Microeconomics I

Fiches de réveisions

Fiches de réveisions


Kartei Details

Karten 336
Sprache English
Kategorie VWL
Stufe Universität
Erstellt / Aktualisiert 28.05.2019 / 02.03.2025
Weblink
https://card2brain.ch/box/20190528_microeconomics_i
Einbinden
<iframe src="https://card2brain.ch/box/20190528_microeconomics_i/embed" width="780" height="150" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe>

Short-run implications for taxation: graph

In a short-run equilibrium, the burden of a sales or an excise tax is typically shared by both buyers and sellers, tax incidence of the tax depending upon the own-price elasticities of demand and supply

Long-run implication for taxation: graph

Long-run fixed cost

An input (e.g. an operating license) that is fixed in the long-run causes a long-run fixed cost, F

Fixed inputs and economic rent: graph

Economic rent is 

the payment for an input that is in excess of the minimum payment required to have that input supplied

Monopoly VS perfect competition

Perfect Competition        Monopoly
Many small sellers           One seller
Price-taking sellers          Price-making seller
Many small buyers (price Many small buyers (price takers)

takers)
Homogeneous products No other product
Sellers do not behave      Sellers do not behave strategically

strategically
Free entry                          No entry
Monika Mrazov´ a´ Micro I: Monopoly

Profit maximization

Profit maximization and marginal revenue

Profit maximization and demand elasticity

Suppose the monopolist’s marginal cost of production is constant, at $k/output unit
How does the price charged by the monopolist vary with the own-price elasticity of demand?

Example: Linear Demand and Monopoly
Suppose that the monopolist faces a linear demand curve: p(y) = a - by

Markup pricing

Application: Impact of Taxes on a Monopolist
Consider a monopolist with constant marginal cost. What
happens to the market price when a quantity tax is imposed?
I If the monopolist faces a linear demand

I If the monopolist faces a constant-elasticity demand

What if a profits tax is imposed?

A market is Pareto efficient if

it achieves the maximum possible total gains-to-trade
Otherwise a market is Pareto inefficient

Efficient output level

The efficient output level yc satisfies p(y) = MC (y)
Total gains-to-trade is maximized

Monopoly: Inefficiency and Deadweight Loss

A natural monopoly arises when

the firm’s technology has economies-of-scale large enough for it to supply the whole market at a lower average total production cost than is possible with more than one firm in the market.

Minimum efficient scale

Minimum efficient scale

Entry Deterrence by a Natural Monopoly

First-degree price discrimination (perfect price discrimination)

different units of output are sold for different prices and these prices may differ from person to person

Second-degree price discrimination

different units of output sold for different prices, but every individual who buys the same amount pays the same price

Third-degree price discrimination

output sold to different people at different prices, but every unit sold to a given person sells for the same price

First-Degree Price Discrimination and Efficiency

The monopolist captures all surplus (the monopolist gets the maximum possible gains from trade)
The consumers’ gains are zero
First-degree price discrimination is Pareto-efficient (efficient amount of output is supplied)

Second-Degree Price Discrimination details

Consumers are discriminated according to an unobservable characteristic: their prefereces ! The monopolist gives the consumers an incentive to self select (screening by self-selection)

Second-Degree Price Discrimination: examples

I ‘Non-linear pricing’
I Quantity discounts
I Quality differentiation (first class vs second class...)
I High deductible and low premium vs fuller coverage with higher premium for insurance

Third-Degree Price Discrimination: examples

Student discounts, senior citizens’ discounts etc.

Third degree price discrimination: first order condition problem

Third-Degree Price Discrimination: Elasticity of Demand

Third-Degree Price Discrimination: Linear Demands
Suppose that a monopolist producing at zero marginal cost faces two markets with linear demand curves:

Third-Degree Price Discrimination: global exercise

Two-parts tariffs

Large number of firms selling identical products

demand curve facing any one of the firms is essentially flat (i.e. each firm must sell its product for whatever price the other firms are charging)

product differentiation

Firms selling similar but not identical products
! they may be able to raise their price
! the more a product is differentiated from the other products, the more monopoly power the firm has