Consider the following statements:
Statement 1: “A natural monopoly exists when economies of scale are so pronounced that all of an industry’s demand should be supplied by one firm.”
Statement 2: “Monopoly is characterized by a single seller of a distinct product for which no good substitutes exist.”
Statement 3: “Average cost pricing is a form of regulation that is intended to force monopolists to reduce output to the point where the monopolist’s average total cost curve intersects its marginal cost curve.”
Which of the following best describes the accuracy of these statements?
|
Statement 1 |
Statement 2 |
Statement 3 |
A) |
Correct |
Correct |
Incorrect | | |
B) |
Correct |
Incorrect |
Correct | | |
C) |
Incorrect |
Correct |
Incorrect | | |
Statement 3 is incorrect because average cost pricing attempts to force the monopolist to produce where the average total cost curve intersects the demand curve and to charge a price equal to ATC. |