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Lecture 1
Monopoly
Microsoft copyright for windows.
So can charge 3000 rupees for
Windows.
Because it has the exclusive right to
make and sell copies of windows.
Microsoft is said to have monopoly in the
market for windows
Monopoly
Microsofts business decisions are not well
described by the model of firm behaviour we
developed in Chapter 14.
In that chapter, we analysed competitive
markets in which there are many firms offering
essentially identical products, so each firm has
little influence over the price it recieves.
By contrast , a monopoly such as Microsoft
has no close competitors and, therefore, can
influence the market price of its product.
While a competitive firm is a price taker, a
monopoly firm is a price maker.
Monopoly
In this chapter we examine the implications of this
market power. We will see that market power alters
the relationship between a firms price and its costs.
A competitive firm takes the price of its output as
given by the market and then chooses the quantity it
will supply so that price equals marginal cost. By
contrast the price charged by a monopoly exceeds
marginal cost. The result is clearly true in the case of
Microsofts windows. The MC of windows-the extra
cost that Microsoft would incur by printing one more
copy of the program into some floppy disks or a CD
is only about Rs. 150. The market price of windows is
many times marginal cost.
Monopoly
It is perhaps not surprising that monopolies charge
high prices for their products. Customers of
monopolies might seem to have little choice but to
pay whatever the monopoly charges. But, if so, why
does a copy of windows not cost Rs 20,000 or
rupees 2 lakhs. The reason of course, is that if
Microsoft set the price that high, fewer people would
buy the product. People would buy fewer computers,
switch to other operating systems, or make illegal
copies. Monopolies cannot achieve any level of profit
they want, because high prices reduce the amount
that their customers buy. Although monopolies can
control the prices of their goods, their profits are not
unlimited
Monopoly
As we examine the production and pricing decisions
of monopolies, we also consider the implications of
monopoly for society as a whole. Monopoly firms, like
competitive firms, aim to maximise profit. But this
goal has very different ramifications for competitive
and monopoly firms. As we first saw in Chapter on
Consumer surplus, self interested buyers and sellers
in competitive markets are unwittingly led by an
invisible hand to promote general economic well
being. Because monopoly firms are unchecked by
competition, the outcome in a market with a
monopoly is often not in the best interest of society.
Monopoly
One of the ten principles of economics in
Chapter 1 is that government sometimes
improves market outcomes. The analysis in
this chapter will shed more light on this
principle. As we examines the problems that
monopolies raise for society we will also
discuss the various ways in which
policymakers might respond to these
problems. The US government for e.g., keeps
a close eye on Microsofts business decisions.
Monopoly
Monopoly
Why Monopolies Arise
Monopoly
Barriers to entry have three 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.
Monopoly Resources
The simplest way for a monopoly to arise is
for a single firm to own a key resource. For
e.g., consider the market for water in a small
town. If dozens of town residents have
working wells, the competitive model
described in Chapter 14 describes the
behaviour of sellers. As a result, the price of a
gallon of water is driven to equal the marginal
cost of pumping an extra gallon.
Monopoly Resources
But if there is only one well in town and it is
impossible to get water from anywhere
else, then the owner of the well has a
monopoly on water.Not surprisingly, the
monopolist has much greater market
power than any single firm in a competitive
market.In the case of a necessity like
water, the monopolist could command
quite a high price even if the MC is low.
Monopoly Resources
Although exclusive ownership of a key resource
is a potential source of monopoly, in practice
monopolies rarely arise for this reason. Actual
economies are large, and resources are owned
by many people. Indeed because many goods
are traded internationally, the natural scope of
their markets is often worldwide. There are,
therefore, few examples of firms that own a
resource for which there are no close
substitutes.
Government-Created Monopolies
Governments may restrict entry by giving a
single firm the exclusive right to sell a
particular good in certain markets.
Some data needs to be centralised and
comprehensive for e.g. a database of all
.com,.net and.org addresses.
IOC had the exclusive right of selling petrol
AEC has the exclusive monopoly of selling
electricity in Ahmedabad.
Government-Created Monopolies
Patent and copyright laws are two
important examples of how government
creates a monopoly to serve the public
interest.Say the benefits of patents in
pharma research, or a novelist to write
better books.
The benefits are offset to some extent
by the costs of monopoly pricing.
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. For e.g.-distribution
of water fixed costs of building a network of
pipes.
Natural Monopolies
Another e.g. excludable(toll collector) but
not rival(use by one does not diminish ability
of others to use it.) bridge used so
infrequently, never congested FC high, MC
negligible, ATC falls as number of trips rises
so economies of scale.
Natural Monopolies
In a natural monopoly less concerned about
entrants as all firms would know that if they
enter all would have a smaller piece of the
market.
As the market expands a natural monopoly
can evolve into a competitive market, ie
need for more bridges as population
increases.
Natural Monopolies
A natural monopoly arises when there
are economies of scale over the
relevant range of output. In this case a
single firm can produce any amount of
output at least cost. That is, for any
given amount of output, a large
number of firms lead to less output per
firm and higher ATC.
Average
total
cost
Quantity of Output
Natural monopoly
When a firm is a natural monopoly, it is
less concerned about new entrants
eroding its monopoly power,normally a
firm has trouble maintaining a monopoly
position without ownership of a key
resource or protection from the
government.
Natural monopoly
The monopolists profit attracts entrants
into the market and these entrants make
the market more competitive,by contrast,
entering a market in which another firm
has a natural monopoly is
unattractive.Would-be entrants know that
they cannot achieve the same low costs
that the monopolist enjoys, because, after
entry, each firm would have a smaller
piece of the market.
Natural monopoly
In some cases, the size of the market is one
determinant of whether an industry is a natural
monopoly. Again, consider a bridge across a
river. When the population is small, the bridge
maybe a natural monopoly. A single bridge can
satisfy the entire demand for trips across the
river at lowest cost. Yet, as the population grows
and the bridge becomes congested, satisfying
the entire demand may require two or more
bridges across the same river. Thus as a market
expands a natural monopoly can evolve into a
competitive market.
(b) A Monopolists
Demand Curve
Price
Demand
Demand
0
Quantity of
Output
Quantity of
Output
A Monopolys Revenue
Total Revenue
P x Q = TR
Average Revenue
TR/Q = AR = P
Marginal Revenue
DTR/DQ = MR
Price
(P)
$11.00
$10.00
$9.00
$8.00
$7.00
$6.00
$5.00
$4.00
$3.00
Total Revenue
(TR=PxQ)
$0.00
$10.00
$18.00
$24.00
$28.00
$30.00
$30.00
$28.00
$24.00
Average
Revenue
(AR=TR/Q)
Marginal Revenue
(MR= DTR / DQ )
$10.00
$9.00
$8.00
$7.00
$6.00
$5.00
$4.00
$3.00
$10.00
$8.00
$6.00
$4.00
$2.00
$0.00
-$2.00
-$4.00
Harcourt, Inc. items and derived items copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc.
Demand
(average revenue)
Marginal
revenue
1
Quantity of Water
Harcourt, Inc. items and derived items copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc.
Costs and
Revenue
Monopoly
price
1. The intersection of
the marginal-revenue
curve and the marginalcost curve determines
the profit-maximizing
quantity...
Average total cost
A
Demand
Marginal
cost
Marginal revenue
0
QMAX
Quantity
P = MR = MC
For a monopoly firm, price exceeds
marginal cost.
P > MR = MC
A Monopolys Profit
Profit equals total revenue minus total
costs.
Profit = TR - TC
Profit = (TR/Q - TC/Q) x Q
Profit = (P - ATC) x Q
Harcourt, Inc. items and derived items copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc.
Average
total cost D
C
Demand
Marginal revenue
0
QMAX
Quantity