Reading 20: Monopolistic Competition and Oligopoly - LOS b

答案和详解如下：

1.When a firm is earning positive economic profits in a monopolistic competitive market, what will most likely occur?

A)   New firms will enter driving down the economic profits to zero.

B)   Losses will occur in the short run.

C)   Price takers will be over run by price searchers.

D)   Accounting profit will be zero in the short run.

The correct answer was A)

New firms will enter a monopolistic competitive market with economic profits above zero and will absorb some market demand. This will shift the demand curve down to the point where price equals average total cost and there are zero economic profits.

2.In the short run, price searchers maximize profits by producing output where marginal revenue (MR):

A)   equals marginal costs (MC) and charging a price based on the average total cost (ATC) curve.

B)   is greater than marginal costs (MC) and charging a price based on the demand curve.

C)   is greater than marginal costs (MC) and charging a price based on the average total cost (ATC) curve.

D)   equals marginal costs (MC) and charging a price based on the demand curve.

The correct answer was D)

Price searchers maximize profits by producing an amount of output where MR equals MC and charging a price based on the demand curve. In the short run, profits or losses occur depending upon where the individual firm’s ATC curve is in relationship to the demand curve. In the long run, economic profits are zero due to the low barriers to entry. Important note for the test: regardless of whether a firm is a price taker, price searcher, monopoly, or oligopoly, all firms will seek to maximize profits and want to produce the ouput where marginal revenue equals marginal cost.