Economics 【Reading 16】Sample 2012, following, only, perfect

dkishore1

Which of the following is a characteristic of perfect competition?

A) There are no barriers to entry into the market.

B) The products of different firms are sold at different prices.

C) There are a few sellers.

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The only true statement listed in the question is that, under perfect competition there are no barriers to entry into the market. Each of the other possible answers is not a characteristic of perfect competition. While the competitors can earn positive economic profits in the short-run, they cannot earn long term economic profits due to ease of entry and exit.

dkishore1

Which of the following is least likely a condition of a perfectly competitive market?

A) Indistinguishable products.

B) Sellers make economic profits.

C) Firms face elastic demand curves.

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The only item listed that is NOT a condition of a perfectly competitive market is that sellers make economic profits. In fact, sellers do not make economic profit after taking into account their opportunity costs.

dkishore1

The demand curve for a firm in a perfectly competitive market is:

A) horizontal.

B) upward sloping.

C) downward sloping.

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In a market of perfect competition an individual firm’s demand schedule is perfectly elastic (horizontal).

dkishore1

Which of the following is least likely a characteristic of perfect competition?

A) The size of each firm is small relative to the size of the overall market.

B) The products produced within a given market are homogenous.

C) The demand curve for an individual firm is a vertical line.

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Under perfect competition individual firms have no control over price resulting in a demand schedule that is perfectly elastic or horizontal.

dkishore1

A perfect competition has all of the following characteristics EXCEPT:

A) a differentiated product.

B) barriers to entry don't exist.

C) a large number of independent firms.

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In a perfectly competitive market all the firms produce a homogeneous product.

dkishore1

A firm operating as a price taker will:

A) produce quantity where P = MR = MC.

B) be a revenue maximizer.

C) face an inelastic demand curve.

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A firm operating as a price taker will produce quantity where MC = MR. It will maximize profit and not revenue. In the long run, it will make zero economic profits after taking into account fair return on capital.

dkishore1

Which of the following is least likely a barrier to entry?

A) Resource controls.

B) Price controls.

C) Economies of scale.

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Often barriers to entry are government licensing and legal barriers.

JonnyKay

Which one of the following is most likely to contribute to the presence of monopoly in an industry?

A) Legal barriers to entry into the industry.

B) Inefficiency attributable to bureaucratic decision-making procedures in the industry.

C) Diseconomies of scale.

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An example of an industry with legal barriers is utility firms, which are granted exclusive rights to supply electricity in certain areas.

JonnyKay

Consider the following statements:
Statement 1: “The sum of consumer and producer surpluses is maximized under both monopoly and perfect competition.”
Statement 2: “All else being equal, a monopolist that practices price discrimination will be more allocatively efficient than a single-price monopolist.”
With respect to these statements:

A) both of these statements are accurate.

B) neither of these statements is accurate.

C) only one of these statements is accurate.

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Statement 1 is incorrect because the sum of consumer and producer surpluses is maximized under perfect competition when marginal benefit and marginal cost are equal, or equivalently, where the marginal cost curve intersects the demand curve. Monopolies, however, produce a quantity that is less than the quantity where marginal cost equals marginal benefit, so the sum of producer and consumer surpluses is not maximized.

JonnyKay

Which of the following is least likely a barrier to entry?

A) Few sellers.

B) Economies of scale.

C) Government licensing and legal barriers.

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Few sellers are a characteristic, not a barrier, of a price-searcher market where there are high barriers to entry. Other barriers are patents or exclusive rights of production.