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WorksheetsClass 3 Test 3
Total questions: 51
Worksheet time: 28mins
What is the goal of every firm, regardless of the market structure?
Maximize profits, minimize costs
Maximize costs, minimize profits
Where does every firm, regardless of market structure, maximize economic profit?
marginal revenue exceeds marginal cost
marginal revenue is less than marginal cost
marginal revenue equals marginal cost
Why is the goal of every firm not to maximize total revenue or minimize total cost?
Because their goal is to maximize the distance between the two.
Because their goal is to minimize the distance between the two.
Because they don't like money.
Because they only care about profits.
Economic profit (as opposed to accounting profit) is important because:
It includes opportunity cost
It takes tax into account
It includes negative profit
It includes all profit
The key feature of profit when compared to other sources of income:
Profit is the residual
Profit is the requesite
Profit is the income before expenses are deducted
Profit is all the money you have in excess
All of us are ultimately entrepreneur's because:
We all take advantage of price discrepancies between different markets.
We all like to buy high and sell low.
We all control land, labor and capital.
We deal with fixed costs where profit is uncertain.
If there is only one seller of a good, selling a good with no close substitutes, and barriers to entry are so high as to prevent any competition from entering the market,
it is a monopoly
it is competitive
it has little competition
it is an oligopoly
Profit is a signal. Without barriers to entry,
no one will else will enter the market
only some people will enter the market
a lot of people will flood the market
it is easy to be a monopoly
A price taker:
sets the price
are more competitive than price makers
is usually a seller
are less competitive than price makers
One major reason for control over price, like charging $5,000 for a gallon of water in the Sahara, is:
In the short run a firm can have a monopoly. In the long run they retain some monopoly power.
They have low barriers to entry
They have high barriers to entry
In some cases, barriers to entry like patent, trademark, and copyrights:
many firms offer a lot of products that are perfect substitutes
many firms offer a lot of products that are similar substitutes
there are little substitutes for it
it creates monopolistic competition
As markets become more competitive,
they have more control over the price
they have less control over the price
barriers to entry incresae
it creates natural monopolies
Economies of scale:
Rise due to legal barriers such as patents, trademarks, and copyrights
Rise due to large firms being able to produce goods and services at a higher price compared to smaller firms
Rise due to large firms being able to produce goods and services at a lower price compared to smaller firms
Rise due to outputs decreasing and cost per unit increasing
Economies of scale:
The ability of large firms to produce goods and services at a lower price compared to smaller firms
The ability of large firms to produce goods and services at a higher price compared to smaller firms
The ability of large firms to increase labor costs and produce more output.
The ability of large firms to produce higher demand by decreasing output cost.
An example of a "natural" monopoly from class was:
The utilities company
Amazon
Microsoft
Control over price:
Causes firms to lose a lot of customers when they increase the price
Causes firms to lose a little customers when they increase the price
Makes them a monopoly
Makes them a big company
Control over price:
Allows firms to engage in price discrimination
Allows firms to charge any price they want
Does not allow firms to take advantage of consumers
Does not allow firms to charge one single price
Total revenue is maximized at price ___ and quantity demanded ___.
(a)
If the MC of producing the 3rd glass of lemonade is $1,
We would profit
We would lose profit
It would be profit-neutral
We notice that when TR is falling, MR is:
MR increase
MR becomes negative
MR stays positive
MR decreases but stays positive
Is it possible for the firm to be profitable if they are producing more than 500 pizzas?
No, MC > MR, so costs outweigh the revenue generated, thus being unprofitable.
No, MC > MR, so costs outweigh the revenue generated, thus unlikely being unprofitable.
No, MR > MC, so costs outweigh the revenue generated, thus being unprofitable.
No, MR > MC, so costs outweigh the revenue generated, thus unlikely being unprofitable.
Slightly differentiated product:
Allows control over price
Creates many substitutes for consumers
Does not allow control over price
First degree price discrimination:
charge everyone's max willingness to pay
charges different prices based on quantity being bought
charges different prices based on the demographic of consumers
First degree price discrimination:
colleges
airlines
car sales
movie theaters
According to class discussion
first degree price discrimination benefits poor people
first degree price discrimination benefits rich people
first degree price discrimination ultimately has no effect
first degree price discrimination benefits both poor and rich people
If first degree price discrimination is so profitable (it is), why doesn't every firm do it?
it is easy to get honest answers from people when asking them how much they want to pay
it is hard to get honest answers from people when asking them how much they want to pay
Third degree price discrimination:
charge everyone's max willingness to pay
charges different prices based on quantity being bought
charges different prices based on the demographic of consumers
Publishers typically release new books in hardcover copy first (charging more for hardcover copies) and then later in paperback format (charging less for paperback copies). This is _____ price discrimination.
1st degree
2nd degree
3rd degree
According to class discussion,
inelastic consumers are more likely willing to pay with 3rd degree price discrimination
elastic consumers are more likely willing to pay with 3rd degree price discrimination
Third degree price discrimination:
colleges
airlines
car sales
movie theaters
Irrespective of the method of travel, those who travel for business have relatively inelastic demand for travel.
True
False
With monopolistic competition,
Initially, firms in a monopolistically competitive market look like _____, but over time they become more and more like _____.
perfect competition, monopolies
monopolies, perfect competition
oligarchies, monopolies
oligarchies, perfect competiton
With oligopoly,
one firm controls the price of products
a few firms control the price of products
many firms control the price of products
no firms control the price of products
With only a few firms in an industry, we see strategic behavior.
This is the behavior that takes the actions of others into account.
This is the behavior that takes advantage of others.
This is the behavior that takes advantage of economies of scale into account.
This is the behavior that takes the advantage of natural monopolies into account.
Game theory
a set of tools to analyze strategic behavior
a set of tools to analyze the patterns of dynamic systems to better understand and predict their behavior
a set of tools used to inform the design of real-world auctions
a set of tools on how to aggregate individual preferences into a collective decision or ranking
How do we know a market is oligopolistic?
The extent that the top 4 firms dominant a market is > 90%
The extent that the top 4 firms dominant a market is > 80%
The extent that the top 4 firms dominant a market is > 95%
The extent that the top 4 firms dominant a market is > 75%
How do we know a market is oligopolistic?
Herfandel-Hirshman Index (HHI),
Consumer Price Index (CPI)
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
Producer Price Index (PPI)
The HHI in this industry is (a) .
Interdependence implies that each firm in an industry:
considers the actions of other firms before deciding on its own output, price, or other strategic actions
considers only their own profits when deciding on its own output, price, or other strategic actions
is reliant on the other firms to be honest and fair
works together to set the best price
A cartel is:
a group of people who do illegal activities together
a group of people who collude together to improve their profits and dominate the market
a group of people who do cartwheels together
The "prisoner's dilemma" game illustrates a case in which:
individuals acting in the best interest of the group choose a course of action that leads to the best outcome for the group as a whole.
individuals acting in their own self-interest choose a course of action that leads to a suboptimal outcome for the group as a whole.
leads to individuals choosing the dominant strategy equilibrium.
leads to individuals choosing the national equilibrium.
No matter what Qatar does, Kuwait should:
Pick high level of oil output because it is the national strategy equilibrium
Pick high level of oil output because it is the dominant strategy equilibrium
Pick low level of oil output because it is the dominant strategy equilibrium
Pick low level of oil output because it is the national strategy equilibrium
Cartels often dissolve because:
behavioral economics
it discourages new entrance into the market
it doesn't result in a division of spoils
there are no hold outs
People who are stuck in a prisoner's dilemma may try to find a way out. In the above graph, Nick could lie and say he was going to steal in order to eliminate boxes _____.
1, 2
1, 3
3, 4
2, 4
Price matching guarantees:
Ensures that customers will receive the lowest possible price
Ensures that customers will receive the highest possible price
Ensures that customers will receive a discount after every purchase
Ensures that customers will leave satisfied every time
Anti-trust, and fears of collusion on behalf of giant firms,
Allow anti-competitive behavior
Stop anti-competitive beahvior
Ensures that no monopolies exist
Ensures that only oligopolies are possible
Why are collusive agreements difficult for even a few firms to maintain?
Dominant Strategy Equilibrium
National Equilibrium
Cheating
Profit is a signal
Predatory pricing:
when we price below cost to increase competition
when we price above cost to increase competition
when we price below cost to drive out all competition
when we price above cost to drive out all competition
Predatory pricing:
Is easy in real life because profit is a signal that decrease new entrants
Is easy in real life because profit is a signal that increases new entrants
Is difficult in real life because profit is a signal that increases new entrants
Is difficult in real life because profit is a signal that decreases new entrants
