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Chap4 EX TEXTBOOK
Chap4 EX TEXTBOOK
4 – Competitive Supply
#1 Which of the following is NOT a condition for a market to be perfectly competitive?
a) There must be no transaction costs;
b) The number of firms and consumers must be large;
c) Firms and consumers must be perfectly informed;
d) Firms must have identical cost structures.
#2 Which of the following statements applies to a firm facing a perfectly elastic demand curve?
a) It must lower its price to increase its revenue;
b) It must raise its price to increase its profit;
c) It always earns zero economic profit;
d) Its marginal revue curve is horizontal at the market price.
#3 Consider a firm in a perfectly competitive market in which the market price is 8 $/unit.
Consider a firm that currently produces at the point where MC = AC = 12 $/unit. At that output
level, AVC = 8 $/unit. What should it do to maximize its profit in the short run?
a) Shut down immediately;
b) Increase output;
c) Decrease output;
d) Keep its production unchanged;
e) Not enough information is given to answer the question.
#4 The supply curve of an individual firm in a perfectly competitive environment is given by
P = 3 + 3q. If the industry is made up of 100 firms, what is the total quantity supplied by the
industry if the market price is P = 12 $/unit?
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a) 300 units;
b) 400 units;
c) 900 units;
d) 1500 units;
e) None of the above.
#5 Explain why the demand curve facing a single firm in a perfectly competitive market is
perfectly elastic. Indicate clearly which conditions for a perfectly competitive market contribute
to this fact and how.
#6 Consider a watchmaker whose cost function C(q) = 144 + 4 q².
a) Compute the fixed cost and the marginal cost function of the firm’s production process.
b) If the market price of the good is 200 $/unit, how many watches should the firm produce to
maximize profits?
c) What will the maximum profits be?
d) At what minimum price will the firm produce a positive output?
#7 Consider a firm in a perfectly competitive industry, with cost function C(q) = 72 + 4q + 2q².
a) At a market price of P = 20 $/unit, the firm produces q = 6 units. Is it maximizing profits? If
not, how should it modify its output?
b) What is the minimum price at which the firm earns positive profits?
c) What quantity will the firm produce in the long run?
#8 Suppose that a firm’s production function is q = 4 x m1/2, where m is the quantity of materials
used in the production process. The firm’s fixed costs are $200, and each unit of material input
costs $4,000.
a) Write down the firm’s total cost function.
b) If the price is 1,000 $/unit, how many units will the firm produce? What will be its profits?
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#9 Consider a competitive industry, with the following demand and supply equations:
QD = 6,000 – 100 P
QS = 1400 P
Also, the cost function of a typical firm in this industry is C(q) = 648 + q²/200.
a) Find the market price, market output, the output supplied by a typical firm, and the profits of
each firm.
b) Would you expect to see entry or exit in this market over time? Explain.
c) What is the break‐even price of a typical firm in this market? What can you say about profits
at that price?
d) What is the shutdown price of a typical firm in the short run? What can you say about profits
at that price?
#10 Consider a perfectly competitive industry that is currently in long‐run equilibrium.
a) Draw two graphs side by side showing the long‐run equilibrium for this industry. On the left‐
hand panel, draw the situation of a typical firm in the industry, including the MC, AC and MR. On
the right‐hand panel, display the short‐run and long‐run supply curves as well as the market
demand curve. Clearly indicate the quantity produced by the typical firm (q0), the total market
output (Q0) and the market price (P0).
b) Suppose the industry experience a fall in demand. Using the graphs from part a), indicate how
the market price, the market output, the output and profits of a typical firm are affected in the
short run.
c) Show how these variables (market price, market output, firm output and profits) evolve over
time as the market reaches the long‐run equilibrium. What can you say about the number of
firms in the market?
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#11 The graphs below show the short‐run cost curves and the short‐run market equilibrium in a
perfectly competitive industry. All firms in this industry have the same cost structure. The
market equilibrium price is currently $5.00 and the equilibrium quantity is 6,000 units.
$/unit MC $/unit
S (market)
AC
8 8
6 6
4 AVC 4
2 2
D
2 4 8 10 q 2 4 6 8 10 Q (x1000)
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(a) How much is each firm in the industry currently producing? How many firms are there in
the market?
(b) Show the area corresponding to each firm’s profits in Figure1. Indicate whether it is a profit
or a loss.
(c) What will be the equilibrium price in the long run? (Hint: assume the long‐run cost curves of
each firm coincide with its short‐run cost curves. Similarly, the long‐run market demand
curve coincides with the short‐run demand curve).
(d) What will be each firm’s economic profits in the long run?
How much output will each firm produce in the long run?
How many firms will there be in the industry in the long run?
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