ECN 101 Chapter Notes - Chapter 10: New Product Development, Economic Surplus, Creative Destruction

1. A firm that is a pure competitor has P > ATC and P > MC on the output (Q) it is presently producing and selling. Is this firm maximizing its profits? If not, which direction should it change its output if it wants to maximize its total profit?

2. Is a pure competitor in short-run or long-run equilibrium if it has P=MC=ATC? Explain.

3. There is free entry in the model of pure competition. Assuming that P > ATC for a vast number of firms producing a standardized product for a given market, what will happen to market supply as the consequence? What will happen to the market price (P) of the product these firms are producing?

4. Firms in the pure competition have horizontal demand functions. (The market determines product price, so firms in this competitive market are price takers.) Do firms in this model have to lower prices if they want to sell more output? Why or why not?

Q8. To arrive at a logical determination of a firm's optimum output, economists assume that the firm seeks to
a. maximize output
b. minimize cost
c. maximize profit or minimize loss
d. maximize price

Q9. So long as marginal cost is rising, average variable cost must rise.
a. true
b. false

Q10. As output increases, marginal cost increases, reaches a maximum, and then falls.
a. true
b. false

Q11. Which of the following is the best example of variable cost?
a. depreciation on a building
b. property taxes
c. wages
d. rent paid for one's building

Q12. If the AVC is $12, the AFC is $4, the AR is $20, and output is 6,000 units, the total profit is
a. $72,000
b. $48,000
c. $24,000
d. negative $96,000

Q13. Under perfect competition, if a firm is suffering a loss,
a. MR exceeds ATC
b. AR equals AVC
c. AR equals ATC
d. AR is less than ATC

Q14. Elaine's firm is in a perfectly competitive industry. Why doesn't Elaine try to sell more of her product by lowering its price below the market price?
a. her demand curve is not elastic
b. doing so would be considered unethical price chiseling
c. her competitors would not allow it
d. she can sell all she wants at the market price

Q15. In the long run, perfect competition results in firms producing
a. at the minimum point of their long-run average cost curves, which indicates allocative efficiency
b. where price equals marginal cost, which indicates economic efficiency
c. where price equals marginal cost, which indicates the optimal scale of operation
d. at the minimum point of their long-run average cost curves, which indicates economic efficiency

Q16. On a graph of average cost curves, the space between ATC and AVC represents AFC.
a. true
b. false

Q18. If MC equals MR at a point greater than ATC, the perfectly competitive firm will
a. sustain a loss
b. shut down
c. make an economic profit
d. expand output

Q19. Since all producers have the same average revenue under conditions of perfect competition, they all have the same profits in the short run.
a. true
b. false

Q20. If the entry of new firms in a perfectly competitive industry substantially increases the market demand for resources,
a. this reduces the market price of resources
b. this raises the market price of resources
c. the market price of resources does not change
d. this lowers the ATC curves of individual firms

Q22. Under conditions of perfect competition, profits exist whenever AR is above AVC at equilibrium output.
a. true
b. false

Q23. Under perfect competition, market price is determined by market demand and supply.
a. true
b. false

Q24. If one firm in a perfectly competitive industry is somehow able to produce at a lower cost than competing firms in the short run,
a. the competing firms will adopt similar production techniques in the long run
b. the more efficient firm will earn higher profits than the competing firms in the long run
c. the competing firms will earn higher profits than the more efficient firm in the short run
d. the competing firms will go out of business in the long run

Q1. Average total cost is equal to
a. AFC + AVC
b. AFC/total output
c. AFC/AVC
d. AVC/AFC

Q2. As output increases, the ATC
a. increases
b. decreases
c. remains constant
d. falls and then rises

Q3. Total profit is equal to
a. total revenue minus total cost
b. total revenue minus explicit cost
c. total revenue minus variable cost
d. total revenue minus marginal cost

Q4. Marginal cost crosses the
a. AVC curve at the highest point of the AVC curve
b. ATC curve at the lowest point of the ATC curve
c. AFC curve at the lowest point of the AFC curve
d. ATC curve at the highest point of the ATC curve

Q5. Wages paid are an example of an explicit cost of doing business.
a. true
b. false

Q6. Any revenue over and above total cost is labeled economic profit.
a. true
b. false

Q7. If the selling price of a product is $10, the average total cost is $8, and total sales are 5,000 units, the total profit will be
a. $5,000
b. $8,000
c. $10,000
d. $20,000

Q8. Whenever marginal revenue exceeds marginal cost,
a. profit declines if output increases
b. profit increases if output increases
c. losses increase if output increases
d. marginal revenue must be rising

Q9. Under perfectly competitive conditions, marginal revenue is
a. greater than average revenue
b. equal to average revenue
c. less than average revenue
d. equal to the average variable

Q10. A firm's break-even point occurs where
a. marginal revenue equals marginal cost
b. marginal revenue equals average variable cost
c. total revenue equals total cost
d. total revenue equals total variable cost

Q11. The addition to total output resulting from using one more unit of a productive resource is the
a. average product
b. marginal input
c. total product
d. marginal product

Q12. Unlike a firm in pure competition, a monopolist may be able to
a. block the entry of new firms into the industry
b. continue to earn economic profits in the long run
c. earn economic profits in the short run
d. both (a) and (b)

Q13. Producer surplus is the difference between the price the firm is willing to sell its goods and the price it actually receives.
a. true
b. false

Q14. In the long run, under conditions of perfect competition, market forces come into play to
a. enhance profits
b. increase demand
c. eliminate profits
d. separate MR and AR

Q15. Consumer surplus is the area above the demand curve and below the equilibrium price.
a. true
b. false

Q16. Under perfect competition, market price is determined by market demand and supply.
a. true
b. false

Q17. The more that firms advertise, the closer they get to perfect competition.
a. true
b. false

Q18. Perfect competition assumes that a producer is interested in maximizing profit.
a. true
b. false

Q19. In the long run, under conditions of perfect competition, the buyer will eventually be able to buy the product at a
a. price equal to the lowest point on the ATC curve past the optimal scale of operation
b. price below cost
c. price equal to the lowest point on the ATC curve at the optimal scale of operation
d. discount

Q20. The lowest possible ATC curve is attained at the optimal scale of output.
a. true
b. false