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Monopolies can arise based on a variety of different circumstances. In this context, write an essay on how, and in what sense Natural Monopolies are fundamentally different from monopolies that are based on patents, government licenses, control over resources, etc. As part of your essay, give at least five different examples of companies that have market power based on being Natural monopolies.

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Chika Ilonah
Chika IlonahLv10
29 Sep 2019

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Related questions

1. To maximize profits, a firm should produce output up to the point where

A. marginal revenue equals marginal cost

B. price equals marginal cost

C. the gap between the demand curve and the ATC is the greatest

D. all of the above

E. answers a and b, but not c

2. Which statement is false?

A. a profit maximizing firm will increase production when price exceeds marginal cost

B. the lowest point on a firm's short-run supply curve is at the shut-down point

C. A firm will operate at that ouput where MC equals MR only when it is maximizing profits

D. A profit-maximizing firm will decrease production when marginal cost exceeds price.

3. which statement is true?

A. all monopolies are good

B. All monopolies are bad

C. Most natural monopolies are government regulated or government owned

D. None of these statements is true

4. There are _____ limits to monopoly power

A. no

B. some

C. many

5. Which statement is true?

A. the monopolist's most efficient output is her most profitable output as well

B. the monopolist charges a higher price than the perfect competitor in the long run.

C. all monopolists have control over an essential resource.

D. none is true

6. As a firm grows larger

A. economies of scale set in, then diseconomies of scale.

B. diseconomies of scale set in, then economies of scale.

C. economies of scale and diseconomies of scale set in at the same time.

D. neither economies of scale nor diseconomies of scale set in.

7. A monopolist operates at the minimum point of her ATC curve

A. only in the short run

B. only in the long run

C. in both the short run and the long run

D. in neither the short run nor the long run

8. A natural monopoly

A. has an average cost curve that reaches minimum possible average cost at a low level of output.

B. has a marginal cost curve that is steeply upward slopoing.

C. is usually subject to antitrust suits

D is usually allowed to choose its price so as to maximize profits in the United States.

E. occurs when a single firm can supply the entire market demand for a product at a lower average cost than would be possible if two or more firms supplied the market.

9. For a monopolist, the price of the product

A. always equals the marginal revenue

B. is always less than the marginal revenue

C. exceeds the marginal revenue

D. always equals the marginal cost of the product

10. Monopolies are usually viewed with concern from an economic standpoint since

A. size is ingerently dangerous; the larger ther firm, the more likely it is to squeeze out the "little producer"

B. resources may be allocated in an efficient manner.

C. the government may be put at the mercy of several large producers

D. always equals the marginal cost of the product

Hello, could I get some assistance summarizing this article for a discussion:

Read the articles and discuss the problems of Economic Inequality in the U.S.economy, summarize key points and post in the Discussions area:

Competition police crossing continents

Competition authorities are increasingly reaching beyond their country's borders

Feb 22nd, 2014

WHEN TWO AMERICAN presidents, Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft, embarked on a trustbusting mission a century ago, they were taking government into a new policy area: competition. Industrialization was still relatively new, and any monopolies that had emerged, such as the British and Dutch East India companies, had been created by governments.

The robber-baron companies of the late 19th century were accused of using their industrial muscle to drive competitors out of business. Private monopolies, the argument ran, diminished the benefits of capitalism; by definition, the existence of a monopoly made it impossible for a free market to operate.

Since then, governments have generally had some kind of competition policy, though not necessarily a coherent one. Politicians have tried to juggle several different priorities, among them putting the government in control of "strategic" industries (a category that has always included defense but often also a range of other industries, from airlines to car manufacturing, power generation, and telecoms); shielding domestic businesses from foreign ownership or competition, and protecting consumers from price-gouging.

In the past two decades, a new concern has emerged: that monopolies may be restricting innovation. The technology industry seems to have been particularly prone to creating near-monopolies, from Microsoft in software to Amazon in retailing and Google in an internet search. This is due to network effects. Consumers gravitate to the dominant technology, either because it offers more products or because many of their friends are already using the network concerned. These monopolists, it is feared, will be slow to introduce new technologies that might cannibalize their existing business; and they will be so entrenched that new competitors will find it hard to get a foothold.

Microsoft bundled its Internet Explorer browser with its dominant Windows operating software on personal computers. America's Department of Justice saw this as an attempt to force Netscape, a rival browser, out of the market. In a long court case that began in 1998, Microsoft was initially ordered to break itself in two. This ruling was overturned on appeal and a less onerous settlement was arrived at.

At the time many commentators felt that the authorities had overreached themselves. Internet Explorer was provided free of charge, so it was hard to see how consumers were being harmed. But this is a tricky area. On the one hand, rapid technological change can cause once-dominant companies to lose their position very quickly if they do not adapt; look at Nokia's and BlackBerry's mobile-phone businesses. Some argue that if the market is capable of such adjustment, governments should not get involved. The fact that some consumers make the wrong decision some of the time is not the basis for intervention, as long as all consumers are not being ripped off,  says Simon Bishop of RBB Economics, a consultancy. On the other hand, such rapid change makes it hard to tell whether monopoly positions are being exploited, or whether a more competitive market would have produced more innovations.

Competition authorities have also had to rethink their role in cross-border deals. If one multinational takes over another, that might not create a monopoly in the country where the two groups have their headquarters, but it could do so in another country. A proposal for a merger between General Electric and Honeywell, announced in October 2000, was cleared by America's Department of Justice but blocked by the European Commission the following year. That objection appeared to herald a new era of transatlantic takeover disputes; in fact, it remains the only deal so far to have been cleared in America but blocked on the other side of the Atlantic.

However, there have been other instances of transatlantic disputes. In 2009 the European Commission imposed a 1.06 billion ($1.4 billion) fine on Intel, a chipmaker, after a complaint brought by an American rival, AMD. The ruling seemed to suggest that multinationals faced the prospect of double jeopardy because of inconsistent international rules.

We do it our way

There are some philosophical differences between Europe and America. Europe has a long tradition of state ownership of industry; even after privatization, many such companies retain dominant positions, at least in their national markets. In America, by contrast, market leaders have got there the hard way, by having superior technology or being more efficient. In Europe competition policy tends to be rules-based, with the European Commission issuing guidance for future mergers to follow; in America merger decisions tend to be hammered out in the courts, establishing legal precedent.

But multinationals also have to deal with competition policy in emerging markets. China is a particular challenge. The Chinese use competition policy to achieve other ends to keep out foreign firms or attack existing foreign businesses says, one expert. Latin American countries have tended to adopt the American model of competition policy, whereas eastern Europe has followed the example. Merger authorities from different countries have set up the International Competition Network to share the experience. Such efforts may reduce the double-jeopardy problems in international mergers, if only because rules may be applied more consistently.

In the longer term, the question is whether national competition policies will prove adaptable enough to cope with a globalized economy. It may make economic sense for global companies to exploit economies of scale and bring down prices for consumers, but national governments may be reluctant to accept the loss of control involved. In air travel, for example, fares have been reduced under pressure from low-cost airlines, but these newcomers are still being held back by policies that favor flagship carriers. If regulators in rich countries were to prove more zealous than their counterparts in emerging markets in restricting the size of multinationals, Western firms might be put at a competitive disadvantage.

New concerns for competition authorities are emerging all the time. Chris Walters, the acting chief economist of Britain's Office of Fair Trading (OFT), cites the practice of pay-for-delay, whereby a firm that holds a drug patent pays a generic manufacturer not to launch a rival drug to preserve the patent-holders monopoly profits. And David Currie, the chairman of the Competition and Markets Authority (which will take over from the OFT in April), recently pointed to a vast new potential problem, which he described as the growing collection, processing, and use of consumer-transaction data for commercial ends. This is proving an increasingly important source of competitive advantage; we need to be alert to the possibility that it will be an increasing source of consumer detriment.

3.

Which statement is true?

The minimum point on the firm's marginal cost curve is the shutdown point.

The minimum point on the firm's average variable cost curve is the shutdown point.

The minimum point on the firm's average total cost curve is the shutdown point.

The minimum point on the firm's marginal cost curve is the break-even point.

4.

As output expands beyond the break-even point, the vertical distance between the AVC and ATC will

remain constant.

get smaller.

get larger.

5.

Total revenue divided by output equals

average variable cost.

marginal cost.

price.

average total cost.

6.

A monopoly firm selling mustache wax to vain men in a small town is currently maximizing profits by charging a price of $5. It follows that the marginal cost of mustache wax

is equal to $5.

is greater than $5.

is less than $5.

None of these choices are true.

7.

A firm can sell 14 units at $18, but to sell 15 units, the firm must cut the price to $17. The marginal revenue derived from selling the 15th unit is

-$18

$3

$17

0

8.

If total revenue is increasing as output is rising, then

marginal revenue must be greater than zero.

marginal revenue must be less than zero.

marginal revenue must be equal to zero.

price must be increasing.

9.

Firms that had virtual monopolies, that is control over at least 80 percent of industry production, because of control over an essential resource include all of the following except

the DeBeers Diamond Company.

the Standard Oil Company.

the Ford Motor Company.

the International Nickel Company.

10.

Which statement is true?

None of these statements are true.

Most natural monopolies are government regulated or government owned.

All monopolies are bad.

All monopolies are good.

11.

Which is the most accurate statement?

There are virtually no oligopolies in the U.S.

The most important aspect of oligopoly is product differentiation.

There are a whole range of oligopolistic models, from a cartel to cutthroat competition.

An oligopolistic industry cannot have more than five firms

12.

Oligopolists have more control over prices than monopolistic competitors because

their prices are always set by the government.

since an oligopolist is the only competitor in the market, setting prices is no problem.

they can legally collude whereas monopolistic competitors may not.

with fewer competitors, they are able to monitor and determine their own prices much easier.

13.

The definition of monopolistic competition differs from that of perfect competition

in neither the number of firms nor the type of product.

in both the number of firms and the type of product.

with respect to the type of product.

with respect to the number of firms in the industry.

14.

The typical monopolistic competitor

may compete on the basis of physical differences, convenience, service, and ambience.

always competes on the basis of producing a product that is physically different from those of its competitors.

never uses price discrimination.

is a large firm.

15.

Which statement is true?

The monopolistic competitor may make a profit in the long run.

The monopolistic competitor has a perfectly elastic demand curve.

None of these statements are true.

The monopolistic competitor operates at the minimum point of her ATC curve.

16.

Which statement is true about the monopolistic competitor in the long run?

It will be breaking even.

It will be making a profit.

It may be making a profit or taking a loss.

It will be taking a loss.

17.

Which statement is true?

Most monopolistic competitors are large firms.

Monopolistic competitors produce goods or services for which there are no close substitutes.

None of these statements are true.

Monopolistic competitors usually operate at the minimum point of their average total cost curves.

18.

Which statement is false?

As the price of a good rises the consumer surplus decreases.

A person would maximize her total utility when she had no consumer surplus.

We will consume a service when its marginal utility is equal to its price.

A product's utility to a buyer is measured by how much the buyer is willing to pay for it.

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