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Perfect competition

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Question 9

The diagrams below show the market and individual firm curves for a perfectly competitive industry transitioning from a short-run equilibrium to a long-run equilibrium.

Perfect Competition Market and Firm Transition

Which of the following statements correctly explains the transition from the short-run equilibrium (at price P1P_1P1​) to the long-run equilibrium (at price P2P_2P2​), and the efficiency characteristics of the long-run equilibrium?

The presence of supernormal profits at P1P_1P1​ attracts new firms due to freedom of entry, shifting market supply from S1S_1S1​ to S2S_2S2​ and lowering price to P2P_2P2​. At the long-run equilibrium price P2P_2P2​, the firm is both productively efficient (P2=min⁡(ATC)P_2 = \min(ATC)P2​=min(ATC)) and allocatively efficient (P2=MCP_2 = MCP2​=MC).

The presence of supernormal profits at P1P_1P1​ leads existing firms to increase individual output to Q2Q_2Q2​, shifting market supply from S1S_1S1​ to S2S_2S2​. At the long-run equilibrium price P2P_2P2​, the firm is productively efficient (P2=min⁡(ATC)P_2 = \min(ATC)P2​=min(ATC)) but allocatively inefficient because P2>MCP_2 > MCP2​>MC.

Firms facing high barriers to entry restrict industry supply to S2S_2S2​ to maintain market share, driving the price down to P2P_2P2​. At the long-run equilibrium price P2P_2P2​, the firm earns supernormal profits and is neither productively nor allocatively efficient.

The existence of subnormal profits at P1P_1P1​ causes firms to exit, shifting market supply from S1S_1S1​ to S2S_2S2​ and lowering price to P2P_2P2​. At the long-run equilibrium price P2P_2P2​, the firm achieves productive efficiency but fails to achieve allocative efficiency as P2≠MCP_2 \neq MCP2​=MC.

Perfect competition Questions

  1. A Level
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