Download - Econ 201
![Page 1: Econ 201](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022062321/568137ed550346895d9fa678/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Econ 201
Chpt 14:
Perfect Competition
1
![Page 2: Econ 201](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022062321/568137ed550346895d9fa678/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
Overview of Market Structures
Quick Reference to Basic Market Structures
Market Structure Seller Entry Barriers Seller Number Buyer Entry Barriers Buyer Number
Perfect Competition No Many No Many
Monopolistic competition No Many No Many
Oligopoly Yes Few No Many
Oligopsony No Many Yes Few
Monopoly Yes One No Many
Monopsony No Many Yes One
2
![Page 3: Econ 201](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022062321/568137ed550346895d9fa678/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
Overview• market structure describes the state of a market with respect to
competition.• The major market forms are:
– Perfect competition, in which the market consists of a very large number of firms producing a homogeneous product.
– Monopolistic competition, also called competitive market, where there are a large number of independent firms which have a very small proportion of the market share.
– Oligopoly, in which a market is dominated by a small number of firms which own more than 40% of the market share.
– Oligopsony, a market dominated by many sellers and a few buyers. – Monopoly, where there is only one provider of a product or service. – Natural monopoly, a monopoly in which economies of scale cause
efficiency to increase continuously with the size of the firm. – Monopsony, when there is only one buyer in a market.
3
![Page 4: Econ 201](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022062321/568137ed550346895d9fa678/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
Basic Assumptions• Atomicity
– There is a large number of small producers and consumers on a given market,• each so small that its actions have no significant impact on others.
– Firms are price takers, meaning that the market sets the price that they must choose. • Homogeneity
– Goods and services are perfect substitutes; that is, there is no product differentiation. (All firms sell an identical product)
• Perfect and complete information – All firms and consumers know the prices set by all firms
• Equal access – All firms have access to production technologies, and resources are perfectly mobile.
• Free entry – Any firm may enter or exit the market as it wishes (no barriers to entry).
• Individual buyers and sellers act independently – The market is such that there is no scope for groups of buyers and/or sellers to come
together to change the market price (collusion and cartels are not possible under this market structure)
• Behavioral assumptions of perfect competition are that:– Consumers aim to maximize utility – Producers aim to maximize profits.
4
![Page 5: Econ 201](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022062321/568137ed550346895d9fa678/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
Firm’s Output/Supply Decision
• In the short-run – MC curve >= min(AVC)
5
![Page 6: Econ 201](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022062321/568137ed550346895d9fa678/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
The Shut-down Point (price)
6
![Page 7: Econ 201](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022062321/568137ed550346895d9fa678/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
Short-run Profitability• In the short-run, it’s possible for a firm (or
firm’s) to earn above a normal rate of return (or an economic profit)
7
![Page 8: Econ 201](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022062321/568137ed550346895d9fa678/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
Long-run Profitability• Positive economic profit cannot
be sustained– Entry of new firms causes:
• Market supply curve to shift to the right
• Lowering the market equilibrium price and
• Lowering each firm’s demand curve (or constant price)
– In the long run, the firm will make only normal profit (zero economic profit). Its horizontal demand curve will touch its average total cost
curve at its lowest point
8
![Page 9: Econ 201](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022062321/568137ed550346895d9fa678/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
In the long-run, entry will dissipate short-run economic profits
9
![Page 10: Econ 201](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022062321/568137ed550346895d9fa678/html5/thumbnails/10.jpg)
How Can There Be Short-run Profitability?
• In the short-run, different firms may have different scale/technology – Operate in different parts of the LRAC– In the long-run - all will adopt least cost
10
![Page 11: Econ 201](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022062321/568137ed550346895d9fa678/html5/thumbnails/11.jpg)
Top Pot Donuts
• On April 8, Top Pot is slated to be in all company-owned Starbucks Corp. stores in 50 states, the companies said Thursday.
• "This is a big, big leap for us and something we are really proud of," said Mark Klebeck, one of Top Pot's three co-founders.
• Klebeck said Top Pot currently is in about 5,000 Starbucks locations in 25 states.
• Starbucks, at the end of last year, had 7,087 company-owned stores in the U.S., but it was not disclosed how many stores would be operating in April as the company is slowing down its growth. Starbucks had an additional 4,081 licensed stores and has more than 15,000 stores worldwide.
11
![Page 12: Econ 201](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022062321/568137ed550346895d9fa678/html5/thumbnails/12.jpg)
Strategy and Policy
• Firms would prefer to avoid perfect competition.
– Firms become victims of their own efficiency.
– In the short-run, if one firm adopts a cost-savings technology -> short-run economic profits
– In the long-run -> others will imitate and reduce their costs
• Price-taker -> can’t affect market price
– No control over it’s (firm’s) demand
12
![Page 13: Econ 201](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022062321/568137ed550346895d9fa678/html5/thumbnails/13.jpg)
What Do Economist LikeAbout Perfect Competition?
• Perfectly Competitive Markets – Allocative efficient and productive efficient
13
![Page 14: Econ 201](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022062321/568137ed550346895d9fa678/html5/thumbnails/14.jpg)
Pareto Efficiency
• Allocative Efficiency:– When price is equal to its marginal costs
• Consumers’ (marginal) value of last (marginal) unit equals the resource’s marginal cost
• Opportunity costs (value) of alternative use of resource is given by marginal cost
• Productive Efficiency– Goods are produced at minimum cost
• In the long-run: competitive firms produce at minimum of LRAC
– Economic welfare is maximized• Sum of consumer and producer surplus
• Technological Innovation
14
![Page 15: Econ 201](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022062321/568137ed550346895d9fa678/html5/thumbnails/15.jpg)
The Long-Run Supply Curve
• Consider an increase in demand:
– The increase in demand leads to an increase in price.
– The higher price causes firms to earn an economic profit.
– Economic profits cause new firms to enter the market.
– As new firms enter, the price falls.
15
![Page 16: Econ 201](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022062321/568137ed550346895d9fa678/html5/thumbnails/16.jpg)
Long-Run Supply Curves
• Types– Constant cost -> no change in price– Decreasing cost -> price will fall– Increasing cost -> price will increase
16
![Page 17: Econ 201](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022062321/568137ed550346895d9fa678/html5/thumbnails/17.jpg)
Dynamics
• What does the supply expansion path tell us about industry costs?
17
![Page 18: Econ 201](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022062321/568137ed550346895d9fa678/html5/thumbnails/18.jpg)
The Long-Run Supply Curve in an Constant-Cost Industry
• An constant-cost industry is an industry in which production costs remain unchanged as the industry expands.– As a result, price is driven back down to the initial
level by the entry of new firms.
18
![Page 19: Econ 201](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022062321/568137ed550346895d9fa678/html5/thumbnails/19.jpg)
The Long-Run Supply Curve in a Constant-Cost Industry
19
![Page 20: Econ 201](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022062321/568137ed550346895d9fa678/html5/thumbnails/20.jpg)
The Long-Run Supply Curve in an Increasing-Cost Industry
• An increasing-cost industry is an industry in which production costs increase as the industry expands.– As a result, price cannot be driven back down to the
initial level by the entry of new firms.
20
![Page 21: Econ 201](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022062321/568137ed550346895d9fa678/html5/thumbnails/21.jpg)
The Long-Run Supply Curve in an Decreasing-Cost Industry
• A decreasing-cost industry is an industry in which production costs decrease as the industry expands.– As a result, price will be driven below the initial level
by the entry of new firms.
21
![Page 22: Econ 201](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022062321/568137ed550346895d9fa678/html5/thumbnails/22.jpg)
The Long-Run Supply Curve in Increasing- and Decreasing-Cost
Industries
22
![Page 23: Econ 201](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022062321/568137ed550346895d9fa678/html5/thumbnails/23.jpg)
Dynamics
• Expansion path tells us in which portion of the cost curve the industry operates in
23
![Page 24: Econ 201](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022062321/568137ed550346895d9fa678/html5/thumbnails/24.jpg)
Summary
• Perfect competition is the least concentrated of the four market structures.
• The model of perfect competition assumes a large number of buyers and sellers, an identical product, perfect information, and freedom of entry and exit.
• Perfectly competitive firms are price takers.
24
![Page 25: Econ 201](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022062321/568137ed550346895d9fa678/html5/thumbnails/25.jpg)
Summary (cont’d)
• Perfectly competitive firms maximize profit by producing the level of output for which marginal revenue equals marginal cost.
• A perfectly competitive firm’s supply curve is the portion of the short-run MC curve above AVC.– The market supply curve is found by summing the
individual firms’ supply curves.
25
![Page 26: Econ 201](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022062321/568137ed550346895d9fa678/html5/thumbnails/26.jpg)
Summary (cont’d)
• In the long run, perfectly competitive firms earn zero economic profits.
• The long-run supply curve shows the quantity that all firms are willing to supply at different prices.
26