中级微观经济学——理论与应用（第10版）（经济学经典教材·双语教学用书） 作者 尼克尔森等 著 0324319681_67675.pptVIP

Part 6 Market Power Chapter 13 Monopoly Causes of Monopoly Barriers to Entry Technical Barriers to Entry Natural Monopoly Legal Barriers to Entry Profit Maximization To maximize profits, a monopoly will chose the output at which marginal revenue equals marginal costs. The demand curve is downward-sloping so marginal revenue is less than price. To sell more, the firm must lower its price on all units to be sold in order to generate the extra demand. A Graphic Treatment A monopoly will produce an output level in which price exceeds marginal cost. Q* is the profit maximizing output level in Figure 13-1. If a firm produced less than Q*, the loss in revenue (MR) will exceed the reduction in costs (MC) so profits would decline. FIGURE 13-1: Profit Maximization and Price Determination in a Monopoly Market A Graphical Treatment The increase in costs (MC)would exceed the gain in revenue (MR) if output exceeds Q*. Hence, profits are maximized when MR = MC. Given output level Q*, the firm chooses P* on the demand curve because that is what consumers are willing to pay for Q*. The market equilibrium is P*, Q*. Monopoly Supply Curve With a fixed market demand curve, the supply “curve” for a monopoly is the one point where MR = MC (point E in Figure 13-1.) If the demand curve shifts, the marginal revenue curve will also shift and a new profit maximizing output will be chosen. Unlike perfect competition, these output, price points do not represent a supply curve. Monopoly Profits Monopoly profits are shown as the area of the rectangle P*EAC in Figure 13-1. Profits equal (P - AC)Q*, If price exceeds average cost at Q* 0, profits will be positive. Since entry is prohibited, these profits can exits in the long run. Monopoly Rents Monopoly rents: profits a monopolist earns in the long run. These profits are a return to the factor that forms the basis of the monopoly. Patent, favorable location, license, etc.. Others might be willing to pay up to the amount of this rent to operate