Microeconomics Final Exam Answer Guide
Note: This exam was created by Professor Ron Kessler for use with
Miller/Abbot/Fefferman/Kessler/Sulyma, Economics Today: The Micro View, Second Edition.
Section I. Multiple Choice. (2 points each). Choose the best answer. Choose only one
answer per question.
1. The statement that "Unemployment is the most important problem that should be solved"
is a
a. statement lacking in logic.
b. positive statement.
c. non-testable statement.
d. normative statement.
2. A straight line production possibilities curve is inconsistent with
a. an unchanged opportunity cost.
b. highly specialized resources.
c. a technologically inefficient society.
d. the underutilization of productive resources.
3. Which of the following is NOT a determinant of supply?
a. cost of input used in production
b. price of substitutes
c. technology
d. number of suppliers
4. Which of the following is NOT a determinant of demand?
a. taste and preference.
b. income.
c. changes in expectations of future relative prices.
d. a government subsidy for producers.
Price per Quantity of Quantity of
Widget- X Demanded X Supplied
per Time Period per Time Period
100 0 1500
80 200 1200
60 400 900
40 600 600
20 800 300
0 1000 0
5. Given the market data for widgets in the table above, an equilibrium quantity is
established at
a. 900 units.
b. 1200 units.
c. 300 units.
d. 600 units.
6. If a firm raises the price of its product and as a result total revenue rises, we can conclude
that
a. demand is elastic in this price range.
b. the product's price is below the midpoint of its demand curve.
c. demand is inelastic in this price range.
d. other things constant, the firm's profits will increase.
7. The more substitutes available for a good, the more likely it is that the demand will be
relatively
a. elastic.
b. inelastic.
c. steep.
d. flat.
8. Price ceilings set below a market equilibrium price cause
a. producers to receive higher prices.
b. consumers to pay higher prices.
c. surpluses.
d. shortages.
9. Economists generally define the long run as being
a. that period of time in which at least one of the firm's inputs, usually plant size, is
fixed.
b. that period of time in which all inputs are variable.
c. any period of time less than one year.
d. any period of time less than six months.
10. All of the following are characteristics of a competitive market, EXCEPT
a. Economic profits must be positive in the short run.
b. The industry demand curve is downward sloping.
c. The demand curve for the individual firm is perfectly elastic.
d. There is free entry and exit in the long run.
11. Firms are assumed to be motivated to maximize
a. total revenue.
b. total profits.
c. total sales.
d. average profit.
12 If a monopoly is to continue to earn profits in the long run, there must be
a. mutual interdependence among firms.
b. homogeneous products.
c. barriers to market entry.
d. free entry and exit to the market.
13. If a firm sells 11 units of output at $100 per unit and 12 units of output when price is
reduced to $99, its marginal revenue for the last unit sold is
a. $11.
b. $99.
c. $109.
d. $88.
14. In the long run, monopolistic competitive firms are not productively efficient because
a. profits are positive.
b. average total costs are not at a minimum.
c. of zero profits
d. marginal costs are rising.
15. Which of the following industrial organization structures has “Kinked” demand curves?
a. perfectly competitive.
b. monopolistically competitive.
c. oligopolistic.
d. monopolistic.
Section II. (4 points each) Definitions. Define 5 of the following 6 terms in the space provided.
Use diagrams and examples in your answers wherever possible. Give at least three points of
interest about each definition.
Note, each answer must include a definition, and at least two other important points, such as a
diagram, example, formula or explanation of how the term and underlying concept is used. The
answers given are examples of what could be done.
Price Discrimination
Price discrimination is defined as selling a given product at more than one price, usually because
of a difference in willingness to pay, and not related to differences in costs or product features.
Thus, selling tickets at a movie theatre at different prices is an example of price discrimination
because there is no difference in cost in providing a seat to a child versus an adult, and the
product is the same. Selling products at a discount to high volume customers is price
differentiation because there is a difference in cost to servicing these customers (there may be an
element of discrimination as well). The four conditions necessary for price discrimination to
work are: The firm must have a downward sloping demand curve, the firm must be able to
separate the markets, the buyers in different markets must have different price elasticities of
demand, and the firm must be able to prevent resale of the product. Diagram: Shows the
monoplist capturing consumer surplus.
Pure Monopoly
A monopoly firm is the sole seller of product, which has no close substitutes. The monopolist is a
price searcher, as the firm’s demand and the industry demand curves are the same. Thus, the
monopolist faces a downward sloping demand curve and marginal revenue curve. The barriers to
entry in monopoly keep other firms out of the industry. Barriers to entry include: exclusive
ownership of resources, economies of scale, legal or government restrictions, and predatory
practices of the monopolist. Diagram: shows the intersection of MC=MR, with AR>AVC. In this
case, the demand curve should be clearly shown above the MR curve.
Short Run
The short run is a period of time when at least one input (typically capital) cannot be changed.
The factor(s) that cannot be changed in the production process are called fixed, and the ones that
can be changed (for example labour) are called variable. Production in the short run is subject to
the law of diminishing returns, which is the observation that after some point, as a variable factor
of production is added to the fixed factors of production, there will eventually result in a smaller
marginal product.
As well, firms cannot enter or exit from an industry in the short run, but they can in the long run.
This is particularly important in determining the short run versus long run outcomes in pure
competition and monopolistically competitive markets.
Opportunity cost
Opportunity cost is defined as “the highest-valued, next-best alternative that must be sacrificed to
attain something or to satisfy a want.” Opportunity cost is used in many different situations in
economics, and it is a fundamental principle that decisions should be measured using opportunity
cost. For example, when deciding whether or not to be in a business, economists use opportunity
cost to define the term economic profits, which includes the opportunity cost of being in a
particular business. As well, it is used in international trade, and underpins the concept of
comparative advantage. The slope of the production possibilities curve reflects the opportunity
cost of producing goods in a country, which determines their comparative advantage.
Marginal Revenue
Marginal Revenue is the additional revenue received when selling one more unit of a good. The
idea of marginal revenue is used particularly in determining the profit maximizing output for a
firm, because the rule for profit maximization is that marginal revenue must equal marginal cost.
For firms that face downward sloping demand curves (for example in monopoly and monopolistic
competition), marginal revenue is less than the price they sell a product for, because they must
lower the price on all units in order to sell one more unit. Diagram: Shows how MR is related to
Demand.
Complementary goods
Two goods are considered complements if both are used together for consumption. For example,
bread and butter. The more you buy of one, the more you will likely buy of the other. When the
price of a good rises, then the demand for the complements to that good will be reduced (ie. Shift
to the left) and vice versa. The price of complements is one of the non-price determinants of
demand. Diagram: Shows a demand curve shifting to the left.
Section III. True or False. (8 points each) Given a written answer explaining whether each
statement is true or false. Use diagrams in your answers. No credit is given for unexplained
answers.
a. Total profit = (average profit) x (number of units sold). Therefore, a firm that is interested
in maximizing total profit only needs to find where average profit is greatest to find maximum
total profit.
False. Firms find maximum profits when they set MC=MR, assuming that AR>AVC. As a
counter example, a firm would prefer to earn an average profit of $0.1 on 1 million units rather
than $10 on a 100 units. Diagram: shows the intersection of MC=MR, with AR > AVC.
b. Crop failure will cause the supply of wheat to fall, and the price of wheat to rise. The rise
in price will cause demand to fall, and hence the price to fall. Thus, crop failure leads to a fall in
the market price of wheat.
False. Crop failure leads to a rise in the market price of wheat, not a decline. The flaw in the
analysis above is that it is Not the case that “rise in price will cause demand to fall.” Rather, a rise
in price will cause a movement along the demand curve, not a shift in the demand curve.
Diagram: A supply and demand curve showing supply shifting left, with a stationary demand
curve.
c. The monopolistically competitive producer maximizes profit by equating price and
marginal cost.
False. Only in a purely competitive market do producers maximize profit by equating price and
marginal cost. Our general rule is that profits are maximized by equating MR and MC, and only
in pure competition does MR=P. Diagram: shows the intersection of MC=MR, with AR>AVC.
In this case, the demand curve should be clearly shown above the MR curve.
d. In the short run, the monopolist will charge the highest price the market will bear for its
product.
False. The monopolist does not charge the highest possible price, as this will substantially reduce
sales and profit from what is possible. The monopolist picks the price and quantity combination
by equating MR=MC, (with demand > AVC). The price picked by the monopolist will be higher
than would be charged in a competitive market. Diagram: Typical monopoly diagram showing
the optimum choice is where MR = MC, and not where the demand curve hits the vertical axis.
Section IV. (20 points) Answer one of the following questions in the space provided. Use
diagrams in your answers.
A. Explain carefully the purely competitive model of industry structure. Explain the assumptions
of the model. Outline the differences in outcomes between the short run and the long run. Define
and describe how industry achieves allocative and productive efficiency.
This question asks the student to reiterate the material from the chapter on perfection competition.
These are the main points that need to be covered:
• The characteristics (assumptions) of perfect competition are: large number of buyers and
sellers of a homogeneous product, each supplier is small relative to the market, there is free
entry and exit, and buyers and sellers possess good information. Thus the demand curve for
the individual firm is perfectly elastic, and the firm is a price taker, with the market forces
determining the price of the product. Agriculture is an example of an industry close to this
model.
• The perfect competitor will maximize production by setting MR=MC, subject to the rule that
AR (demand) > AVC. Diagram: Should show the diagram with ATC, AVC, MR and MC
• The PC firm’s supply curve is the marginal cost curve above the minimum average variable
cost (the shut down point).
• In the short run, the PC firm can earn economic profit. In the long run, it cannot because of
entry of new firms, which alters prices to ensure zero economic profit is earned by these
firms. Diagram: Should show the adjustment of the industry and the individual firm to zero
profits.
• The long-run supply curve of the PC industry may be upward or downward sloping because
of diseconomies or economies of scale.
• The PC market structure achieves productive efficiency because price equals minimum
average total cost in the long run, and allocative efficiency because the right amount of good
is being produced (price equals MC). Diagram: Shows the points on the ATC where
MC=Minimum ATC=Price.
B. Explain with the help of diagrams, the theory of monopolistic competition. How is this model
like the model of pure monopoly/pure competition? Be sure to outline the assumptions you use in
your explanation. Give examples of industries where this model would be applicable.
This question asks the student to reiterate the material from the chapter on monopolistic
competition. These are the main points that need to be covered:
• The monopolistically competitive market structure lies between the extremes of pure
competition and pure monopoly.
• The characteristics of monopolistic competition include: large number of sellers, each
with a small market share, producing a differentiated but closely substitutable product.
There are no barriers to entry. Because of the product differentiation, a key characteristic
of this market structure, the firms have some control over price and face a downward
sloping demand curve and marginal revenue curve, like a monopolist.
• The MC firm will profit maximize where the MR and MC curve intersect, assuming that
demand (AR) exceeds AVC. Diagram: Should show the diagram with ATC, AVC, MR and
MC.
• In the short run, the MC firm can earn economic profit (demand is above ATC). In the long
run, it cannot because of entry of new firms, which bring new substitutes for the firms
product. This will result in zero economic profit being earned by these firms. Diagram:
Should show the adjustment of the individual firm’s demand curve to zero profits.
• This long run equilibrium is above the lowest cost (productively efficient) point, and so each
firm operates with some excess capacity. Consumers pay a higher price, which reflects the
higher cost of providing some product choice.
Bonus Question (3 marks) Who is the minister of finance for Canada? In 2002 the Finance
Minister was Paul Martin.
