Market Structures I: Monopoly 14 Market Structures I: Monopoly For use with Mankiw and Taylor, Economics 4th edition 9781473725331 © Cengage EMEA 2017

Imperfect Competition Imperfect competition is where firms differentiate their product in some way and so can have some influence over price. There are different degrees of imperfect competition. At one end of the spectrum is the monopoly. Strictly, a monopoly is a market structure with only one firm and no close substitutes. In reality firms can exercise monopoly power by being the dominant firm in the market. For use with Mankiw and Taylor, Economics 4th edition 9781473725331 © Cengage EMEA 2017

Imperfect Competition Firms might be investigated by regulators if they account for over 25 per cent of market share, because there is a risk that they have too much market power. Market share is the proportion of total sales in a market accounted for by a particular firm. Market power is where a firm is able to raise the price of its product and not lose all its sales to rivals. While a competitive firm is a price taker, a monopoly firm is a price maker. For use with Mankiw and Taylor, Economics 4th edition 9781473725331 © Cengage EMEA 2017

Why Monopolies Arise A monopoly is a firm that is the sole seller of a product without close substitutes. The fundamental cause of monopoly is the presence of barriers to entry. For use with Mankiw and Taylor, Economics 4th edition 9781473725331 © Cengage EMEA 2017

Why Monopolies Arise Barriers to entry have four sources: Ownership of a key resource. The government gives a single firm the exclusive right to produce some good. Costs of production make a single producer more efficient than a large number of producers. A firm is able to gain control of other firms in the market and thus grow in size. For use with Mankiw and Taylor, Economics 4th edition 9781473725331 © Cengage EMEA 2017

Monopoly Resources Although exclusive ownership of a key resource is a potential source of monopoly, in practice monopolies rarely arise for this reason. For use with Mankiw and Taylor, Economics 4th edition 9781473725331 © Cengage EMEA 2017

Government-Created Monopolies Governments may restrict entry by giving a single firm the exclusive right to sell a particular good in certain markets. Patent and copyright laws are two important examples of how government creates a monopoly to serve the public interest. Laws governing patents and copyrights have benefits and costs. The benefits are the increased incentive for creative activity must be set against…. Costs of monopoly pricing. For use with Mankiw and Taylor, Economics 4th edition 9781473725331 © Cengage EMEA 2017

Natural Monopolies An industry is a natural monopoly when a single firm can supply a good or service to an entire market at a smaller cost than could two or more firms. A natural monopoly occurs when there are economies of scale, implying that average total cost falls as the firm’s scale becomes larger. For use with Mankiw and Taylor, Economics 4th edition 9781473725331 © Cengage EMEA 2017

Figure 1 Economies of Scale as a Cause of Monopoly Cost Average total cost Quantity of Output

How Monopolies Make Production And Pricing Decisions The key difference between a competitive firm and a monopoly is the monopoly's ability to control price. A monopoly faces a downward sloping demand curve A monopoly can increase price and not lose all its sales. For use with Mankiw and Taylor, Economics 4th edition 9781473725331 © Cengage EMEA 2017

Figure 2 Demand Curves for Competitive and Monopoly Firms (a) A Competitive Firm ’ s Demand Curve (b) A Monopolist ’ s Demand Curve Price Price Demand Demand Quantity of Output Quantity of Output

Monopoly versus Competition Is the sole producer Faces a downward-sloping demand curve Is a price maker Reduces price to increase sales Competitive Firm Is one of many producers Faces a horizontal demand curve Is a price taker Sells as much or as little at same price For use with Mankiw and Taylor, Economics 4th edition 9781473725331 © Cengage EMEA 2017

A Monopoly’s Revenue Total Revenue P  Q = TR Average Revenue TR/Q = AR = P Marginal Revenue DTR/DQ = MR For use with Mankiw and Taylor, Economics 4th edition 9781473725331 © Cengage EMEA 2017

Table 1 A Monopoly’s Total, Average, and Marginal Revenue

A Monopoly’s Revenue A Monopoly’s Marginal Revenue A monopolist’s marginal revenue is always less than the price of its good. The demand curve is downward sloping. When a monopoly drops the price to sell one more unit, the revenue received from previously sold units also decreases. When a monopoly increases the amount it sells, it has two effects on total revenue (P  Q). The output effect—more output is sold, so Q is higher. The price effect—price falls, so P is lower. For use with Mankiw and Taylor, Economics 4th edition 9781473725331 © Cengage EMEA 2017

Figure 3 Demand and Marginal Revenue Curves for a Monopoly Price €11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 Demand (average revenue) 2 Marginal revenue 1 –1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Quantity of Water –2 –3 –4

Profit Maximization A monopoly maximizes profit by producing the quantity at which marginal revenue equals marginal cost. It then uses the demand curve to find the price that will induce consumers to buy that quantity. For use with Mankiw and Taylor, Economics 4th edition 9781473725331 © Cengage EMEA 2017

Figure 4 Profit Maximization for a Monopoly Costs and 2. . . . and then the demand curve shows the price consistent with this quantity. Revenue 1. The intersection of the marginal-revenue curve and the marginal-cost curve determines the profit-maximizing quantity . . . Marginal revenue Demand Monopoly price QMAX B Marginal cost Average total cost A Q Q Quantity

Profit Maximization Comparing Monopoly and Competition For a competitive firm, price equals marginal cost. P = MR = MC For a monopoly firm, price exceeds marginal cost. P > MR = MC For use with Mankiw and Taylor, Economics 4th edition 9781473725331 © Cengage EMEA 2017

A Monopoly’s Profit Profit equals total revenue minus total costs. Profit = TR - TC Profit = (TR/Q - TC/Q)  Q Profit = (P - ATC)  Q For use with Mankiw and Taylor, Economics 4th edition 9781473725331 © Cengage EMEA 2017

Figure 5 The Monopolist’s Profit Costs and Revenue Marginal revenue Demand Marginal cost Monopoly price QMAX B C E D Monopoly profit Average total cost Average total cost Quantity

A Monopolist’s Profit The monopolist will receive economic profits as long as price is greater than average total cost. For use with Mankiw and Taylor, Economics 4th edition 9781473725331 © Cengage EMEA 2017

The Welfare Cost Of Monopoly In contrast to a competitive firm, the monopoly charges a price above the marginal cost. From the standpoint of consumers, this high price makes monopoly undesirable. However, from the standpoint of the owners of the firm, the high price makes monopoly very desirable. For use with Mankiw and Taylor, Economics 4th edition 9781473725331 © Cengage EMEA 2017

Figure 6 The Efficient Level of Output Price Marginal cost Demand (value to buyers) Value to buyers Cost to monopolist Efficient quantity Cost to monopolist Value to buyers Quantity Value to buyers is greater than cost to seller. Value to buyers is less than cost to seller.

The Deadweight Loss Because a monopoly sets its price above marginal cost, it places a wedge between the consumer’s willingness to pay and the producer’s cost. This wedge causes the quantity sold to fall short of the social optimum. For use with Mankiw and Taylor, Economics 4th edition 9781473725331 © Cengage EMEA 2017

Figure 7 The Inefficiency of Monopoly Price Marginal revenue Demand Marginal cost Deadweight loss Monopoly price quantity Efficient quantity Quantity

The Deadweight Loss The Inefficiency of Monopoly The monopolist produces less than the socially efficient quantity of output. The deadweight loss caused by a monopoly is similar to the deadweight loss caused by a tax. The difference between the two cases is that the government gets the revenue from a tax, whereas a private firm gets the monopoly profit. For use with Mankiw and Taylor, Economics 4th edition 9781473725331 © Cengage EMEA 2017