. close substitute products

B. barriers to entry

C. the absence of market power

D. "price taking"

2. An example of a monopoly would be

A. one of many U.S. wheat farmers

B. one of the few U.S. automakers

C. AT&T cell phone service

D. the local water company

3. In which market structure do firms exist in very large numbers, each firm produces an identical product, and there is freedom of entry and exit?

A. monopoly

B. oligopoly

C. only perfect competition

D. only monopolistic competition

E. both perfect competition and monopolistic competition

4. Which of the following is the best example of a perfectly competitive market?

A. farming

B. diamonds

C. athletic shoes

D. soft drinks

E. electricity distribution

1. write a two- to three-page paper (600 words minimum) examining perfect competition in the value-menu fast-food restaurant business. Address the following questions in your paper:
   1. What are the characteristics of perfect competition? Why does this type of fast-food restaurant tend to display characteristics of perfect competition?
   2. Imagine you are running a firm with the characteristics of a perfectly competitive firm. Describe how your firm would maximize its short-run profits.
   3. Why might firms in perfect competition choose to be open on Monday, typically the slowest day of the week, when their revenues do not seem to be sufficient to warrant doing so?
   4. What are the long-run benefits of running a firm in perfect competition?
   5. Under what conditions would your value-menu fast-food restaurant decide to be open on Mondays, and when would it decide not to be open on Mondays? When is losing money on Mondays still a good business decision?
   6. Explain how your experience as a manager would change if the value-menu fast-food restaurant you were in charge of operated under a different market structure?monopolistic competition, oligopoly, and monopoly. For example, in each case, how would you decide what price to charge? What would your profits look like? Would consumers be better off in terms of welfare, when you compare a firm in monopolistic competition, oligopoly, and monopoly to one in perfect competition?
2. Two sources in addition to your textbook are required for this paper.