Firms in Competitive Markets Flashcards
What is a perfectly competitive market?
A market with many buyers/sellers trading identical products so that EACH buyer and seller are price takers.
Are there barriers for firms to enter in a perfectly competitive market?
No
When should a firm shut down?
Total Revenue < Variable cost
In a perfectly competitve market
Price = Average Revenue = Marginal revenue
To maximize profit, perfectly competitve firms find the level of output such that
Marginal Cost = Marginal Revenue
In the long run equilibrium, the marginal firm has
Price equal to Average Total Cost
How low can the price go until the firm decided to shutdown?
At the minimum Average Variable Cost
If Price is less than Average Total Cost, then
All economic profits are positive
In the long run, firms in a competitive market will have
zero economic profit
If demand increases, price will
Rise in the short run. Some firms will enter the industry
If demand decreases, price will
Price will then fall to reach the new long-run equilibrium