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Profit Maximisation under Perfect Competition and Monopoly Alternative Market Structures Classifying markets (by degree of competition) number of firms freedom of entry to industry free, restricted or blocked? nature of product homogeneous or differentiated? nature of demand curve
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Profit Maximisation under Perfect Competition and Monopoly
Alternative Market Structures • Classifying markets (by degree of competition) • number of firms • freedom of entry to industry • free, restricted or blocked? • nature of product • homogeneous or differentiated? • nature of demand curve • degree of control the firm has over price
Alternative Market Structures • The four market structures • perfect competition • monopoly • monopolistic competition • oligopoly
Alternative Market Structures • The four market structures • perfect competition • monopoly • monopolistic competition • oligopoly • Structure conduct performance
Perfect Competition • Assumptions • firms are price takers • freedom of entry of firms to industry • identical products • perfect knowledge • Distinction between short and long run • normal profits • supernormal profits
Perfect Competition • Short-run equilibrium of the firm • Price • given by market demand and supply • Output • where P = MC • Profit • (AR – AC) × Q • possible supernormal profits
Short-run equilibrium of industry and firm under perfect competition MC AC S D = AR Pe AR = MR AC D P £ O O Qe Q (thousands) Q (millions) (a) Industry (b) Firm
Loss minimising under perfect competition AC MC AC D1 = AR1 P1 AR1 = MR1 Qe P £ S D O O Q (thousands) Q (millions) (a) Industry (b) Firm
Short-run shut-down point AVC D2 = AR2 P2 AR2 = MR2 D2 P £ AC MC S O O Q (thousands) Q (millions) (a) Industry (b) Firm
Perfect Competition • Short-run equilibrium of the firm (cont.) • short-run supply curve of firm • the MC curve • Short-run supply curve of industry • sum of supply curves of firms
Perfect Competition • The long run • long-run equilibrium of the firm • all supernormal profits competed away
Long-run equilibrium under perfect competition S1 Se LRAC P1 AR1 D1 PL ARL DL D Profits return to normal Supernormal profits New firms enter P £ O O QL Q (thousands) Q (millions) (a) Industry (b) Firm
Perfect Competition • The long run • long-run equilibrium of the firm • all supernormal profits competed away • LRAC = AC = MC = MR = AR
Long-run equilibrium of the firm under perfect competition (SR)MC (SR)AC LRAC DL AR = MR LRAC = (SR)AC = (SR)MC =MR= AR £ O Q
Perfect Competition • The long run • long-run equilibrium of the firm • all supernormal profits competed away • LRAC = AC = MC = MR = AR • long-run industry supply curve
Perfect Competition • The long run • long-run equilibrium of the firm • all supernormal profits competed away • LRAC = AC = MC = MR = AR • long-run industry supply curve • incompatibility of economies of scale with perfect competition
Perfect Competition • The long run • long-run equilibrium of the firm • all supernormal profits competed away • LRAC = AC = MC = MR = AR • long-run industry supply curve • incompatibility of economies of scale with perfect competition • Does the firm benefit from operating under perfect competition?
Monopoly • Defining monopoly • importance of market power • concentration ratios
Monopoly • Barriers to entry • economies of scale • product differentiation and brand loyalty • lower costs for an established firm • ownership/control of key factors or outlets • legal protection • mergers and takeovers • aggressive tactics
Monopoly • The monopolist's demand curve • downward sloping • MR below AR
AR and MR curves for a monopoly Q (units) P =AR (£) 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 AR, MR (£) AR Quantity
AR and MR curves for a monopoly Q (units) TR (£) MR (£) P =AR (£) 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 8 14 18 20 20 18 14 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 6 4 2 0 -2 -4 AR, MR (£) AR Quantity MR
Monopoly • Equilibrium price and output • MC = MR
Profit maximising under monopoly MC MR £ Qm O Q
Monopoly • Equilibrium price and output • MC = MR • measuring level of supernormal profit
Profit maximising under monopoly MC MR £ Qm O Q
Profit maximising under monopoly AC AR AC AR £ MC MR Qm O Q
Profit maximising under monopoly Total profit AC AR £ MC AR AC MR Qm O Q
Monopoly • Equilibrium price and output • MC = MR • measuring level of supernormal profit • Monopoly versus perfect competition
Monopoly • Equilibrium price and output • MC = MR • measuring level of supernormal profit • Monopoly versus perfect competition • lower output at a higher price
Equilibrium of industry under perfect competition and monopoly: with the same MC curve MC AR = D MR £ Monopoly P1 Q1 O Q
Equilibrium of industry under perfect competition and monopoly: with the same MC curve P2 £ MC ( = supply under perfect competition) Comparison with Perfect competition P1 AR = D MR Q1 Q2 O Q
Monopoly • Equilibrium price and output • MC = MR • measuring level of supernormal profit • Monopoly versus perfect competition • lower output at a higher price • short run and long run
Monopoly • Equilibrium price and output • MC = MR • measuring level of supernormal profit • Monopoly versus perfect competition • lower output at a higher price • short run and long run • costs under monopoly
Equilibrium of industry under perfect competition and monopoly: with different MC curves £ MCmonopoly P1 AR = D MR O Q1 Q
Equilibrium of industry under perfect competition and monopoly: with different MC curves MC ( = supply)perfect competition £ MCmonopoly P2 P1 x P3 AR = D MR Q2 Q3 O Q1 Q
Monopoly • Equilibrium price and output • MC = MR • measuring level of supernormal profit • Monopoly versus perfect competition • lower output at a higher price • short run and long run • costs under monopoly • innovation and new products
Contestable Markets • Importance of potential competition • low entry costs • low exit costs • Perfectly contestable markets • Contestable markets & natural monopolies • The importance of costless exit • absence of sunk costs • hit-and-run competition • Assessment of the theory