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Creahan's Monopoly Intro
McConnell 19E Chaps 10-13
75
Economics
Undergraduate 1
04/16/2012

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Term
Where does pure monopoly exist?
Definition
When a single firm is the sole producer of a product for which there are no close substitutes.
Term
Main characteristics of pure monopoly?
Definition
It's a: Single Seller (is the industry), No Close Substiutes, Price Maker (control supply), Blocked entry, Nonprice competition
Term
Barriers to entry
Definition
factors that prohibit firms from entering an industry
Term
Natural Monopoly
Definition
high fixed costs; large economies of scale & 1 firm meets market with lowest price
Term
Profit Maximization (PM)
Definition
output price determination; no supply curve
Term
PM
Definition
(P - ATC) (Q)
Term
Price Discrimination
Definition
charges buyer highest price as possible results in imbalance
Term
Socially Optimal Price
Definition
P = MC
Term
Fair return price
Definition
P= ATC
Term
Pure competition is effective
Definition
CS + PS is maximized
Term
monopolistic competition
Definition
-large number of firms
-differentiated products
-competition on quality, product price, and marketing
-free to enter and exit industry
Term
product differentiation
Definition
each firm makes a product that is slightly different from the products of competing firms.
Term
the firm's short-run and output decision
Definition
A firm that has decided the quality of its product and its marketing program produces the profit maximizing
quantity at which its marginal revenue equals its marginal cost (MR = MC).

Price is determined from the demand curve for the firm's product and is the highest price the firm can charge for the profit-maximizing quantity.
Term
long run: zero-economic profit
Definition
In the long run, economic profit induces entry.
And entry continues as long as firms in the industry earn an economic profit—as long as (P > ATC).

In the long run, a firm in monopolistic competition
maximizes its profit by producing the quantity at which its marginal revenue equals its marginal cost, MR = MC.
Term
derived demand
Definition
the demand for a resource that depends on the demand for the products it helps to produce
Term
marginal product
Definition
additional ouptup resulting from using each additional unit of labor; equal to the change in total product divided by the change in quantity of a resource employed.
Term
marginal revenue product
Definition
the change in total revenue resulting from the use of each additional unit of a resource
Term
rule for employing resources
Definition
Marginal Revenue Product (MRP) EQUALS Marginal Revenue Cost (MRC); This is the principle that says: to maximize profit, a firm should employ the quantity of a resource at which its MRP (marginal revenue product) is equal to its MRC (marginal resource cost), the latter being the wage rate in a purely competitive labor market
Term
substitution effect
Definition
indicates that a firm will purchase more of an input whose relative price has declined and use less of an input whose relative price has increased; that is, (1) the change in the quantity demanded of a good that results from a change in price, making the good more or less expensive relative to other goods that are substitutes ;(2) the effect of a change in the price of a resource on the quantity of the resource employed by a firm
Term
output effect
Definition
indicated that a firm will purchase more of one particular input when the price of the other input falls and less of that particular input when the price of the other input rises; that is, The situation in which an increase in the price of one input will increase a firm's production costs and reduce its level of output, thus reducing the demand for other inputs; conversely for a decrease in the price of the input.
Term
elasticity of resource demand
Definition
A measure of the responsiveness of firms to a change in the price of a particular resource they employ or use; the percentage change in the quantity of the resource demanded divided by the percentage change in its price.; in other words, it measures the sensitivity of producers to changes in resource prices
Term
least cost combination of resources
Definition
this is when when the last dollar spent on each resource yields the same marginal product; this is occurs when the The quantity of each resource a firm must employ in order to produce a particular output at the lowest total cost; the combination at which the the ratio of the marginal product of a resource to its marginal resource cost is the same for the last dollar spent on each of the resources employed.
Term
profit macimizing combination of resources
Definition
when each resource is employed to the point at which its marginal revenue product equals its resource price
Term
PM equation
Definition
MRPL/PL=MRPC/PC=1
Term
marginal productivity theory of income distribution
Definition
income gets distributed according to contribution to society's ouput
Term
profit-maximizing combination of resources
Definition
The quantity of each resource a firm must employ to maximize its profit or minimize its loss: The combination in which the marginal revenue product of each resource is equal to its marginal resource cost.
Term
marginal productivity theory of income distribution
Definition
The contention that the distribution of income is equitable when each unit of each resource receives a money payment equal to its marginal contribution to the firm's revenue (Its MRP)
Term
wage rate
Definition
price paid for the use or services of labor per unit of time
Term
nominal wage
Definition
amount of money received by a worker per unit of time; money wage
Term
real wage
Definition
the amount of goods and services a worker can purchase with his/her nominal wage; purchasing power of the nominal wage
Term
purely competitive labor market
Definition
a resource market in which many firms compete with one another in hiring a specific kind of labor, numerous equally qualified workers supply that labor, and no one controls the market wage rates.
Term
monopsony
Definition
a market structure with only a single buyer of a good employer of a factor of production.
Term
exclusive unionism
Definition
the practice of a labor union of restricting the supply of skilled union labor to increase the wages received by union members, the policies typically employed by a craft union.
Term
occupational licensing
Definition
the laws of state or local governments that require that a worker satisfy certain specified requirements and obtain a license from a licensing board before engaging in a particular occupation.
Term
inclusive unionism
Definition
The practice of a labor union of including as members all workers employed in an industry.
Term
bilateral monopoly
Definition
a market where there is a single seller (monopoly) and a single buyer (monopsony)
Term
wage differentials
Definition
the difference between the wage received by one worker or group of workers and that received by another worker or group of workers
Term
marginal revenue productivity
Definition
change in a firms total revenue when it employs 1 additional unit of a resource (everything else remaining constant)
=change in revenue/q of resources employed
Term
noncompeting groups
Definition
collections of workers who do not compete with each other for employment because the skill and training in one group are substantially different from those of the workers in the other group.
Term
human capital
Definition
the knowledge and skills that make a person productive
Term
compensating differences
Definition
differences in the wages received by workers in different jobs to compensate for nonmonetary differences between the jobs.
Term
principal-agent problem
Definition
a conflict of interest that occurs when agents (workers or managers) pursue their own objectives to the detriment of the principals' (stockholders') goals
Term
incentive pay plan
Definition
a compensation structure that ties worker pay directly to performance. such plans include piece rates, bonuses, stock options, commissions, and profit sharing
Term
minimum wage
Definition
the lowest wage that employers may legally pay for an hour of work
Term
American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)
Definition
largest federations of labor unions in the United States
Term
change to win
Definition
loose federation of American unions that includes service workers and teamsters and has total membership of 6 million workers
Term
independent unions
Definition
U.S. labor unions not affiliated with the AFL-CIO
Term
unionization rate
Definition
percentage of a particular population of workers that belong to labor unions; percentage of workers by represented workers that belongs to labor unions; the percentage of the population of workers who
Term
collective bargaining
Definition
negotiation of labor contracts between labor unions and firms or government entities
Term
closed shop
Definition
place of employment where only workers who are already members of a labor union may be hired
Term
union shop
Definition
place of employment where employer may hire either labor union members or nonmembers but nonmembers must become member within period of time of lose job
Term
agency shop
Definition
place of employment where employer hires labor union members or nonmembers but nonmembers must pay union dues or donate
Term
right to work laws
Definition
stat law that makes it illegal to require worker to join a labor union in order to retain job; laws making union and agency shops illegal
Term
open shop
Definition
place of employment where employer may hire nonunion workers and workers need not become members of a labor union
Term
strike
Definition
the withholding of labor services by an organized group of workers (a labor union)
Term
Marginal revenue product (MRP) equation
Definition
Marginal Revenue Product =
(change in real revenue)/
(unit change in resource quantity)
Term
marginal resource cost (MRC) equals?
Definition
Marginal resource cost =
(change in total resource cost)/
(unit change in resource quantity)
Term
Why is studying resource pricing important?
Definition
Money-income determination, cost minimizatoin, resource allocation, policy issues
Term
Resource prices help determine ___
Definition
money incomes, and they simultaneously ration resources to various industries and firms
Term
the demand for any resource is derived from ____; that means,
Definition
the product it helps product; the demand for the resource will depend on its productivity and on the market value (price of the good it is producing)
Term
marginal revenue product is ____.
Definition
the extra revenue a firm obtains when it employs 1 more unit of a resource.
Term
The marginal revenue product curve for any resource is _____ because the firm ____. Thus each point on the MRP curve indicates ____.
Definition
the demand curve for that resource;
equates resource price and MRP in determing its profit-maximizing level of resource employment;
how many resource units the firm will hire at a specific resource price
Term
Law of diminishing returns
Definition
s the decrease in the marginal (per-unit) output of a production process as the amount of a single factor of production is increased, while the amounts of all other factors of production stay constant.
Term
A firm is employing the profit maximizing combination of resources when each resource is _____. In terms of labor and capital, that occurs when the ______; that is when (eqn)
Definition
used to the point where its marginal revenue product equals its price;
MRP of labor equals the price labor and the MRP of capital equals the price of capital – that is, when

(MRP of labor)/(Price of labor)- = (MRP of capital)/(Price of capital) = 1
Term
marginal productivity theory of income distribution holds that all ___. Critics say that such an income distribution is too unequal and that real world market imperfections result in _____.
Definition
resource are paid according to their marginal contribution to output.

pay above and below marginal contributions to output.
Term
any specific level of output will be produced with the least costly combination of variable resources when the ___
Definition
marginal product per dollar’s worth of each input is the same. That is, when

(MP of Labor)/(Price of labor) == (MP of Capital)/(Price of capital)
Term
The elasticity of demand for a resource will be greater when ___:
Definition
(a) the greater the ease of substituting other resource for labor
(b) the greater then elasticity of demand for the product
(c) the larger the proportion of total production costs attributable to the resource
Term
How to name ALL ELASTICITIES IN ECONOMICS:
Definition
When the elasticity is greater than 1, it’s elastic

If it’s equal to one, it’s unit elastic

If it’s less than one, it’s inelastic
Term
Coefficient of a the elasticity of resource demand is ___
Definition
E_{rd} == (% Change in resource quantity demanded)/(% change in resource price)
Term
The elasticity of demand for a resource measures ___
Definition
the responsiveness of producers to change in the resource’s price.
Term
The majority of the 10 fastest occupations in the US – by percentage increase – relate to ____; the 10 most rapidly percentage decrease are however ___
Definition
health care and computers; more mixed (review talbe 12.5 and 12.6)
Term
If resource C and D are complimentary or jointly demanded then ___; a change in the price of C will change ___.
Definition
theres only an output effect; the demand for D in the opposite direction.
Term
. If resources A and B are substitutable for each other, a decline in the price of A will ____. But if the output effect exceeds the substitution effect a decline in the price of A will ___.
Definition
decrease the demand for B provided the substitution effect is greater than the output effect; increase the demand for B.
Term
The demand curve for a resource will shift as a result of
Definition
(a) a change in the demand for, and therefore the price of, the product the resource is producing;
(b) changes in the productivity of the resource;
(c) changes in the prices of other resources
Term
4. The firm’s demand curve for a resource slopes downward because____. When a firm is selling in an imperfectly competitive market the resource demand curve falls for a second reason: ___. The market demand curve for a resource is derived by ___.
Definition
the marginal product of additional units declines in accordance with the law of diminishing returns; Product price must be reduced for the firm to sell a larger output; summing horizontally the demand curves of all the firms hiring that resource.
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