Monopolistic Competition/ Oligopoly
Compared with a perfectly competitive firm, a monopolistically competitive firm's demand curve is
. downward sloping.
Monopolistically competitive firms can earn profits in the long run by
Continually innovating to differentiate their product
Monopolistically competitive firms can earn profits in the long run by:
Continually innovating to differentiate their product.
The long run outcome of the monopolistically competitive firm:
None of these statements is true.
Abstraction is used in economics to
simplify reality so that it may be more easily understood.
The text argues that a result of monopolistic competition is
that consumers pay higher prices than in perfect competition in return for a greater variety of products.
A large difference between a monopolistically competitive firm and a monopoly is:
the ability for competition to enter the market in the long run.
Assuming the firm in the graph is producing Q1 and charging P3, it is likely showing the cost and revenue curves of a firm in
the long run, and economic profits are zero.
If a prisoner's dilemma game is repeated a finite number of times, the optimal strategy in the last period (assuming that all participants know this is the last period) is:
to confess.
In a single-period prisoner's dilemma game, the dominant strategy is
to confess.
In practice, monopolistically competitive markets are
very common.
A dominant strategy is:
when one strategy is always the best for a player to choose, regardless of what other players do.
Firms in a monopolistically competitive industry
will produce a greater variety of products than those in a purely competitive industry
A monopolistically competitive firm's demand curve slopes downward because a differentiated product gives the firm some ability to set prices
True
A monopolistically competitive firm's demand curve slopes downward because a differentiated product gives the firm some ability to set prices.
True
Actions that allow oligopoly firms to coordinate their pricing behavior are called facilitating practices.
True
If a cartel is successful, it will behave as a monopolist and maximize profit at the point at which MR = MC.
True
If a firm were to set its price by determining the average cost of an item and then adding some percentage markup to the cost, it would be practicing cost-plus pricing
True
Monopolistic competition is characterized by many firms selling differentiated products in a market with no barriers to entry or exit
True
Monopolistically and perfectly competitive firms are similar in that, in both markets, firms have long-run economic profits equal to zero.
True
Oligopolists, like monopolists, can arise for similar reasons, such as economies of scale or government regulations.
True
Suppose a monopolistically competitive firm is producing at the profit-maximizing output level and receiving a price that is sufficient to cover only its average variable cost. If average variable cost goes any higher, the firm should shut down
True
The monopolistically competitive firm will charge a price above that of a purely competitive firm and will produce less.
True
The number of firms in an oligopoly industry must be small enough that firms are interdependent in decision making.
True
An outcome in which all players choose the best strategy they can, given the choices of all other players, is called:
a Nash equilibrium.
An oligopoly with two firms is known as:
a duopoly.
In the long run, firms in a monopolistically competitive market operate at
a less-than-efficient scale.
A Nash equilibrium is
an outcome in which all players choose the best strategy they can, given the choices of all other players.
In monopolistic competition, firms
attempt to differentiate their products through advertising or trivial product changes.
Spending a lot on advertising
can act as a credible signal to consumers of high-quality products.
The act of firms working together to make decisions about price and quantity is called
collusion.
If a firm's demand curve in a monopolistically competitive market is shifting left
competition is likely entering with similar products.
Monopolistically competitive firms have an incentive to
create products that have a unique feature that makes it difficult to substitute
Monopolistically competitive firms have an incentive to
create products that have a unique feature that makes it difficult to substitute.
The long run outcome of the monopolistically competitive firm
creates welfare loss.
According to the graph shown, area B represents
deadweight loss.
If the firm in the given graph were to produce Q1 and charge P3, the area B would represent
deadweight loss.
The demand curve facing a monopolistically competitive firm is
downward sloping.
Monopolistic competition is similar to monopoly in that
each firm faces a downward-sloping demand curve.
A cartel agreement is inherently unstable because
each participant can increase its profits by violating the agreement.
A monopolistically competitive firm cannot
earn a positive profit in the long run.
Innovation creates the opportunity to
earn positive economic profits.
In the long run, a profit-maximizing monopolistically competitive firm sells at a price that is
equal to average total cost, but higher than marginal cost
In the long run, a profit-maximizing monopolistically competitive firm sells at a price that is:
equal to average total cost, but higher than marginal cost.
An economic cost associated with monopolistic competition in the long run is:
excess capacity.
Actions that allow oligopoly firms to coordinate their pricing behavior without explicit collusion are called
facilitating practices.
In practice, oligopolistic markets are
fairly common.
If a monopolistically competitive firm's demand curve is shifting left, it will stop shifting only when:
firms stop entering the industry
In a monopolistically competitive market, if economic profits exist in the short run
firms will enter in the long run, resulting in a reduction in the demand facing each existing firm.
If economic losses exist in a monopolistically competitive market,
firms will exit the market and existing firms' demand curves will increase.
One prediction of the model of monopolistic competition is that
firms will have an incentive to locate near each other in order to minimize total travel costs for consumers.
One way for firms to analyze their choices in an oligopoly is by using
game theory.
Standardized products can appear:
in perfectly competitive and oligopoly markets.
For an oligopoly, when the quantity effect outweighs the price effect, the typical firm may find it optimal to
increase output.
In a certain monopolistically competitive market that is characterized by high prices and equally high-quality merchandise, if a firm's competitors begin to successfully introduce new products that cut into the firm's market share, the firm's best counterstrategy is to
introduce its own new products in order to meet competitors head on.
In the prisoners' dilemma game, the dominant strategy for each player
is to confess.
Competition between oligopolists drives
price and profits down to below the monopoly level.
Which of the following characteristics is unique to oligopoly markets?
recognized mutual interdependence.
In monopolistically competitive markets, advertising by firms is used
All of the above
In a monopolistically competitive industry, firms are expected to attempt to
All of the above are correct
In a monopolistically competitive industry, firms are expected to attempt to
All of the above are correct.
Cartels
All of these statements are true.
If a firm in a monopolistically competitive market has a demand curve shifting to the right, it could be that
All of these statements are true.
If producers do not object to banning advertising they:
All of these statements are true.
In the long run, a profit-maximizing monopolistically competitive firm sells at a price that is:
All of these statements are true.
Understanding the market structure is important for
All of these statements are true.
When firms are faced with repeating games, such as the prisoner's dilemma, they:
All of these statements are true.
Advertising
Both of these statements are true.
Consider the monopolistically competitive firm described in the preceding figure. The profit-maximizing output level and price are, respectively,
F and E.
A monopolistically competitive firm maximizes profit at the point at which P = MC.
False
Compared with a perfectly competitive firm in long-run equilibrium, a monopolistically competitive firm will operate on the upward-sloping portion of the ATC curve.
False
Strategic interdependence is an important factor in both oligopolies and monopolistically competitive markets.
False
The monopolistically competitive firm will charge a price above that of a purely competitive firm but will produce more.
False
The short-run equilibrium position for a firm in monopolistic competition is the point at which the firm's marginal-cost curve intersects its marginal-revenue curve from above
False
There are no barriers to entry in oligopolistic markets.
False
A cartel is
a number of firms who collude to make collective production decisions about quantities or prices.
In an oligopoly, when the quantity effect outweighs the price effect
an increase in output may increase the firm's profits.
Monopolistic competition describes a market with
many firms that sell goods and services that are similar, but slightly different.
Oligopoly firms
may produce a standardized or differentiated product.
A market with many firms that sell goods and services that are close substitutes for one another is called
monopolistic competition.
As the number of firms increases in an oligopoly industry increases, it is expected that, at any given output level, the demand curve facing each firm will become
more elastic.
The price effect is smaller when there are
more firms
An oligopoly industry is characterized by:
mutual interdependence.
Oligopoly describes a market with:
only a few sellers.