竞争市场中的厂商.pdf

Chapter 14 Chapter 14 Firms In Firms In Competitive Markets Competitive Markets • If your local gas station raised the price it charges for gasoline by 20 percent, it would see a large drop in the amount of gasoline it sold. Its customers would quickly switch to buying their gasoline at other gas stations. • By contrast, if your local water company raised the price of water by 20 percent, it would see only a small decrease in the amount of water it sold. People might water their lawns less often and buy more water-efficient shower heads, but they would be hard pressed to reduce water consumption greatly and would be unlikely to find another supplier. • The difference between the gasoline market and the water market is obvious: There are many firms pumping gasoline, but there is only one firm pumping water. As you might expect, this difference in market structure shapes the pricing and production decisions of the firms that operate in these markets. 14.1 What Is A Competitive Market? • A perfectly competitive market has the following characteristics: 1. There are many buyers and sellers in the market. 2. The goods offered by the various sellers are largely the same (homogeneous ie identical). 3. Firms can freely or exit the market. (there are no barriers to entry into or exit from the industry). 4. There is perfect knowledge. Firms and buyers are completely informed about the product prices of each firm in the industry. 5. The factors of production are completely mobile. 14.1 What Is A Competitive Market? • As a result of its characteristics, the perfectly competitive market has the following outcomes: • The action of any single buyer or seller in the market have a negligible impact on the mar