Suppose that, due to a successful advertising campaign, a monopolistic competitor experiences an increase in demand for its product. How will that affect the price it charges and the quantity it supplies?

Short Answer

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The impact of a monopolistic competitor's advertising strategy on the price charged and quantity supplied.

Step by step solution

01

Concept introduction

Monopolistic Competition: This is a type of imperfect competition in which a large number of producers sell differentiated items and there is long-term freedom of entry and exit.

02

Explanation

Monopolistic Competition: This is a type of imperfect competition in which a large number of producers sell differentiated items and there is long-term freedom of entry and exit.

If a monopolistic competitor experiences an increase in demand for its product as a result of a successful advertising campaign, the monopolist will almost certainly raise prices in order to increase profits, and the cost of advertising will also fall on the consumer, as the firm will never bear the cost of additional advertising.

As a result, if product prices are raised, there is a chance that the amount demanded would decrease. As a result, if the quantity demanded drops, the company will have to cut the quantity it supplies.

A growth in demand will cause the demand curve to shift to the right, and hence the marginal revenue to shift to the right. As a result of the change in marginal revenue, the marginal cost curve will rise up, forming a new intersection between marginal cost and marginal revenue at a higher level of output.

The obtained price should be higher. An increase in quantity will result in an increase in average cost. The price will rise even higher, resulting in a rise in overall profits.

As a result, the overall effect of a successful advertising campaign is as follows.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Continuing with the scenario in question 1, in the long run, the positive economic profits that the monopolistic competitor earns will attract a response either from existing firms in the industry or firms outside. As those firms capture the original firm’s profit, what will happen to the original firm’s profit-maximizing price and output levels?

Consider the curve in the figure below, which shows the market demand, marginal cost, and marginal revenue curve for firms in an oligopolistic industry. In this example, we assume firms have zero fixed costs.

a. Suppose the firms collude to form a cartel. What price will the cartel charge? What quantity will the cartel

supply? How much profit will the cartel earn?

b. Suppose now that the cartel breaks up and the oligopolistic firms compete as vigorously as possible by cutting the price and increasing sales. What will be the industry quantity and price? What will be the collective profits of all firms in the industry?

c. Compare the equilibrium price, quantity, and profit for the cartel and cutthroat competition outcomes.

Make a case for why monopolistically competitive industries never reach long-run equilibrium.

Continuing with the scenario in question 1, in the long run, the positive economic profits that the monopolistic

competitor earns will attract a response either from existing firms in the industry or firms outside. As those firms capture the original firm’s profit, what will happen to the original firm’s profit-maximizing price and output levels?

Will the firms in an oligopoly act more like a

monopoly or more like competitors? Briefly explain.

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