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ECON201 Study Guide - Final Guide: Monopolistic Competition, Price Discrimination, Economic Equilibrium

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scarlethyena609
29 Apr 2013
School
University of Waterloo
Department
Economics
Course
ECON201
Professor
Kathleen Rybczynski

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ECON201 Full Course Notes
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ECON201 Full Course Notes
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Document Summary

Changes in costs: rise in fc atc increases, since there is no change in tr, rise in vc mc increases, monopoly uctuations are smaller than pc uctuations. Price will be lower, assuming pm > p0. Output would be higher without the price intervention. Economic pro ts will be lower, since x0 is the pro t maximizing output. If max price is set at the x-level where mc intersects demand, resulting xm is max. Price discrimination: the same good/service is sold at different prices to various buyers for reasons that aren t cost differences (requires prevention of resale) Less elastic submarkets are charged a higher price by pro t maximizing rms. For price discrimination to occur, price elasticity of d in submarkets must be different. Dose-by-dose approach: selling a good one by one while progressively dropping prices, to extract all of the consumer surplus from a market. Monopolies compared to perfect competition cause a dwl.

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Related Questions

Professional baseball teams earn substantial revenues through ticket sales. To maximize profit, they offer significantly lower ticket prices for children (whose demand is elastic) than for adults (whose demand is inelastic). This discount may be as much as 50 percent.
 
If this type of price discrimination increases revenue and profit, why don't teams also price discriminate at the concession stands? Why don't they offer half-price hot dogs, soft drinks, peanuts, and Cracker Jack to children?
 
The answer involves the three requirements for successful price discrimination. All three requirements are met for game tickets: (1) The team has monopoly power; (2) it can segregate ticket buyers by age group, each group having a different elasticity of demand; and (3) children cannot resell their discounted tickets to adults.
 
It's a different situation at the concession stands. Specifically, the third condition is not met. If the team had dual prices, it could not prevent the exchange or resale of the concession goods from children to adults. Many adults would send children to buy food and soft drinks for them: Here's some money, Billy. Go buy six hot dogs. In this case, price discrimination would reduce, not increase, team profit. Thus, children and adults are charged the same high prices at the concession stands. (These prices are high relative to those for the same goods at the local convenience store because the stadium sellers have a captive audience and thus considerable monopoly power.)
 
Finally, price discrimination often occurs in international trade. A Russian aluminum producer, for example, might sell aluminum for less in the United States than in Russia. In the United States, this seller faces an elastic demand because several substitute suppliers are available. But in Russia, where the manufacturer dominates the market and trade barriers impede imports, consumers have fewer choices and thus demand is less elastic.
 
 
First, give your own thoughts on the above analysis of the concept of Price Discrimination. Second, give some concrete examples from your own life where you have been confronted by situations of Price Discrimination. Finally are there some forms of Price Discrimination that should be illegal?
 
 

PLEASE ANSWER EACH QUESTION WITH A, B, C, and D. NOT ANSWERING ALL QUESTIONS OR INCORRECT ANSWERS WILL RESULT IN A THUMBS DOWN.

Question 1: Which of the following is not needed for price discrimination to be possible?

   

A. The firm must have market power.
   

B. The firm must be able to prevent resale and arbitrage.
   

C. The firm must eventually learn about its customers' demands.
   

D. The firm's customers must have different demand curves.

 

Question 2: Relative to standard monopoly pricing, first-degree price discrimination results in:

  A.

higher consumer surplus, higher producer surplus, and higher total surplus.
  B.

lower consumer surplus, higher producer surplus, and higher total surplus.
  C.

lower consumer surplus, higher producer surplus, and lower total surplus.
  D.

lower consumer surplus, lower producer surplus, and lower total surplus.

 

Question 3: Relative to perfect competition, first-degree price discrimination results in:

   

A. higher consumer surplus, higher producer surplus, and higher total surplus.
   

B. lower consumer surplus, higher producer surplus, and equal total surplus.
   

C. lower consumer surplus, higher producer surplus, and equal total surplus.
   

D. lower consumer surplus, lower producer surplus, and lower total surplus.

Question 4: If market demand is P = 100 - Q and the firm has a constant marginal cost of 20, then with first-degree price discrimination, the firm's producer surplus will be:

A.

$800.
B.

$1,600.
C.

$2,400.
D.

$3,200.

Question 5: For third-degree discrimination to be possible, which of the following features is not required?

   

A. market power
   

B. prevention of resale
   

C. identification of each customer's demand before purchase
   

D. customers with different demand curves

 

Question 6: A golf course has frequent players whose demand is Qf = 260 - 0.4P and infrequent players whose demand is Qi = 10 - 0.1P. The combined market demand is Q = 34 - 0.4P. The marginal cost and average total cost of providing a round of golf are $20. How much higher will the profit be if the golf course uses third-degree price discrimination instead of charging all golfers the same price?

A.

$0
B.

$7.50
C.

$10
D.

$110

 

Question 7: An airline sells seats on its flights to business travelers whose demand is QB = 300 - P and vacation travelers whose demand is QV = 150 - 0.5P. The combined market demand is Q = 450 - 1.5P. The marginal cost and average total cost of providing a seat on a flight are $200. How much higher will profit be if the airline uses third-degree price discrimination instead of charging all travelers the same price?

A.

$0
B.

$250
C.

$400
D.

$1,000

 

Question 8: If a firm practices third-degree price discrimination, the price charged should be higher in the market where demand is:

  A.

Higher.
  B.

Lower.
  C.

More price elastic.
  D.

Less price is elastic.

 

Question 9: The key difference between markets where third-degree price discrimination is possible and markets where second-degree price discrimination is possible is whether:

   

A. resale is possible.
   

B. customers have the same demand curves.
   

C. firms have market power.
   

D. firms can identify customers' demand before the customers make a purchase.

 

Question 10: For price discrimination via a quantity discount to work:

   

A. customers who purchase larger quantities must have relatively elastic demand.
   

B. customers who purchase larger quantities must have relatively inelastic demand.
   

C. customers who pay a relatively high price must have relatively elastic demand.
   

D. customers who pay a relatively low price must have relatively inelastic demand.

 

Question 11: A firm wants to offer a quantity discount to price-discriminate between buyers who are relatively uninterested in the product and buyers who are obsessively interested in it. The uninterested customers have a demand of QU = 30 - 0.5P. The package offered to them contains 10 units of the good at a price of $40 each. Which of the following packages designed for obsessed customers is incentive compatible?

  A. 

60 units at a price of $10 each
  B.

40 units at a price of $10 each
  C.

60 units at a price of $20 each
  D.

40 units at a price of $20 each

 

Question 12: Which of the following conditions do not have to be met in order for indirect price discrimination by versioning to work?

   

A.The firm's customers must have different demand curves.
   

B. The marginal costs of producing each version of the product must be the same.
   

C. The firm must be able to prevent resale.
   

D. The firm must have market power.

 

 

Willingness to pay (per month)
 

Weight machines

Indoor pool

Abe

$60

$50

Betty

50

125

Chris

25

140

 

QUESTION 13
This table shows the willingness to pay off the only three potential customers of a firm that runs both a weight room and an indoor swimming pool. The weight room and pool each have a constant marginal cost of $20 per month. Which of the following pricing strategies yields the highest producer surplus?

   

A. $60 for the weight room, $140 for the pool, or $175 for both
   

B. $50 for the weight room, $125 for the pool, or $165 for both
   

C. $25 for the weight room, $50 for the pool, or $70 for both
   

D. $60 for the weight room, $130 for the pool, or $175 for both

 

Question 14: Which of the following features is needed to make bundling a possible price discrimination strategy but is not required for any other price discrimination strategies?

   

A. Customers must have identical demand curves.
   

B. The firm does not learn about customer demand until after purchase.
   

C. Demand for two products must be negatively correlated.
   

D. The firm must not have market power.

 

Question 15: Which of the following features is not needed for price discrimination using a two-part tariff to work?

   

A. The firm must have market power.
   

B. The firm must be able to prevent resale.
   

C. The firm must learn about its customers' demands before purchases are made.
   

D. The firm's customers must have different demand curves.

 

Question 16: A firm faces a market demand curve P = 50 - 5Q. It has a constant marginal cost of $10. Relative to standard monopoly pricing, how would a block pricing strategy where the first four units can be purchased for a price of $30 each, but two more units can be purchased for an additional $20 each change consumer surplus and producer surplus?

   

A. Consumer surplus would decrease by $10, and producer surplus would increase by $20.
   

B. Consumer surplus would increase by $10, and producer surplus would increase by $20.
   

C. Consumer surplus would increase by $20, and producer surplus would increase by $10.
   

D. Consumer surplus would increase by $20, and producer surplus would increase by $20.

 

Question 17: Relative to standard monopoly pricing, block pricing:

   

A. decreases consumer surplus, increases producer surplus, and increases total surplus.
   

B. increases consumer surplus, increases producer surplus, and increases total surplus.
   

C. decreases consumer surplus, increases producer surplus, and decreases total surplus.
   

D. decreases consumer surplus, decreases producer surplus, and decreases total surplus.

 

Question 18: Which of the following results in the highest amount of producer surplus?

  A.

bundling
  B.

third-degree price discrimination
  C.

block pricing
  D.

two-part tariffs

 

Question 19: Which of the following results in the highest amount of consumer surplus?

  A.

first-degree price discrimination
  B.

third-degree price discrimination
  C.

block pricing
  D.

two-part tariffs

 

Question 20: Which of the following results in the highest amount of total surplus?

  A.

third-degree price discrimination
  B.

block pricing
  C.

first-degree price discrimination
  D.

bundling

 

I have the following questions for my Managerial Economics course.

1.

A principal-agent problems occur when managerial decisions are not consistent with the firm's shareholders' interests.

A) True
B) False

2.

A firm making more than a normal profit may still be experiencing an economic loss.

A) True
B) False

3.

An inferior good is a good whose demand decreases as its prices decreases.

A) True
B) False

4.

Assuming that crude oil is an input to automobile tires as well as to gasoline, a reduction in the tariff on imported crude oil would likely result in an increase in the number of tires sold but tire prices may increase or decrease.

A) True
B) False

5.

Other things remaining unchanged, advertisement would likely make demand for a good more price elastic.

A) True
B) False

6.

The cross price elasticity demand for a good with respect to the price of a complementary good is negative.

A) True
B) False

7.

When the marginal product of labor is smaller than its average product, marginal cost will be smaller than average variable cost.

A) True
B) False

8.

With capital measured along the vertical axis and labor along the horizontal axis the slope of an isoquant is equal to the ratio between the price of capital over the price of labor.

A) True
B) False

9.

If the ratio between the price of labor and the price of capital (w/r) is smaller than the ration between the marginal product of labor and the marginal product of capital, the firm should hire more capital.

A) True
B) False

10.

Normally the ratio between the price of a variable input and the marginal product of that input is equal to marginal cost.

A) True
B) False

11.

When labor is a variable input the product of wage and marginal product of labor is equal to the profit-maximizing price.

A) True
B) False

12.

If the price falls below the average total cost the firm may not shut down in the short run.

A) True
B) False

13.

When a perfectly competitive firm is producing at its profit maximizing level of output, its MR is equal to price and its MC while it may or may not be making an economic profit.

A) True
B) False

14.

The price a profit maximizing monopoly charges is always greater than its marginal cost as well as it MR while it may not be greater than its ATC.

A) True
B) False

15.

As new firms enter a monopolistically competitive market, the demand faced by each competing firm becomes more inelastic.

A) True
B) False

16.

The long-run equilibrium of a monopoly is characterized by its price being equal to its MR but always greater than its ATC.

A) True
B) False

17.

A monopolistically competitive firm sets its price equal to its MR, while keeping it above MC.

A) True
B) False

18.

We say that the long-run equilibrium of a monopolistically competitive firm reflects excess capacity because its MC is not equal to its ATC.

A) True
B) False

19.

In a duopoly with a zero marginal cost, according to the Cournot model, at equilibrium the sum of the two firms' output would be more than 50 percent of the market demand at a zero price.

A) True
B) False

20.

In the kinked demand curve model it is assumed that the demand faced by an oligopoly is less elastic when it lowers the price but more elastic when it raises the price.

A) True
B) False

21.

A distinguishing characteristic of monopolistically competitive market is price discrimination.

A) True
B) False

22.

The general explanation for the relative price stability in an oligopolistic market is the existence of some degree of decision interdependency among the firms in the market.

A) True
B) False