Consider the electricity industry, in which there are very large fixed costs but also in which variable costs are directly proportional to total output so that the marginal cost of each unit produced is small and constant.    a) Assuming that one firm has an electricity monopoly, draw a diagram that shows the price the monopolist charges and the quantity the monopolist sells at this price. Be sure to include marginal cost, average total cost, marginal revenue, and demand curves in your diagram.   What happens if the electricity industry is perfectly competitive? More specifically, let us assume that the marginal cost curve from part (a) is equal to the perfectly competitive market supply curve. In this case, show in a diagram what the perfectly competitive equilibrium price and quantity in this industry are. What will happen to the number of firms producing electricity in the long run? What does this say about the desirability of monopoly vs. perfect competition in this industry? Please explain your answer.

Microeconomic Theory
12th Edition
ISBN:9781337517942
Author:NICHOLSON
Publisher:NICHOLSON
Chapter14: Monopoly
Section: Chapter Questions
Problem 14.9P
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Consider the electricity industry, in which there are very large fixed costs but also in which variable costs are directly proportional to total output so that the marginal cost of each unit produced is small and constant. 

 

a) Assuming that one firm has an electricity monopoly, draw a diagram that shows the price the monopolist charges and the quantity the monopolist sells at this price. Be sure to include marginal cost, average total cost, marginal revenue, and demand curves in your diagram.

 

What happens if the electricity industry is perfectly competitive? More specifically, let us assume that the marginal cost curve from part (a) is equal to the perfectly competitive market supply curve. In this case, show in a diagram what the perfectly competitive equilibrium price and quantity in this industry are. What will happen to the number of firms producing electricity in the long run? What does this say about the desirability of monopoly vs. perfect competition in this industry? Please explain your answer.

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