course’informaon - web hosting at umass amherstcourses.umass.edu/econ103/f12_103h_l19p.pdf ·...
TRANSCRIPT
Course informa-on
• Final exam: Tuesday, 12/11 4 -‐6 in Machmer W 15
• If you have a conflict, go the the Registrar’s office and they will give you a form saying which exam can be changed.
• Final exam will cover the chapters on perfect compe--on, monopoly, monopolis-c compe--on up to page 329 only and oligopoly up to page 350 (‘Other Oligopoly Games’).
To do today Profit maximizing equilibrium in Single-‐price monopoly Price discrimina-ng monopoly Regula-ng monopoly Efficient (MC) pricing Average cost pricing Price cap regula-on Rate of return regula-on
Elas-city and revenue again
1. If a price fall increases total revenue, demand is elas-c.
2. If a price fall decreases total revenue, demand is inelas-c.
Elas-city and the demand curve again
• Elas-city will change along the demand curve, as we have seen
• This means that to know the effect of a change in price, must know where you are on the demand curve
Elas-city and MR along the demand curve
Monopoly equilibrium
• Same profit maximizing rule: MC = MR
• But now, P or AR is above MR
• So, monopoly sells a smaller output at a higher price
Graphing monopoly equilibrium
Rule: MC = MR Again same as profit maximizing rule in compe--on
The average total cost curve is ATC.
The marginal cost curve is MC.
The demand curve is D.
The marginal revenue curve is MR.
Full profit-‐maximizing story
Monopoly vs compe--on
• Tricky bit
• The price the monopoly charges at its profit maximizing output is from its DEMAND curve, like usual
• Not from its MR curve, which is now below the demand curve
Characteris-cs of monopoly • Economic profit > 0 • Price is higher than compe--ve level • Output is less than the compe--ve level
• And now, have deadweight loss
• So monopoly is not efficient
Where to compare monopoly and compe--on?
• Perfectly compe--ve equilibrium where MC (S) = MB (price and demand curve)
• So, on the monopoly graph, perfect compe--ve is where S=MC curve intersects the demand curve
Monopoly vs compe--on
Consequences of monopoly
• Higher equilibrium prices
• Lower equilibrium quan-ty
• Deadweight loss (MC not = MB)
Efficient regula-on of a monopoly
Problem: compared to compe--on, monopoly price too high and output too low
Solu+on: Set MC = MB (and price) to mimic compe--ve equilibrium
Price discrimina-ng monopoly
– Price discrimina-on—selling a good or service at a number of different prices—is widespread.
– To be able to price discriminate, a firm must
• Iden-fy and separate different types of buyers.
• Sell a product that cannot be resold.
Price discrimina-on and consumer surplus
• Goal: to convert consumer surplus into economic profit by charging different categories of consumers different prices
Perfect price discrimina-on: each individual customer pays separate price schedule based on that customer’s own willingness to pay.
Perfect price discrimina-on
Price discrimina-on and efficiency
• Price equals MC, so deadweight loss is zero
• But consumer surplus now all goes to producer
• Rent seeking becomes profitable and rent seekers use up the whole producer surplus
MC pricing regula-on
Efficient regula-on causes a problem
• Problem: forces firms to incur losses
• Solu+on: Second-‐best regula-on of a natural monopoly
– Two possible ways of enabling a regulated monopoly to avoid an economic loss
• Average cost pricing • Government subsidy
Alterna-ve regula-on
Average Cost Pricing
Rule: P = ATC
Government Subsidy
A direct payment to the firm,
but the government must finance the subsidy by
taxing some other ac-vity, which will create a
deadweight loss.
Average cost pricing regula-on
Problems with AC pricing
• Less than efficient quan-ty produced
• Price higher than MC
• Deadweight loss
• Some consumer surplus goes now to producer surplus
Rate of return regula-on
Problem: might not be possible to be sure what the firm’s costs are
Solu+on: firm must set its price at a level that enables it to earn a specified target percent return on its capital
– If the regulator could observe the firm’s true costs and be sure that the firm was minimizing cost, this type of regula-on would be like average cost pricing
Price cap and earnings share regula-on
Problem: same as rate of return regula-on
Solu+on: A price cap (ceiling)—a rule that specifies the highest price the firm is permiged to charge
Can be combined with earnings sharing regula+on—a regula-on that requires a firm to make refunds to customers if its profit rises above a target rate.
Industries that may have price caps
Often important services; many have economies of scale
Price cap regula-on
Price cap regula-on
2. A price cap set at $15.
1. With no regula-on, the firm maximizes profit by producing the quan-ty at which MC = MR.
3. The price cap outcome is at the intersec-on of the demand curve and the price cap.
4. The price falls and output increases.
Finishing monopoly: rent seeking
Rent is any form of surplus – producer, consumer or economic profit Comes from barriers to entry
But firms can enter if pay the price – NY taxi medallion Poten-al entrants bid up price -ll economic profit = 0
Finishing monopoly: rent seeking
• Point: lobby to create barriers to entry
• Example: tomato lobby and laws limi-ng tomato imports
• Compe--on among rent seekers raises costs
• Equilibrium has no economic profit
Finishing monopoly: rent seeking
Monopolis-c compe--on • A large number of firms compete – no market dominance or collusion
• Each firm produces a differen-ated product
• Firms compete on price, product quality, and marke-ng • Firms are free to enter and exit
– Product that is slightly different from the products of compe-ng firms
– Has close subs-tutes but not perfect subs-tutes
Product differen-a-on
Two key differences: in monopolis-c compe--on, there is
• Excess capacity • A markup of price over marginal cost
Monopolis-c compe--on vs perfect compe--on
• Compe-ng on quality, price, and marke-ng – Quality – Design, reliability, aker-‐sales service, etc. – Price
– Marke+ng – Two main forms: adver-sing and packaging
Compe--on in monopolis-c compe--on
The profit maximizing decision and economic profit
– Decision rule: operate where MC = MR
– Note the same as the usual decision rule, in perfect compe--on and in monopoly as well.
Equilibrium of the monopolis-c compe-tor
1. Profit is maximized when MR = MC.
3. The profit-‐maximizing price is $75 per pair.
4. The firm makes an economic profit of $6,250 a day.
2. The profit-‐maximizing output is 125 pairs of Tommy jeans per day.
ATC is $25 per pair, so
The profit maximizing output and the economic profit
Profit maximiza-on might be loss minimizing
– Some firms in monopolis-c compe--on have a tough -me making a profit.
– A burst of entry into an industry can limit the demand for each firm’s own product.
– Economic profit induces entry and economic loss induces exit, as in perfect compe--on.
– Entry decreases the demand for the product of each firm.
– Exit increases the demand for the product of each firm.
– In the long run, economic profit is competed away and firms make zero economic profit.
Move to the long run: zero economic profit
Move to the long run: zero economic profit
1. The output that maximizes profit is 75 pairs of Tommy jeans a day.
2. The price is $50 per pair. Average total cost is also $50 per pair.
3. Economic profit is zero.
Long run profit situa-on
1. The efficient scale is 100 pairs of Tommy jeans a day.
2. The firm produces less than the efficient scale and has excess capacity.
3. Price exceeds 4. marginal cost by the amount of 5. the markup.
6. Deadweight loss arise.
Output and price decisions: long run
Deadweight Loss Because P > MC, monopolis-c compe--on creates deadweight loss Higher than minimum ATC
Lower output and higher price than compe++ve But, economic profit = 0
Problems with monopolis-c compe--on in the long run
Innova-on and product development
– Wherever economic profits are earned, imitators emerge.
– To maintain economic profit, a firm must seek out new products.
– Cost Versus Benefit of Product Innova+on
– The firm must balance the cost and benefit at the margin.
Efficiency and product innova-on
– Value of innova-on to the consumer: MB – – MB = MR = MC in equilibrium
– Here, because P > MC, product improvement is not pushed to its efficient level.
Adver-sing costs and total costs
Adver-sing expenditures increase the costs of a monopolis-cally compe--ve firm above those of a perfectly compe--ve firm or a monopoly. Adver-sing costs are fixed costs. Adver-sing costs per unit decrease as produc-on increases.
1. When adver-sing costs are added to
2. The average total cost of produc-on,
3. Average total cost increases by a greater amount at small outputs than at large outputs.
Effect of adver-sing cost on total cost
4. If adver-sing enables sales to increase from 25 pairs of jeans a day to 100 pairs a day,
the average total cost falls from $60 a pair to $40 a pair.
Effect of adver-sing cost on total cost
– Adver-sing and other selling efforts change the demand for a firm’s product.
– The effects are complex: • A firm’s own adver-sing increases the demand for its product.
• Adver-sing by all firms might decrease the demand for any one firm’s product and might make demand more elas-c.
– The price and markup might fall.
Adver-sing (selling) costs and demand
No adver-sing graphically
Effects of adver-sing graphically
1. With adver-sing, average total cost increases. 2. If adver-sing enables more firms to survive, new firms
might be encouraged to enter the market. 3. Then demand for any one firm’s product decreases. 4. If all firms adver-se, the demand for any one firm’s product becomes more elas-c.
Summary of effects of adver-sing
Why adver-se? Signaling quality
– Some adver-sing is very costly and has almost no informa-on content about the item being adver-sed.
– Such adver-sing is used to signal high quality.
– Signaling works because it is profitable to signal high quality and deliver it but unprofitable to signal a high quality product and not deliver it.
Brand names
Also used to provide informa-on about the quality of a product Costly to establish a widely recognized brand name Signal high quality Work because it is unprofitable to incur the cost of crea-ng a brand name and then deliver a low quality product
Efficiency of adver-sing and brand names
Adver-sing and brand name can be efficient if the marginal cost of the informa-on equals its marginal benefit. The final verdict on the efficiency of monopolis-c compe--on is ambiguous: there are benefits (consumer choice of differen-ated products) and costs (deadweight loss and higher than minimum ATC)
Introduc-on to oligopoly • Core concept -‐ interdependence of firm decisions
• Structure – only a few firms
• Interdependence – if one firm lowers its price, others must do the same to keep its customers
• Asymmetry – but if one firm raises price, others won’t and that firm loses customers