ECON 208 Chapter Notes - Chapter 9: Variable Cost, Market Price, Demand Curve

1. All of the following are characteristics of long-run equilibrium for firms in a monopolistically competitive market except:

A. price equals marginal cost.

B. price equals average total cost.

C. price exceeds the minimum of the average total cost.

D. marginal cost equals marginal revenue.

2. All of the following are strategies a firm with market power can adopt to increase its profits over time except:

A. erecting barriers to entry.

B. setting price equal to the marginal costs of production.

C. mergers with, and acquisitions of, competing firms.

D. influencing the regulatory process.

3. Assume that for a particular firm's output price = $80, marginal cost = $30, average total cost = $25. Based on this information, the firm's Lerner Index is equal to:

A. 0.313.

B. 0.625.

C. 0.6.

D. 0.375.

4. Assume that when the price is $20, the quantity demanded is 9 units, and when the price is $19, the quantity demanded is 10 units. Based on this information, what is the marginal revenue resulting from an increase in output from 9 units to 10 units?

A. $10

B. $1

C. $19

D. $20

5. Because firms produce a differentiated product, each of the firms in a monopolistically competitive market faces a demand curve that is:

A. perfectly elastic.

B. downward sloping.

C. perfectly inelastic.

D. perfectly elastic or perfectly inelastic depending on whether the firm's output is a luxury or a necessity.

6. Suppose a monopolist is producing a level of output such that MR > MC. What should the firm do to maximize its profits?

A. The firm should increase output.

B. The firm should increase the price.

C. The firm should do nothing - it wants to maximize the difference between MR and MC in order to maximize its profits.

D. The firm should hire less labor.

7. Suppose the firms in a monopolistically competitive market are earning positive economic profits. What will happen to move the market to its long-run equilibrium?

A. The demand curves faced by firms in the market will shift to the right.

B. The firms' demand curves will become less elastic.

C. More close substitutes will appear in the market.

D. Some firms will exit the market if they can't cover all of their fixed and variable costs.

8. The Lerner Index is a measure of market power that focuses on:

A. the difference between a firm's product price and its marginal costs of production.

B. the share of the market controlled by the X largest firms in the market.

C. the ratio of the price of a firm's product to the price elasticity of demand for the product.

D. the sum of the squares of the market share of each firm in an industry.

9. The measure of market power that focuses on the share of the market controlled by the X largest firms in the market is known as:

A. the Lerner Index.

B. the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index.

C. the Minimum-Efficient Scale Index.

D. a concentration ratio.

10. The monopoly characteristic of monopolistically competitive firms ensures that such firms will earn positive economic profits over the long-run.

a. True

b. False

11. When firms have an incentive to exit a competitive market, their exit will:

a. drive down market prices.

b. drive down the profits of existing firms in the market.

c. decrease the quantity of goods supplied in the market.

d. All of the above are correct.

12. If a perfectly competitive firm currently produces where the price is greater than the marginal cost, it:

a. will increase its profits by producing more.

b. will increase its profits by producing less.

c. is making positive economic profits.

d. is making negative economic profits.

13. Does a consumer well being vary along a demand curve?

a. Yes. When price increases, consumers move to a lower indifference curve.

b. Yes. When price increases, consumers move to a higher indifference curve.

c. No. When price increases, consumers stay on the same indifference curve.

d. No. When price increases, the higher price has no effect on budget constraints or indifference curves.

e. None of the above

14. If a competitive firm sets its output such that marginal revenue, marginal cost, and average total cost are equal, economic profit must be:

a. Negative

b. positive

c. Zero

d. Indeterminate from the given information

15. Which of the following is a characteristic of a perfectly competitive market?

a. Firms are price setters.

b. There are few sellers in the market.

c. Firms can exit and enter the market freely.

d. All of the above are correct.