The monopolist is the only firm in the industry. Therefore, they face the entire demand curve. Profits are given by total revenue minus total costs. π = p(y)y − c(y). p(y) is the inverse demand curve
There are many different types of market structure. The main ones are: 1. Perfect Competition: Many small price-taking firms in an industry with free-entry. 2. Monopoly: One large price-setting firm in an industry with barriers to entry
Production requires inputs — factors of production — for example, labour and capital equipment. A production set is the set of outputs feasible given a particular combination of inputs. The production function
There is another way to decompose the price effect. For simplicity consider a consumer with fixed income m. The Hicks decomposition involves pivoting the budget line around the initial indifference curve rather than the initial bundle. The diagram below illustrates for a price decrease in good 1
The last lecture investigated which bundle of goods the consumer prefers. However, goods cost money and the consumer cannot afford to buy indefinite amounts of each good
Consumers make choices over bundles of goods. Consumer theory models the way in which these choices are made. A good is simply a product — such as apples or bananas. A good may be specified in terms of time — such as
There are two countries, Home (H) and Foreign (F). There are two goods, units of wine (Qw) and cheese (Qc). Suppose there is one factor of production, labour, which is available in amounts L and L
A consumption externality is a situation where a consumer cares directly about another agent’s consumption or production of a particular good. An externality can be positive or negative: 1. Negative: Loud mobile phone use in public places. 2. Positive: Pipe smoking in enclosed public places
