In: Economics
An industry producing chemicals shows the following marginal cost function: MgCp = 5+2X
Where X is the quantity produced. The demand for X is represented by the following function: P = 20 – 2X.
Assume that the market is perfectly competitive and unregulated.
A) Compute the equilibrium price and equilibrium quantity, graph.
A perfectly competitive market will produce at the point where price is equal to marginal cost. So, in equilibrium,
Price = MARGINAL COST
20 - 2X = 5 + 2X
20 - 5 = 2X + 2X
4X = 15
X = 15/4 = 3.75 is the answer.
Price = 20 - 2X
= 20 - 2(3.75)
= 20 - 7.5 = 12.5 is the answer.
In a perfectly competitive market, the price remains constant which is shown by a horizontal line in the graph below and in this case the marginal cost is increasing which is shown by the upward sloping marginal cost curve.