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Chapter 8

Chapter 8. Profit Maximization and Competitive Supply. Topics to be Discussed. Perfectly Competitive Markets Profit Maximization Marginal Revenue, Marginal Cost, and Profit Maximization Choosing Output in the Short-Run. Topics to be Discussed. The Competitive Firm’s Short-Run Supply Curve

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Chapter 8

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  1. Chapter 8 Profit Maximization and Competitive Supply

  2. Topics to be Discussed • Perfectly Competitive Markets • Profit Maximization • Marginal Revenue, Marginal Cost, and Profit Maximization • Choosing Output in the Short-Run

  3. Topics to be Discussed • The Competitive Firm’s Short-Run Supply Curve • Short-Run Market Supply • Choosing Output in the Long-Run • The Industry’s Long-Run Supply Curve

  4. Perfectly Competitive Markets • The model of perfect competition can be used to study a variety of markets • Basic assumptions of Perfectly Competitive Markets • Price taking • Product homogeneity • Free entry and exit

  5. Perfectly Competitive Markets • Price Taking • The individual firm sells a very small share of the total market output and, therefore, cannot influence market price. • Each firm takes market price as given – price taker • The individual consumer buys too small a share of industry output to have any impact on market price.

  6. Perfectly Competitive Markets • Product Homogeneity • The products of all firms are perfect substitutes. • Product quality is relatively similar as well as other product characteristics • Agricultural products, oil, copper, iron, lumber • Eg. Buyers of corn do not ask which individual farm grew the product • In contrast: Heterogeneous products, such as brand names, can charge higher prices because they are perceived as better

  7. Perfectly Competitive Markets • Free Entry and Exit • When there are no special costs that make it difficult for a firm to enter (or exit) an industry • Buyers can easily switch from one supplier to another. • Consumer also can easily switch to a rival firm if a current supplier raises its price • Suppliers can easily enter or exit a market. • Pharmaceutical companies not perfectly competitive because of the large costs of R&D required

  8. When are Markets Competitive • Few real products are perfectly competitive-each firm faces a perfectly horizontal demand curve for a homogenous product which industry is free enter and exit • Many markets are, however, highly competitive • They face relatively low entry and exit costs • Highly elastic demand curves and easy entry & exit • No rule of thumb to determine whether a market is close to perfectly competitive • Depends on how they behave in situations

  9. Profit Maximization • For small firms: managed by their owners, profit is likely to dominate almost all decision • Larger firm: managers who make day-to-day decisions usually have little contact with the owners (i.e stockholders) • Thus, owner cannot monitor the manager's behavior on a regular basis

  10. Profit Maximization • Do firms maximize profits? • Managers in firms may be concerned with other objectives • Revenue maximization • Revenue growth • Dividend maximization • Short-run profit maximization (due to bonus or promotion incentive) • Could be at expense of long run profits

  11. Profit Maximization • Implications of non-profit objective • Over the long-run investors would not support the company • Without profits, survival unlikely in competitive industries • Managers have constrained freedom to pursue goals other than long-run profit maximization

  12. Marginal Revenue, Marginal Cost, and Profit Maximization • We can study profit maximizing output for any firm whether perfectly competitive or not • Profit () = Total Revenue - Total Cost • If q is output of the firm, then total revenue is price of the good times quantity • Total Revenue (R) = Pq

  13. Marginal Revenue, Marginal Cost, and Profit Maximization • Costs of production depends on output • Total Cost (C) = Cq • Profit for the firm, , is difference between revenue and costs

  14. Marginal Revenue, Marginal Cost, and Profit Maximization • Firm selects output to maximize the difference between revenue and cost • We can graph the total revenue and total cost curves to show maximizing profits for the firm • Distance between revenues and costs show profits

  15. Marginal Revenue, Marginal Cost, and Profit Maximization • Revenue is curved showing that a firm can only sell more if it lowers its price • Slope in revenue curve is the marginal revenue • Change in revenue resulting from a one-unit increase in output • Slope of total cost curve is marginal cost • Additional cost of producing an additional unit of output

  16. Marginal Revenue, Marginal Cost, and Profit Maximization • Total cost is positive when output is zero because there is a fixed cost in the short run. • Profit is negative to begin with since revenue is not large enough to cover fixed and variable costs • As output rises, revenue rises faster than costs increasing profit • Profit increases until it is maxed at q* • Profit is maximized where MR = MC or where slopes of the R(q) and C(q) curves are equal

  17. C(q) A R(q) B q* q0 (q) Profit Maximization – Short Run Profits are maximized where MR (slope at A) and MC (slope at B) are equal Cost, Revenue, Profit ($s per year) Profits are maximized where R(q) – C(q) is maximized 0 Output

  18. Marginal Revenue, Marginal Cost, and Profit Maximization • Profit is maximized at the point at which an additional increment to output leaves profit unchanged

  19. Marginal Revenue, Marginal Cost, and Profit Maximization • The Competitive Firm • Price taker – market price and output determined from total market demand and supply • Market output (Q) and firm output (q) • Market demand (D) and firm demand (d)

  20. The Competitive Firm • Demand curve faced by an individual firm is a horizontal line • Firm’s sales have no effect on market price • Demand curve faced by whole market is downward sloping • Shows amount of good all consumers will purchase at different prices

  21. Price $ per bushel Price $ per bushel S $4 d $4 D Output (bushels) Output (millions of bushels) 100 200 100 The Competitive Firm Firm Industry DD=P=MR=AR

  22. The Competitive Firm • The competitive firm’s demand • Individual producer sells all units for $4 regardless of that producer’s level of output. • MR = P with the horizontal demand curve • For a perfectly competitive firm, profit maximizing output occurs when

  23. Choosing Output: Short Run • We will combine revenue and costs with demand to determine profit maximizing output decisions. • In the short run, capital is fixed and firm must choose levels of variable inputs to maximize profits. • We can look at the graph of MR, MC, ATC and AVC to determine profits

  24. Choosing Output: Short Run • The point where MR = MC, the profit maximizing output is chosen • MR=MC at quantity, q*, of 8 • At a quantity less than 8, MR>MC →so more profit can be gained by increasing output • At a quantity greater than 8, MC>MR, →increasing output will decrease profits

  25. MC Price Lost Profit for q2>q* 50 Lost Profit for q2>q* AR=MR=P 40 ATC AVC 30 20 10 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Output q1 q* q2 A Competitive Firm A q1 : MR > MC q2: MC > MR q0: MC = MR

  26. MC Price 50 A D AR=MR=P 40 ATC AVC 30 C 20 10 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Output q1 q* q2 A Competitive Firm – Positive Profits Profit per unit = P-AC(q) = A to B Total Profit = ABCD B Profits are determinedby output per unit times quantity

  27. Output rule • If a firm is producing any output, it should produced at the level at which MR = MC

  28. The Competitive Firm • A firm need not always earn a profit in the short run. • It is possible a firm will incur losses if the P < AC for the profit maximizing quantity • Still measured by profit per unit times quantity • Profit per unit is negative (P – AC < 0)

  29. MC ATC B C D P = MR A AVC q* A Competitive Firm – Losses Price At q*: MR = MC and P < ATC Losses = (P- AC) x q* or ABCD Output

  30. Choosing Output in the Short Run • Summary of Production Decisions • Profit is maximized when MC = MR • If P > ATC the firm is making profits. • If P < ATC the firm is making losses

  31. Short Run Production • Why would firm produce at a loss? • Why doesn’t firm that earn loss leave an industry entirely? • Might think price will increase in near future • Expect that in short run to earn profit in the future- when the price increases or the cost falls • Shutting down and starting up could be costly • Firm has two choices in short run • Continue producing • Shut down temporarily • Will compare profitability of both choices

  32. Short Run Production • When should the firm shut down? • If AVC < P < ATC the firm should continue producing in the short run • Can cover some of its variable costs and all of its fixed costs • Minimizes its loss at output Q* • If AVC > P < ATC the firm should shut-down. • Can not cover even its fixed costs • Both variable and fixed cost can be eliminated by shutting down (both are economic cost) • Shut down rule: the firm should shut down if the price of the product is less than the average cist economic cist of production at the profit –maximizing output.

  33. MC ATC Losses B C D P = MR A AVC F E q* A Competitive Firm – Losses Price • P < ATC but • AVC so firm will continue to produce in short run If the firm shut down operation: loss including fixed cost FCBE Output

  34. Competitive Firm – Short Run Supply • Supply curve tells how much output will be produced at different prices • Competitive firms determine quantity to produce where P = MC • Firm shuts down when P < AVC • Competitive firms supply curve is portion of the marginal cost curve above the AVC curve

  35. S ATC P2 AVC P1 P = AVC q1 q2 A Competitive Firm’sShort-Run Supply Curve Price ($ per unit) The firm chooses the output level where P = MR = MC, as long as P > AVC. Supply is MC above AVC MC Output

  36. A Competitive Firm’sShort-Run Supply Curve • Supply is upward sloping due to diminishing returns. • Higher price compensates the firm for higher cost of additional output and increases total profit because it applies to all units.

  37. A Competitive Firm’sShort-Run Supply Curve • Over time prices of product and inputs can change • How does the firm’s output change in response to a change in the price of an input. • We can show an increase in marginal costs and the change in the firms output decisions

  38. MC2 Savings to the firm from reducing output MC1 $5 q2 q1 The Response of a Firm toa Change in Input Price Price ($ per unit) Input cost increases and MC shifts to MC2 and q falls to q2. Initially Firm maximize profit New profit maximizing at q2 Output

  39. Short-Run Market Supply Curve • Shows the amount of product the whole market will produce at given prices • Is the sum of all the individual producers in the market • We can show graphically how we can sum the supply curves of individual producers

  40. S MC1 MC2 MC3 P3 P2 P1 2 4 7 8 10 15 21 5 Industry Supply in the Short Run The short-run industry supply curve is the horizontal summation of the supply curves of the firms. $ per unit The 3rd firm has a lower AVC than the first two firm →begin at P1 followed by MC3 until price at P2 (kink) Q

  41. Producer Surplus in the Short Run • Price is greater than MC on all but the last unit of output. • Therefore, surplus is earned on all but the last unit • The producer surplus is the sum over all units produced of the difference between the market price of the good and the marginal cost of production. • Area above supply to the market price

  42. MC AVC Producer Surplus B A P q* Producer Surplus for a Firm Price ($ per unit of output) At q* MC = MR. Between 0 and q , MR > MC for all units. Producer surplus is area above MC to the price Output

  43. Producer surplus • Sum of MC from 0 to q*, it is the sum o the total variable cost of producing q* • Producer Surplus can be defined as difference between the firm’s revenue and it total variable cost • We can show this graphically by the rectangle ABCD • Revenue (0ABq*) minus variable cost (0DCq*)

  44. MC AVC Producer Surplus B A P D C q* Producer Surplus for a Firm Price ($ per unit of output) The sum of all MC up to q* = variable costs of producing q* Producer surplus is also ABCD = Revenue minus variable costs Output

  45. Producer Surplus versus Profit • Profit is revenue minus total cost (not just variable cost) • When fixed cost is positive, producer surplus is greater than profit

  46. Producer Surplus versus Profit • Costs of production determine magnitude of producer surplus • Higher costs firms have less producer surplus • Lower cost firms have more producer surplus • Adding up surplus for all producers in the market given total market producer surplus • Area below market price and above supply curve

  47. S P* Producer Surplus D Q* Producer Surplus for a Market Price ($ per unit of output) Market producer surplus is the difference between P* and S from 0 to Q*. Output

  48. LONG RUN EQUILIBRIUM

  49. Choosing Output in the Long Run • In short run, one or more inputs are fixed • Depending on the time, it may limit the flexibility of the firm • In the long run, a firm can alter all its inputs, including the size of the plant. • We assume free entry and free exit. • No legal restrictions or extra costs

  50. Choosing Output in the Long Run • In the short run a firm faces a horizontal demand curve • Take market price as given • The short-run average cost curve (SAC) and short run marginal cost curve (SMC) are low enough for firm to make positive profits (ABCD) • The long run average cost curve (LRAC) • Reflects the presence of Economies of scale to q2 • And Diseconomies of scale after q2 • q2 is the point minimum LRAC

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