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Suppose that industry is characterized as follows:

C = 100 + 2q2

each firm’s total cost function

MC = 4q

firm’s marginal cost function

P = 90 - 2Q

industry demand curve

MR = 90 - 4Q

industry marginal revenue curve

a. If there is only one firm in the industry, find the monopoly price, quantity, and level of profit.

b. Find the price, quantity, and level of profit if the industry is competitive.

c. Graphically illustrate the demand curve, marginal revenue curve, marginal cost curve, and average cost curve. Identify the difference between the profit level of the monopoly and the profit level of the competitive industry in two different ways. Verify that the two are numerically equivalent.

Short Answer

Expert verified
  1. The monopoly price, quantity, and profit are $67.50, 11.25 units, and $406.25, respectively.

  2. The competitive industry price, quantity, and profit are $60, 15 units, and $350, respectively.

  3. The difference between the profit level of the monopoly and the competitive industry is $56.25.

Step by step solution

01

Step 1. Deriving the monopoly price, quantity, and profit

In the case of a single firm, it behaves as a monopoly and decides to produce at the intersection point of the marginal cost and marginal revenue. You can compute the point as follows:

90-4Q=4Q8Q=90Q=11.25

The monopoly quantity is 11.25 units.

Using the quantity produced by the monopolist, you can compute the monopoly price using the industry demand curve as follows:

P=90-211.25=90-22.50=$67.50

The monopoly price is $67.50.

The total revenue is calculated as follows:

TR=P×Q=11.25×67.50=$759.375

The total cost is calculated as follows:


TC=100+2Q2=100+211.252=100+253.125=$353.125

The profit is calculated as follows:

Ï€=TR-TC=759.375-353.125=$406.24

The monopoly profit is $406.25.

02

Step 2. Deriving the competitive price, quantity, and profit

In the competitive industry, you can find the equilibrium quantity produced using the following condition:

P=MC90-2Q=4Q6Q=90Q=15

The competitive industry produces 15 units.

When the quantity produced is 15, the price is as follows:

P=90-215=90-30=$60

The competitive industry charges a price of $60 per unit.

The profit is as follows:

π=60×15-100+2152=900-550=$350

The competitive industry profit is $350.

03

Step 3. Graphical illustration

The following diagram shows the marginal cost, marginal revenue, demand curve, and average cost curve of the industry:

The blue area represents the profit lost when the firm moves from a monopoly to a competitive market structure.

You can compute the amount of profit lost in the conversion using the profits derived in parts (a) and (b) as follows:

Profitlost=$406.25-$350=$56.25

In the diagram, the blue area shows the lost profit because the cost incurred exceeded the revenue generated for the quantity lying between 11.25 and 15 units.

When the industry shifted from a monopoly to a competitive market structure, the producers lost surplus equal to the area shown by the shaded figures A and B and gained surplus worth area of figure C.

Thus, you can compute the net loss of surplus or the profit lost as follows:

Profitlost=11.2567.50-60-0.515-11.2560-45=84.375-28.125=$56.25

The value of the profit lost in conversion from a monopoly market structure to a competitive one is $56.25. The value has been verified using both the numerical and the diagrammatic approaches.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

A monopolist firm faces a demand with constant elasticity of -2.0. It has a constant marginal cost of $20 per unit and sets a price to maximize profit. If marginal cost should increase by 25 percent, would the price charged also rise by 25 percent?

A firm faces the following average revenue (demand)curve:

P = 120 - 0.02Q

where Q is weekly production and P is price, measured in cents per unit. The firm’s cost function is given by C = 60Q + 25,000. Assume that the firm maximizes profits.

a. What is the level of production, price, and total profit per week?

b. If the government decides to levy a tax of 14 cents per unit on this product, what will be the new level of production, price, and profit?

A certain town in the Midwest obtains all of its electricity from one company, Northstar Electric. Although the company is a monopoly, it is owned by the citizens of the town, all of whom split the profits equally at the end of each year. The CEO of the company claims that because all of the profits will be given back to the citizens,it makes economic sense to charge a monopoly price for electricity. True or false? Explain.

The following table shows the demand curve facing a

monopolist who produces at a constant marginal cost of $10:

Price

Quantity

18

0

16

4

14

8

12

12

10

16

8

20

6

24

4

28

2

32

0

36

a. Calculate the firm’s marginal revenue curve.

b. What are the firm’s profit-maximizing output and price? What is its profit?

c. What would the equilibrium price and quantity be in a competitive industry?

d. What would the social gain be if this monopolist were forced to produce and price at the competitive equilibrium? Who would gain and lose as a result?

A monopolist faces the following demand curve: Q = 144/P2 where Q is the quantity demanded and P is price. Its average variable cost is AVC = Q1/2 and its fixed cost is 5.

a. What are its profit-maximizing price and quantity? What is the resulting profit?

b. Suppose the government regulates the price to be no greater than $4 per unit. How much will the monopolist produce? What will its profit be?

c. Suppose the government wants to set a ceiling price that induces the monopolist to produce the largest possible output. What price will accomplish this goal?

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