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Perfect Competition: Economics - Course Companion Blink & Dorton, 2007, 95-104
Perfect Competition: Economics - Course Companion Blink & Dorton, 2007, 95-104
COMPETITION
Economics – Course Companion
The firms in the industry are making abnormal profits in the short
run. This mean they are more than covering their total costs,
including opportunity costs. The firm is selling at the industry price,
P, and maximising profits by producing at the quantity q, where
MC=MR. A q, the cost per unit, average cost, is C and the revenue
per unit, average revenue, is P. Average cost is less than the
average revenue and the firm is making an abnormal profit of P-C
on each unit. The shaded area shows the total abnormal profits.
SHORT RUN LOSSES IN PERFECT COMPETITION
In this graph the firms in the industry are making losses in the short run. This
means they are not covering their total costs. The firm is selling at the
industry price P, and is maximising profits by producing at the quantity q,
where MC=MR. However, at output q, the cost per unit is C, which is greater
than the price and so the firm is making a loss of C-P on each unit. The shaded
area shows the total loss. Although making a loss, the firm is still producing at
the “profit-maximising” level of output, because any other output would
create a greater loss. In effect they are loss minimising.
Movement from Short Run to Long Run in
Perfect Competition
• If firms are making either short-run abnormal
profits , or short run losses, other firms begin
to react and the situation starts to change
until an equilibrium point is reached in the
long run.
Short Run Abnormal Profits to
Long Run-Normal Profits
• When abnormal profits are being recorded, firms
outside the industry that could also produce the
good will start to enter the industry.
• At first this will have no real effect, because the
firms are relatively small.
• However, as more and more firms enter the
industry, attracted by the abnormal profits, the
industry supply curve will start to shift to the
right.
THE MOVE FROM SHORT RUN ABNORMAL PROFIT TO LONG RUN NORMAL PROFIT
As the industry supply curve starts to shift from S towards S 1. the industry price will begin to
fall from P towards P1 . As the firms in the industry are price-takers, the price that they
charge will start to fall and their demand curves will start to shift downwards. This means
that the abnormal profits that they had been making will start to be “competed away”. The
process will continue as long as there are abnormal profits in the industry. Eventually the
industry supply curve reaches S1. At this point, the firms are taking the price of P1 and the
demand curve is D1 = AR 1 = MR1 As a result firms are making normal profits with the price
per unit equal to the cost per unit. Eg: P1 = C1 Entrepreneurs of the firms in the industry are
satisfied because they are covering their opportunity costs.
Normal Profits lead to
Market Equilibrium
• As there is now NO abnormal profits to attract
more firms into the industry, the industry is in
a long run equilibrium situation.
• Non one will now enter the and non one will
now leave.
• The output is a much bigger industry
producing at Q1 units, with smaller firms, each
producing Q1 units.
Short Run Losses to
Long Run Normal Profits
• Some firms in the industry will, after a time,
start to leave the industry.
• Aft first this will have no real effect, because
the firms are relatively small.
• However, as more and more firms leave the
industry, unable to achieve normal profits, the
industry supply curve will shift to the left.
THE MOVEMENT FROM SHORT RUN LOSSES TO LONG-RUN NORMAL PROFIT
As the industry supply curve starts to shift from S towards S1 the industry price
will start to rise from P towards P1. As the firms in the industry are price-takers,
the price that they can charge will start to rise and their demand curves will start
to shift upwards. This means that the losses that they had been making begin to
get smaller. This process will continue as along as there are losses being made in
the industry. Eventually the industry supply curve reaches S 1 where the price is
P1. At the point the firms are `taking` the price of P1 and the demand curve is
D1=AR1 = MR1. Firms are now making normal profits, where the price per unit
equal to the cost per unit, eg: P = C
Normal Profits lead to
Market Equilibrium
• Just as in the previous example, normal profits
lead to market equilibrium because firms are
covering all their costs, including opportunity
costs.
• There would be no reason to leave the industry
as the firm could not do better elsewhere.
• The outcome will be a smaller industry producing
only Q1 units, with slightly larger firms, each
producing q1 units.
Long-Run Equilibrium in
Perfect Competition
Summary
• In the long run firms in perfect competition
will make normal profits.
• This is because, even if they are making short-
run abnormal profits or short-run losses, the
industry will adjust with firms entering or
leaving the industry until a normal profit
situation is reached.
LONG RUN EQUILIBIRUM IN PERFECT COMPETITION – SUMMARY
Firms are selling at P, which are they are taking from the industry.
MC is equal to MR, so they are maximising profits by producing q
and, at that output P is equal to AC, so they are making normal
profits.
Why would equilibrium change?
• If the industry demand curve changes or their
is a change in the costs that the firm faces,
short run abnormal or profits or losses may
result. BUT...
• The industry will once again adjust, with firms
entering or leaving until long run equilibrium
is established.
Productive and Allocative Efficiency in
Perfect Competition
• One of the efficiency measures used by
economists is that of productive efficiency.
What is productive efficiency?
The above graphs show the allocatively efficient level of output for a
firm with a normal demand curve and for a firm with a perfectly
elastic demand curve. For both case the required output will be
MC=AC.
Allocative Efficiency
• Allocative efficiency is important in Economics,
because if a firm is producing at the
allocatively efficient level of output there is a
situation of “Pareto Optimality” where it is
impossible to make one person better off
without making someone else worse off.
PRODUCTIVE AND ALLOCATIVE EFFICIENCY WITH SHORT RUN
PROFITS IN PERFECT COMPETITION
Profit maximising firms in the long run in perfect competition all produce at the
lowest point of their long run average cost curves. As we assume that there is
perfect knowledge in the industry, all of the firms will face the same cost curves.
They are all selling at the same price and minimising their average costs by
producing where MC=AC. It should also be noted that all of the profit maximising
firms in the long run are also producing at the allocatively efficient level of output,
where MC=AR.
CHECK LIST:
SHORT RUN VS LONG RUN – PERFECT COMPETITION