ECO 1001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Marginal Cost, Diminishing Returns, Market Power

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Demand as seen by a purely competitive seller. Firm is a price taker at the market price. Because the purely competitive firm is a price taker, it can maximize profit (or minimize its loss) only by adjusting its output. The firm must determine the profit maximizing (or loss minimizing) level of output. Mr < mc: do not produce that unit. Mr = mc: profit maximization (or loss minimization) Because of the law of diminishing returns, marginal cost eventually rises as more units of output are produced. Firms will not produce if they can minimize their losses by shutting down. Since there are no barriers to entry, new firms enter the industry. The market supply curve shifts outward, lowering industry price. Productive efficiency means that individual firm in the competitive industry will use the most efficient technology and charge the lowest price consistent with their production costs. Pure competition is the only market structure that achieves productive efficiency.

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