Question

In: Economics

Your firm A is a monopoly in a particular market. You can produce at constant marginal...

Your firm A is a monopoly in a particular market. You can produce at constant marginal cost of $50 for every additional unit you produce. You have avoidable fixed costs of $6,000 per year. You face a market demand curve given by Q = 540 – 2P, where Q is the number of units sold per year, and P is the price per unit.

a. What is the equation of your marginal revenue curve?

b. What is your firm’s profit-maximizing price and quantity? What will be your annual profit contribution at this quantity?

c. Suppose that you face a capacity constraint that allows you to sell at most 200 units per year. As long as you produce less than 200 units per year, your marginal cost of an additional unit continues to be $50. What is your profit-maximizing quantity and price? (Hint: a picture may help here.)

Solutions

Expert Solution

a)

Given

Q=540-2P

or

2P=540-Q

P=270-0.5Q

Total Revenue=TR=P*Q=(270-0.5Q)*Q=270Q-0.5Q^2

Marginal Revenue=MR=dTR/dQ=270-Q

b)

Set MR=MC for profit maximization

270-Q=50

Q=220

P=270-0.5Q=270-0.5*220=$160

Total Revenue=TR=P*Q=160*220=$35200

Total Cost=F+MC*Q=6000+50Q

Total Cost=6000+50*220=$17000

(Fixed cost can be avoided if there is no production. we have considered this cost as fixed cost as firm is working)

Profit=TR-TC=35200-17000=$18200

c)

Profit=TR-TC=270Q-0.5Q2-(6000+50Q)=-6000+220Q-0.5Q2

Following schedule can be made with the help of given information

Q Price Profit
P=270-0.5Q -6000+220Q-0.5Q2
0 270 0
10 265 -3850
40 250 2000
80 230 8400
120 210 13200
160 190 16400
200 170 18000
220 160 18200
240 150 18000
280 130 16400
320 110 13200
360 90 8400
400 70 2000

We have taken fixed cost as zero at zero activity as fixed costs are avoidable.

We can see that profit is increasing at Q=200. So, this will be profit maximizing output at this level.

So, output is 200 units

Price=270-0.5*200=$170

Maximum profit at this stage =$18000 (Refer above table)


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