Question :
Scenario: There two firms producing ball point pens in a : 1377392
Scenario: There are two firms producing ball point pens in a perfectly competitive industry. The market price of one pen is $5. Firm A has a lower marginal cost than Firm B. The following graphs illustrate the marginal cost curves of both the firms.
13) Refer to the scenario above. If both the firms are optimizing, which of the following statements will be true?
A) Firm B will produce more than Firm A.
B) Firm A will produce more than Firm B.
C) Both firms will produce the same quantity.
D) The quantity produced by both firms will depend on the demand for pens and not the marginal costs.
14) Refer to the scenario above. The average total cost of Firm A when it produces 100 pens is $3, and the average total cost of Firm B when it produces 50 pens is $7. At these levels of production, which of the following statements is true?
A) Both firms incur losses.
B) Firm A incurs a loss but Firm B makes a profit.
C) Firm B incurs a loss but Firm A makes a profit.
D) Both firms make profits.
15) Refer to the scenario above. If the government enforces a ban on Firm B, and asks Firm A to carry out all the production:
A) Firm A’s marginal cost is likely to decrease, but its average cost is likely to increase.
B) Firm A’s marginal cost and average cost are likely to decrease.
C) Firm A’s marginal cost is likely to increase, but its average cost is likely to decrease.
D) Firm A’s marginal cost and average cost are likely to increase.
16) Refer to the scenario above. If the government removes the ban on Firm B and both Firm A and firm B aim at maximizing profits:
A) marginal cost of Firm A will be greater than the marginal cost of Firm B eventually.
B) marginal cost of Firm B will be greater than the marginal cost of Firm A eventually.
C) marginal cost of both firms will be equalized eventually.
D) the difference in the marginal cost of both firms will increase eventually.
17) Refer to the scenario above. If both firms operate to maximize profits:
A) total cost of production is minimized.
B) total combined profits are minimized.
C) marginal cost of both firms are minimized.
D) marginal cost of both firms are maximized.
18) Refer to the scenario above. If both firms operate without government intervention:
A) total costs are maximized.
B) total profits are maximized.
C) marginal revenues of both the firms are maximized.
D) marginal revenues of both the firms are minimized.
19) Refer to the scenario above. Which of the following statements is true?
A) If the government restricts one of the firms to operate in the market, social surplus increases.
B) No government intervention is required to reach the optimal outcome.
C) At the optimal level of production, total costs of production are maximized.
D) Even though both firms have different marginal costs, the optimal quantity produced will be the same for both firms.
20) Which of the following statements is true?
A) Total cost of production in a perfectly competitive market can be minimized only when marginal cost across firms in the market are different.
B) When a competitive market is allowed to operate efficiently, firms end up producing goods using the least amount of scarce resources.
C) Under a perfectly competitive framework, a ruling authority is essentially required to dictate goals for the betterment of society.
D) A firm interested in maximizing profits in a perfectly competitive market will produce output at a level where marginal revenue is equal to the price and greater than the marginal cost.