Chapter 8: Q14 (page 212)
How does a perfectly competitive firm decide what price to charge?
Perfect Competition firm decides price to charge, as determined by industry according to Market Demand and Market Supply.
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In the argument for why perfect competition is allocatively efficient, the price that people are willing to pay represents the gains to society and the marginal cost to the firm represents the costs to society. Can you think of some social costs or issues that are not included in the marginal cost to the firm? Or some social gains that are not included in what people pay for a good?
A single firm in a perfectly competitive market is relatively small compared to the rest of the market. What does this mean? How “small” is “small”?
The AAA Aquarium Co. sells aquariums for \(20 each. Fixed costs of production are \)20. The total variable costs are \(20 for one aquarium, \)25 for two units, \(35 for the three units, \)50 for four units, and $80 for five units. In the form of a table, calculate total revenue, marginal revenue, total cost, and marginal cost for each output level (one to five units). What is the profit-maximizing quantity of output? On one diagram, sketch the total revenue and total cost curves. On another diagram, sketch the marginal revenue and marginal cost curves.
Assuming that the market for cigarettes is in perfect competition, what does allocative and productive efficiency imply in this case? What does it not imply?
Firms in a perfectly competitive market are said to be “price takers”—that is, once the market determines an equilibrium price for the product, firms must accept this price. If you sell a product in a perfectly competitive market, but you are not happy with its price, would you raise the price, even by a cent?
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