Chapter 8: Q.4 (page 211)
Suppose that the market price increases to $6, as Table 8.14 shows. What would happen to the profit-maximizing output level?

Short Answer
The profit maximizing output level becomes units.
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Chapter 8: Q.4 (page 211)
Suppose that the market price increases to $6, as Table 8.14 shows. What would happen to the profit-maximizing output level?

The profit maximizing output level becomes units.
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What prevents a perfectly competitive firm from seeking higher profits by increasing the price that it charges?
In the argument for why perfect competition is allocatively efficient, the price that people are willing to pay represents the gains to society and the marginal cost to the firm represents the costs to society. Can you think of some social costs or issues that are not included in the marginal cost to the firm? Or some social gains that are not included in what people pay for a good?
Explain how the profit-maximizing rule of setting P = MC leads a perfectly competitive market to be allocatively efficient.
1. A computer company produces affordable, easy-to-use home computer systems and has fixed costs of \(250. The marginal cost of producing computers is \)700 for the first computer, \(250 for the second, \)300 for the third, \(350 for the fourth, \)400 for the fifth, \(450 for the sixth, and \)500 for the seventh.
a. Create a table that shows the company’s output, total cost, marginal cost, average cost, variable cost, and average variable cost.
b. At what price is the zero-profit point? At what price is the shutdown point?
c. If the company sells the computers for \(500, is it making a profit or a loss? How big is the profit or loss? Sketch a graph with AC, MC, and AVC curves to illustrate your answer and show the profit or loss.
d. If the firm sells the computers for \)300, is it making a profit or a loss? How big is the profit or loss? Sketch a graph with AC, MC, and AVC curves to illustrate your answer and show the profit or loss.
Would independent trucking fit the characteristics of a perfectly competitive industry?
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