Economics/ Grade 12 Topic 5 Notes Nkangala District/ 2023
ECONOMICS NOTES
TOPIC 5: PERFECT MARKET
GRADE: 12
YEAR: 2023
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Economics/ Grade 12 Topic 5 Notes Nkangala District/ 2023
TOPIC 5: PERFECT MARKET: PERFECT COMPETITION
- Perfect competition is a theoretical market structure in which the competition is at
the greatest possible level.
CHARACTERISTICS/ MARKET STRUCTURE (POSSIBLE ESSAY)
Number of businesses
There is large number of buyers and sellers that an individual participant is
insignificant in relation to the market.
This means no individual buyer or seller can influence the market price.
All sellers are price takers as they must sell at the market price.
Nature of the product
The product sold are homogeneous, meaning they are identical in regard to quality,
size or shape.
It therefore does not matter from whom the consumer buy the product as they cannot
be distinguishable.
Market entry
There is freedom to enter into and exit from the market. That is the market is fully
accessible to buyers and sellers.
There are no legal, financial, technological or any other barriers.
Information
Participants have full information (perfect knowledge) about the market conditions.
Buyers have complete knowledge about price, quality and availability of products in
the market.
For example, if one business can raise its price above the market price, buyers will
immediately know, and no one will buy.
Control over price
Sellers have no control over price as such they are called price takers.
They take the price that is set by the market and charge it for their products.
Collusion
There is no collusion between sellers. That is every seller sells independently of
others.
Profit
The firm can make economic profit only in the short run.
In the long run more firms will enter the market and only normal profit is possible.
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Economics/ Grade 12 Topic 5 Notes Nkangala District/ 2023
THE INDIVIDUAL BUSINESS AND THE INDUSTRY
An individual business is a firm that produces a particular product e.g. maize.
An industry consists of all individual businesses that produce the same product e.g.
maize industry, tomato industry.
In a perfectly competitive market the price that the individual firm charges for its
products is set by the market / industry. That is why individual producers are called
price takers.
The market price is the price at which the industry demand is equal to supply.
PRICE FORMATION IN THE PERFECT MARKET
Market /industry Individual firm =
D S
Price
D D
(R5) P (R5) P D=MR=AR
Q1 QUANTITY
Q1 Q2 Q3
Quantity
The market / industry equilibrium price is P (R5) and it is the price at which demand
DD is equal to supply SS. The equilibrium quantity is Q1.
The market equilibrium price P (R5) is then taken by the individual firm as the price for
its products.
The individual firm ‘s production is so small that it cannot influence the market,
therefore it has to accept the market price (R5).
At this price P (R5) the individual firm can produce and sell various quantities such as
Q1, Q2 and Q3.
Since the individual business is a price taker, its demand curve D is a horizontal
(perfectly elastic)
For every unit of a product sold, the business receives the same price; as such the
Average Revenue (AR) that the firm receives is also the same as the price.
The revenue for selling additional unit of the product (MR) will also give the same
amount as the price.
Therefore, the horizontal demand curve also represents the AR and the MR curves.
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Economics/ Grade 12 Topic 5 Notes Nkangala District/ 2023
Revenue table to show that P = AR = MR for the individual firm
Quantity Price TR AR MR
(Q) (P) (P x Q) (TR ÷Q) ( ∆ TR÷∆Q)
0 R5 - - -
1 R5 R5 R5 R5
2 R5 R10 R5 R5
3 R5 R15 R5 R5
4 R5 R20 R5 R5
5 R5 R25 R5 R5
PROFIT MAXIMISATION RULES
An individual firm in the perfect market can use two ways to determine where they
can make maximise profit (make highest profit). They can use two approaches which
are the MC=MR approach and the TR > TC approach.
1. Marginal cost = Marginal revenue approach
MC
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Price (cost/revenue)
(R5) P = MR
3 MC = MR (Profit maximization)
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Quantity
The firm makes the highest profit where MC = MR, therefore this point is known as the
profit maximisation point.
The firm should produce the quantity that is at the point where MC=MR in order to
make the maximum profit.
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Economics/ Grade 12 Topic 5 Notes Nkangala District/ 2023
At any quantity to the left of the profit maximisation point (e.g. 1, 2, 3 and 4), the firm
‘s cost for producing any one additional unit is lower than the revenue received from
such unit (MC < MR). The firm can still increase its total profit by increasing production.
At any quantity to the right of the profit maximisation point (e.g. 5, 6,7 and 8), the cost
of producing any additional units of a product is higher than the revenue received from
such unit (MC > MR). Therefore, any of the additional unit produced will reduce the
firm‘s total profit because such units bring no additional profit
2. Total revenue and Total cost approach
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R45 TC
TR
R40
Total revenue/total cost
R35 C
R30
R25
R20
R15
A PROFIT MAX. POINT
R10
Normal profit
R5
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Quantity
A perfectly competitive firm maximises profit where the positive difference between
the total revenue and total cost is the highest.
The profit maximisation point is at B and the quantity is 5.
At unit 2 the firm breaks even (makes normal profit) because TR = TC.
AT less than 2 unit produced, the firm makes an economic loss, so it has to increase
its production to obtain profit.
The firm makes economic profit when producing between 2 and 7 units of the product,
but this profit is the highest when producing 5 units. Economic profit is achieved when
TR > TC.
The firm break even again at quantity 7 (point C), which means normal profit is made.
When producing more than 7 units, the firm makes a loss again because TC > TR.
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Economics/ Grade 12 Topic 5 Notes Nkangala District/ 2023
SUPPLY CURVE OF A FIRM IN A PERFECT MARKET
MC
AC /(FC +VC)
P2 /5
7 MR=AR
P1/ 4 MR =AR
REVENUE/ COSTS
AVC
P /3
MR=AR
Shut down point
Output (Quantity)
The supply of the individual firm in a perfectly competitive market is determined by
the intersection of MC and AVC curves.
This is because the individual firm will only produce when the price lies above the
minimum point on the AVC curve.
The firm‘s supply curve is the upward sloping part of the Marginal Cost (MC) curve.
If the market price is equal or below Average Variable Costs (AVC), the firm should
close /shut down. This means the shut- down point it where the P = AVC.
MC
AC
C
P3 (R5) MR=AR
B
P2 (R4)
REVENUE/ COSTS
AVC MR=AR
P1 (3,50
A
P (R3) MR=AR
10 20 25
Output (Quantity)
AT point A, the firm must shut down because the revenue it earns form price P (R3)
can only cover the Variable costs of production (P = AVC). Example of variable costs
are raw material, water & electricity, petrol, wages etc. This means it cannot afford to
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Economics/ Grade 12 Topic 5 Notes Nkangala District/ 2023
pay for its fixed costs such as rent, salaries, insurance etc. Therefore, production
cannot continue.
The quantity of 10 above will not be produced since the firm will have been shut down.
At any price above shut –down point (A) but below Point B (e.g. R3.50,) the firm can
cover all its variable costs (P > AVC) and some of its fixed costs. The firm can operate
but because the price of R3, 50 is below the Average Costs of R4, the firm makes an
economic loss.
AC indicate the average of total costs which are variable and fixed. Therefore, the
distance between A and B represents an economic loss.
At market price of P2 (R4), the firm makes normal profit, because the revenue it earns
from the price of R4 per item is equal to the average cost of R4 (P or AR = AC).
At a market price of P3 or R5, the firm makes economic profit because the price is
higher than AC. This means, the amount it receives per unit is more than the amount
spent on production. Therefore, it has extra profit left after all expenses are paid.
SHORT RUN PROFITS AND LOSSES /VARIOUS EQUILIBRIUM POSITIONS IN PERFECT
MARKET (POSSIBLE ESSAY)
In the short term a perfectly competitive firm can make either economic profit, normal
profit or economic loss.
NORMAL PROFIT
It is the minimum payment required to prevent the entrepreneur from leaving and using
his/her factors of production elsewhere
MC AC
e D= AR = MR=P
R20
Price/revenue/costs
100
Quantity
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Economics/ Grade 12 Topic 5 Notes Nkangala District/ 2023
Normal profit is the profit that the entrepreneur earns when the firm’s costs are equal
to its revenue.
The firm’s average cost of R20 equal to its average revenue of R20.
Point e where MR= MC is the breakeven point, and because the firm AR = AC, it also
shows normal profit.
Calculations
Normal profit = TR – TC
= (P x Q) – (AC X Q)
= (20 X 100) – (20 X 100)
= 2000 - 2000
=R0
ECONOMIC PROFIT TR > TC
Economic profit is the extra profit that the firm makes above the normal profit.
MC
AC
e
Price/revenue/costs
R20 AR =MR=D
R15
100/Q
Quantity
The firm profit maximisation point is where MC = MR, at point e.
The lowest point of the AC lies below the price.
The average revenue is higher than average cost.
At the average price of R20, the firm makes R5 profit per unit sold.
The shaded area represents the economic profit made by the firm.
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Economics/ Grade 12 Topic 5 Notes Nkangala District/ 2023
When the firm makes economic profit the total revenue is higher than total cost.
Calculations
Economic profit = TR - TC
= (P x Q) - (AC x Q)
= (20 x 100) - (15 x 100)
= 2000 - 1500
= R500
ECONOMIC LOSS
MC AC
R23
Price/revenue/costs
R20 e AR =MR=D
100 Quantity
Economic loss when its Total revenue is less than Total Costs (TR < TC).
The Average Revenue (AR) of R20 is lower than the Average Costs (AC) of R23.
The firm loss minimisation point is where MC =MR, at point e. This is the point at
which the firm must produce to keep its loss at a minimum level.
The firm makes an economic loss of 23 per unit.
The shaded area represents the economic loss.
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Economics/ Grade 12 Topic 5 Notes Nkangala District/ 2023
Calculations
Economic loss = TR - TC
= (P x Q) - (AC x Q)
= (20 X 100) - (23 x 100)
= 2000 - 2300
= - 300
LONG RUN EQUILIBRIUM OF AN INDUSTRY AND INDIVIDUAL FIRM
S S1 SMC SAC LMC
LAC
D
AR= MR
P (R5)
P1 (R3) AR=MR
S S1 D
120 140
QUANTITY
In the short run the price (P or R5) is higher than the SAC, the firm makes economic
profit.
In the long run the economic profit attracts new businesses in to the market as such
supply will increase (shift to S1S1)
Furthermore, the increase in supply will come as a result of existing firms increasing
their production plants, therefore producing more.
The increased supply causes the price to fall to price P. The price is at a point where
LMC= LAC. Therefore, the firm makes normal profit
COMPETITION POLICY
In South Africa, competition policy is carried out using the Competition Act of 1998.
The Competition act provides for the establishment of the Competition Commission,
Competition Tribunal and the Competition Appeal Court.
The Competition Commission ‘s job is to investigate act of restrictive practices by
businesses.
The Competition Tribunal is responsible for adjudicating over the cases referred to it
by the Competition commission.
The Competition Appeal Court serves those businesses that are unhappy with the
judgement of from the Competition Tribunal. The appeal court may confirm, amend or
set aside a decision made by the Competition Tribunal.
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Economics/ Grade 12 Topic 5 Notes Nkangala District/ 2023
Aims of competition policy
To promote healthy competition among businesses.
To prevent restrictive practices such as collusion.
To protect the consumer against unfair pricing and inferior products.
Provide all South Africans with equal opportunities to participate fairly in the
economy.
To regulate the growth of market power by means of takeovers and mergers.
To prevent the abuse of economic power such as of monopolies
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