Economics 1021A/B Chapter Notes - Chapter 14: Product Differentiation, Perfect Competition, Profit Maximization

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10 Sep 2013

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ECON 1021A/B Full Course Notes

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Monopolistic competition: a market structure in which: a large number of firms compete. Small market share and limited power to influence the price. Ignoring of other firms because no one firm can dictate the market conditions. Quality: the physical attributes that make a product different (design, reliability, service). Price: the demand curve is downward sloping, so there is trade-off between price & quantity. Marketing: appropriate advertising and packaging for the target market group: firms are free to enter and exit the industry. In the long run, firms in monopolistic competition: When existing firms make a profit, new firms enter the industry and lower the price. When existing firms make a loss, some firms leave the industry and increase the price. Short-run: a firm in monopolistic competition makes its output and price decision just as a monopoly firm would, a firm"s goal is to maximize economic profit, so. Output: a point where marginal cost = marginal revenue.

Related Questions

1. A monopoly market structure is characterized by

a. large number of firms, standardized products, easy entry and exit.

b. large number of firms, differentiated products, easy entry and exit.

C. small number of firms, standardized or differentiated products, difficult entry.

d. one firm, a unique product without close substitutes, and impossible entry.

e. one firm, differentiated product, impossible entry.

2. Which of the following is not a characteristic of monopolistic competition?

a. Differentiated products

b. A downward-sloping demand curve for individual firms

c. Firms that are price makers

d. Impeded entry into the industry

e. A large number of firms

3. One factor that distinguishes oligopoly from other market structures is

a. the ease of entry into the market.

b. the interdependence of firms.

c. the slope of the demand curve.

d. the degree of product differentiation.

e. the amount of advertising expenditures.

lavenderbat941

If I were to open a business, I would choose the monopolistic competitive market.

Under monopolistic competition, with low barriers to entry and low capital requirements, firms are free to enter into or exit from the industry at any time. In addition, in monopolistic competition, large numbers of sellers offer closely related but not homogeneous products. This is the reason why each firm has a limited share of the market and has limited control over the market price. Thus, changes in one firmâs output have only a slight impact on market price or it also means that firms in monopolistic competition are price setters rather than price takers. In the short run, firms can make excess economic profits. However, as barriers to entry are low, other firms have an incentive to enter the market, increasing the competition, until overall economic profit is zero.

In order to yield the greatest profit, a firm engaged in monopolistic competition will focus on product quality, location, service, and advertising, since the major tool of competition is product differentiation. For example, if I opened a restaurant, the restaurant would have a menu with different dishes and different prices to other restaurants nearby and the prices of the dishes also would depend on its location, the food ingredients, the food quality, and the speed of service. With the purpose of gaining profit for the restaurant, I would try to be dynamically efficient, innovative and develop new ways to attract and retain local custom as well as maintain cost efficiency, which could keep the cost below the average profit.

I need a peer reply for this discussion and it should be 250 at least

bronzefrog162

1. When a firm is in a monopolistic competition market, if the firm sells 25 goods at a product price of $10, what is the marginal revenue per unit of the good sold if it sells 5 additional goods when it reduced the product price to $9.

A. $270 B. $20 C. $4 D. $2.50

2. An article in the New York Times on technology in the 1990s, Michael Lewis wrote, 'The sad truth, for investors, seems to be that most of the benefits of new technologies are passed right through to consumers free of charge.' Lewis meant what when he said the benefits of new technology were "passed right through to consumers free of charge'?

A. In perfect competition, price equals the marginal cost of production. In this sense, consumers receive the new technology 'free of charge.'

B. In perfect competition, consumers place a value on the food equal to its marginal cost of production and since they are willing to pay the marginal valuation of the good, they are essentially receiving the new technology 'free of charge.'

C. In the long run, price equals the lowest possible average cost of production. In this sense, consumers receive the new technology 'free of charge.'

D. Firms in perfect competition are price takers. Since they cannot influence price, they cannot dictate who benefits from new technologies, even if the benefits of new technology being "passed right through to consumers free of charge.

3. 'The perfectly competitive market structure benefits consumers because.

A. Firms are forced by competitive pressure to be as efficient as possible.

B. Firms produce high-quality goods at low prices.

C. Firms add a much smaller markup over average cost than firms in any other type of market structure.

D. Firms do not produce goods at the lowest possible price in the long run.

cerisekoala77

Economics 1021A/B Chapter Notes - Chapter 14: Product Differentiation, Perfect Competition, Profit Maximization

ECON 1021A/B Full Course Notes

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