List the three different ways in which oligopoly firms may have.
Oligopoly firms may behave in the following three ways:
1) Cartel - In order to avoid undue competition, oligopolistic firms may engage in formal agreements or contracts. This will not only allow them to maximise their total profits together, but also capture a significant market portion.
2) Informal understanding - Each firm may decide on its own, how much units of output are to be produced for maximising its individual profit, assuming that other firms would not change their strategies and decisions regarding the units of output to be produced.
3) Advertisement and differentiated product - It may happen that the firms realise that price competition will leave them nowhere and consequently they emphasise more on advertising their products. It will enable them to capture the minds of consumers and indirectly increase their market portion.
Will the monopolist firm continue to produce in the short run if a loss is incurred at the best short run level of output?
A monopoly firm has a total fixed cost of Rs 100 and has the following demand schedule:
Quantity |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
Marginal Revenue |
100 |
90 |
80 |
70 |
60 |
50 |
40 |
30 |
20 |
10 |
Find the short run equilibrium quantity, price and total profit. What would be the equilibrium in the long run? In case the total cost is Rs.1000, describe the equilibrium in the short run and in the long run.
Comment on the shape of MR curve in case when TR curve is a
(a) Positively sloped straight line
(b) Horizontal straight line
From the schedule provided below calculate the total revenue, demand curve and the price elasticity of demand:
Quantity |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
Marginal Revenue |
10 |
6 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
- |
What is meant by prices being rigid? How can oligopoly behavior lead to such an outcome?
If duo poly behavior is one that is described by Cornet, the market demand curve is given by the equation q = 200 - 4p and both the firms have zero costs, find the quantity supplied by each firm in equilibrium and the equilibrium market price.
The market demand curve for a commodity and the total cost for a monopoly firm producing the commodity are given in the schedules below.
Quantity |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
Price |
52 |
44 |
37 |
31 |
26 |
22 |
19 |
16 |
13 |
Quantity |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
Price |
10 |
60 |
90 |
100 |
102 |
105 |
109 |
115 |
125 |
Use the information given to calculate the following:
(a) The MIR and MC schedules
(b) The quantities for which MIR and MC are equal
(c) The equilibrium quantity of output and the equilibrium price of the commodity
(d) The total revenue, total cost and total profit in the equilibrium
What would be the shape of the demand curve so that the total revenue curve is?
(a) A positively sloped straight line passing through the origin?
(b) A horizontal line?
If the monopolist firm of Exercise 3 was a public sector firm. The government set a rule for its manager to accept the government fixed price as given (i.e. to be a price taker and therefore behave as a firm in a perfectly competitive market). And the government has decided to set the price so that demand and supply in the market are equal. What would be the equilibrium price, quantity and profit in this case?
Explain why the demand curve facing a firm under monopolistic competition is negatively sloped.
Explain the concept of a production function
Explain market equilibrium.
Discuss the central problems of an economy.
What are the characteristics of a perfectly competitive market?
What do you mean by the budget set of a consumer?
What is the total product of input?
When do we say that there is an excess demand for a commodity in the market?
What do you mean by the production possibilities of an economy?
How are the total revenue of a firm, market price, and the quantity sold by the firm related to each other?
What is budget line?
At which point does the SMC curve intersect the SAC curve? Give a reason in support of your answer.
Consider a market where there are just two consumers and suppose their demands for the good are given as follows:
Calculate the market demand for the good.
p |
d1 |
d2 |
1 |
9 |
24 |
2 |
8 |
20 |
3 |
7 |
18 |
4 |
6 |
16 |
5 |
5 |
14 |
6 |
4 |
12 |
What does the average fixed cost curve look like? Why does it look so?
Briefly explain the concept of the cost function.
What are the average fixed cost, average variable cost and average cost of a firm? How are they related?
What do you mean by substitutes? Give examples of two goods which are substitutes of each other.
Can you think of any commodity on which the price ceiling is imposed in India? What may be the consequence of price-ceiling?
Using supply and demand curves show how an increase in the price of shoes affects the price of a pair of socks and the number of pairs of socks bought and sold.
Will a profit-maximising firm in a competitive market produce a positive level of output in the short run if the market price is less than the minimum of AVC? Give an explanation.
Explain how price is determined in a perfectly competitive market with a fixed number of firms.