A monopolist hires you to design its pricing policy. After month of doing market research you realize that the own-price elasticity is not the same for different groups of consumers in the market.   (a) If group (a) has an own-price elasticity of 2.16 and group (b) 1.26. Assuming that the firm can directly observe an indicator of belonging to groups (a) and (b), what degree of price-discrimination can the monopolist implement? which group will end up paying more?   (b) Will producer's surplus increase or decrease with price discrimination? what about consumer surplus? (consider single pricing vs price discrimination)   (c) If a you get hold of a magic crystal ball that tells you the exact willingness to pay of each consumer. What type of price discrimination can the monopolist use to maximize profits? is this strategy “efficient” from the point of view of total surplus? are consumers better-off or worse-off?

Micro Economics For Today
10th Edition
ISBN:9781337613064
Author:Tucker, Irvin B.
Publisher:Tucker, Irvin B.
Chapter9: Monopoly
Section: Chapter Questions
Problem 20SQ
icon
Related questions
Question
A monopolist hires you to design its pricing policy. After month of doing market research you realize that the own-price elasticity is not the same for different groups of consumers in the market.
 
(a) If group (a) has an own-price elasticity of 2.16 and group (b) 1.26. Assuming that the firm can directly observe an indicator of belonging to groups (a) and (b), what degree of price-discrimination can the monopolist implement? which group will end up paying more?
 
(b) Will producer's surplus increase or decrease with price discrimination? what about consumer surplus? (consider single pricing vs price discrimination)
 
(c) If a you get hold of a magic crystal ball that tells you the exact willingness to pay of each consumer. What type of price discrimination can the monopolist use to maximize profits? is this strategy “efficient” from the point of view of total surplus? are consumers better-off or worse-off? (Hint: A graph can greatly clarify this part.)
Expert Solution
steps

Step by step

Solved in 2 steps

Blurred answer
Knowledge Booster
Price Discrimination
Learn more about
Need a deep-dive on the concept behind this application? Look no further. Learn more about this topic, economics and related others by exploring similar questions and additional content below.
Similar questions
  • SEE MORE QUESTIONS
Recommended textbooks for you
Micro Economics For Today
Micro Economics For Today
Economics
ISBN:
9781337613064
Author:
Tucker, Irvin B.
Publisher:
Cengage,
Economics For Today
Economics For Today
Economics
ISBN:
9781337613040
Author:
Tucker
Publisher:
Cengage Learning
Survey Of Economics
Survey Of Economics
Economics
ISBN:
9781337111522
Author:
Tucker, Irvin B.
Publisher:
Cengage,