Perfect Competition

I. What is a perfectly competitive market?

The remainder of the class will focus primarily on analyzing four different market
structures: (1) perfect competition, (2) monopoly, (3) monopolistic competition, and
(4) oligopoly. For now we will focus on the first two market structures, which are at
the extremes of a continuum of market structures. The latter two market structures
fill in this continuum with monopolistic competition being close to perfect competition
and oligopoly being close to monopoly.

Perfect Monopoly
Competition

Let us begin by defining both perfect competition and monopoly:

Perfect Competition Monopoly

1. Lots of buyers and sellers 1. Lots of buyers only one seller
2. All firms are small relative to the 2. Single firm is the market.
market.
3. Homogenous product. 3. Homogenous product.
4. Free entry and exit from market. 4. Barriers to entry.

A comparison of the characteristics of both market structures illustrates that perfect

competition and monopoly are, in fact, polar opposites. Now consider the
implications of the characteristics for perfect competition upon both the perfectly
competitive firm and market
Consider first the market, which is similar to the markets we have already discussed
in previous chapters. That is, market demand has similar characteristics as any
other market demand curve. Market demand represents the sum of the demands for
all the individual consumers in the market. Thus, it is the individual consumers who
determine their own demand and, hence, market demand. Their tastes/preferences
for the good, income, the number of consumers in the market, prices of related
goods, and expectations about future prices all combine to determine the exact
characteristics of market demand. However, market demand is downward sloping as
shown in Figure 1.
Similarly, market supply is also shown in Figure 1 and, again, supply is determined
by all of the firms in the market, is upward sloping, and depends upon costs of
production, prices of related goods, and expectations about future prices. As shown
in Figure 1, the interaction of market demand and supply set the equilibrium market
price, PM.
The first panel of figure 1 shows the representative firm’s position given the market
price. Perfectly competitive firms are price takers. Because there are so many firms

1
 in the market all producing exactly the same product any individual firm cannot affect
the market price. If the firm attempts to raise their price above the market price, then
no consumer would buy their product. Hence, price takers simply take the market
price as given and decide how much to produce. This means that the perfectly
competitive firm has a demand curve that is perfectly elastic at the market price as
shown in Figure 1.

P P

DF
PM PM

q QM Q
Firm Market
Figure 1

II. Short-run Pricing and Output

● How do Firms maximize profits (π ) in the short-run?

The most straightforward method of answering this question is to simply examine
what we know about profit:
o π = TR – TC
ƒ Total Revenue (TR) = Price * Quantity = P*Q
ƒ Total Cost (TC) = Average Total Cost * Quantity = P*ATC
ƒ Hence, π = P*Q – P*ATC = (P – ATC)Q
We will use two approaches to show perfectly competitive firms maximize profits in
the short-run. The first one (TC/TR) will be intuitive but is less useful. The second
one (MC/MR) is less intuitive but will, in fact, be the most useful approach.
o Total Cost and Total Revenue approach
Figure 2 illustrates what we know, graphically about TR and TC. In the previous
chapter, we derived TC and it is again shown in Figure 1. Recall, that TC first is
relatively steep at first and then flattens out before, again, getting steeper. The
shape of TC simply reflects the law of diminishing returns.
Total Revenue is a much easier function to graph as it simply equals price times
quantity. Thus, when quantity is zero, total revenue is also zero. Thereafter, with
a constant price (given by the interaction of D and S in the market), total revenue
rises by a constant amount (the price) for each unit of the good sold.

2
 In Figure 2, areas A and C show P TC TR
where TC exceeds TR and, therefore, A B C
the firm is operating at a loss. It is only
in area B where TR is greater than TC
and, therefore, the firm is generating a
positive profit.
However, although profit is only
positive in area B, where is profit
maximized? Given that profit equals
the difference between TR and TC,
q* q
maximum profit occurs where the
distance between the two curves is at Figure 2
its largest, which occurs at q*.
Figure 3 illustrates the profit function π
A B C
that is associated with Figure 2.
Again, in areas A and C, profit is
negative while only in area B is profit
positive. Likewise, profit is maximized
at q*, which occurs at the same level of
output in both figures. q* q

Figure 3

o Marginal Cost and Marginal Revenue approach

Just as we had already derived Total Cost, the same is true for marginal cost.
Marginal Cost = the extra cost of producing one more unit of output = Δ TC / Δ q.
Similarly:
Marginal Revenue = the extra revenue of producing one more unit of output =
Δ TR / Δ q.
We already know that MC is u-shaped because of the law of diminishing returns.
What does MR look like for a perfectly competitive firm? Recall that a perfectly
competitive firm is a price taker, as shown above in Figure 1. The firm takes the
market price as given and then decides how much output to produce. Thus,
every time the firm produces another unit of output they can always sell it for the
market price. In other words, their demand equals the market price which, in
turn, equals the marginal revenue.

3
 Figure 4 illustrates the MC/MR approach to profit maximization. The dotted line
in Figure 4 occurs where MC =
MR. P
To the left of the dotted line MR MC
exceeds MC. For example, 10
consider whether the firm should
produce the tenth unit of output. At
this level of output, MR equals 5 PM = 5
(as it always does) while MC DF = MR
equals 3. Should the firm produce
3
the tenth unit when it costs $3 to
produce it and they get $5 in
revenue? Clearly, the firm’s profit 10 q* 30 q
will rise by $2 (5 – 3) if they do
produce the tenth unit. As a result Figure 4
a profit maximizing unit will always
produce such a unit. This gives us our first insight into profit maximization:
• A profit maximizing firm will always increase output as long as MR > MC.
Consider now a firm that is producing to the right of the dotted line where MR =
MC. To the right, MC is greater than MR. For example, at the 30th unit of output
MC equals $10 while MR is still $5. Clearly the firm would lose profit if it chose to
produce this unit of output because it would cost $10 to produce it while only
gaining $5 in revenue. Our second insight into profit maximization suggests that:
• A profit maximizing firm will always decrease output whenever MC > MR.
Notice that if the profit maximizing firm will increase output when MR > MC and
decrease output whenever MC > MR that there is only one place where the firm
can end up eventually:
• All profit maximizing firms will produce where MR = MC.
It is important to understand that both the TC/TR and MC/MR methods of finding
the profit maximizing output will yield the same answer. In fact, neither method
would be useful if it was not consistent with other methods.

o Graphical Analysis – Questions to be

answered using Figure 5.
1. At what q is π maximized?
Recall from above that all profit
maximizing firms produce at the
quantity where MR = MC. In Figure 5
this occurs at q1.
2. What P does a firm charge?
Recall that a perfectly competitive firm
is a price taker that takes the market
price as given. Hence, in Figure 5, the
market price is P = MR = D. Figure 5

4
3. What does π equal?
Obviously firms are primarily interested in their profits. However, in order to
calculate profits in Figure 5, there are a number of other questions that must
be answered before profit can be calculated. All of these are calculated at
the profit maximizing output, q1.
• Q = q1 = distance 0 to q1.
• P = MR = MC = distance 0 to p.
• The average costs:
o ATC = distance 0 to a.
o AVC = distance 0 to e.
o AFC = ATC – AVC = distance e to a.
• Recall that Total Revenue equals price times quantity. In graph this is the
multiplication of two distances making a right angle: Price – distance 0 to
p and quantity – distance 0 to q1. Graphically, multiplying two sides of a
right angle together gives the area of the resultant rectangle defined by
the points, 0 – p – c – q1. Thus TR = the area of the rectangle 0–p–c–q1.
• Similarly for the three total costs:
o ATC = TC/q. Hence, TC = ATC*q = the area of rectangle 0–a–b–q1.
o AVC = TVC/q. Hence, TVC = AVC*q = the area of rectangle 0–e–d–
q1.
o ACF = TFC/q. Hence, TFC = AFC*q = the area of rectangle e–a–b–d.
• And, finally, profit. There are two methods to calculate profit that both
yield the same answer:
o π = TR – TC = the area of the rectangle 0–p–c–q1 minus the area of
rectangle 0–a–b–q1 = the area of rectangle p-a-b-c.
o π = TR – TC = p*q – ATC*q = (p – ATC)q. This equation is the most
useful because it is clear now that in Figure 5, profit is negative
(because p < ATC). P – ATC = distance a – p while q = distance p –
c, which again yields the area of rectangle p-a-b-c.
• Students should know all of the above formulas and graphical
calculations.

5
o Loss Minimization and the Short-Run Shutdown Point
When considering what profit equals for a given firm there are clearly three
possibilities:
• π > 0, which occurs whenever P > ATC. In this case firms clearly continue to
produce.
• π = 0, which occurs whenever P = ATC. In this case firms will still continue to
produce (zero economic profit implies that all costs, including opportunity
costs are covered.)
• π < 0, which occurs whenever P < ATC. Should the firm shutdown in this
situation?
Figure 5 will be used to illustrate the issue here. For illustration we will
assume that:
• q1 = 1000.
• P=5
• At q1 ATC (a) = 7; AVC (e) = 3, which implies that AFC = ATC – AVC
= 4.
• π = TR – TC = p*q – ATC*q = 5000 – 7000 = - 2000.
In this case, it turns out that it is best for the firm to continue to produce. This
is true because the firm is in the short-run, with fixed costs that must still be
paid when the firm shuts down. Calculate TFC:
• TFC = AFC*q = 4*1000 = 4000.
Thus, if the firm produces it loses $2,000 and if it shuts down it loses its TFC
or $4,000. Clearly, the firm is better off to produce and not shut down.
How low must the price go before the firm will shut down?
• Essentially, the key concept here is for the firm to only shut down if it
cannot cover those costs that it can avoid by shutting down – the total
variable costs. Thus, firms should continue to produce as long as their
revenue (as it does in the example above) covers the variable costs.
Notice that fixed costs are irrelevant. A common mistake is to
incorrectly think that one must continue to produce because of fixed
costs.
• To prove this algebraically consider the breakeven point where profits
if the firm produces equals profits if they shutdown:
o TR – TC = – TFC or
o TR – TVC – TFC = – TFC or
o TR – TVC = 0 (Notice that TFC cancels out because the firm
must pay them whether producing or not) or
o TR = TVC, thus we breakeven when total revenue equals total
variable costs. Continuing to simplify the equation:
o P*q = AVC*q or

6
 o P = AVC, thus the firm should shutdown if price falls below
AVC. This is called the short-run shutdown point.
o What is the firm’s short-run supply curve?
P MC
AVC
A supply curve shows quantity supplied
given the price, ceteris paribus. Figure 6 P1
shows the MC and AVC for a perfectly A
PM
competitive firm. If the price in the market
equals Pm then the firm will produce q1, D = PM = MR
where P = MR = MC or where P = MC.
Likewise, if the price rises to P1 then the
firm produces q2, where the new price q1 q2 q
equals the MC curve. Notice in both cases Firm
that it is the MC curve that equates price
and quantity supplied. Thus, the MC curve Figure 6
is the firm’s supply curve.
The only exception would be if the price fell below AVC. In that case, recall that
the firm will shut-down in the short-run. Point A in Figure 6, the point where MC
crosses AVC, shows the point at which price would equal AVC and the firm
would shut-down.
Recall that the law of supply requires an upward sloping supply curve, when
price increases so does quantity supplied. Since the supply curve equals the
firm’s MC above AVC and MC is upward sloping, supply curves are upward
sloping because so is MC. And as we learned before, MC is upward sloping
because of the law of diminishing returns.
o What is the industry/market short-run supply curve?
This is a relatively straightforward concept. If at a price of $10 a perfectly
competitive firm produces 4,000 units of output and there are 1,000 similar firms,
then total industry output is 4 million. Thus, the industry supply curve is simply
the sum of all the firm supply curves. Since the firm supply curves are their MC
curves (above AVC), then the industry short-run supply curve is also a measure
of industry MC.

III. Long-run Pricing and Output

o The long-run equilibrium in perfectly competitive markets:

• if π > 0, the positive profits attract firms to the market in the long-run
o More firms increases market supply
o Increased supply decreases price
o This process continues until π = 0
• If π < 0, the negative profits cause some firms to go out of business / leave
industry in the long-run
o Fewer firms decreases supply
o Decreased supply increases price
o This process continues until π = 0
• Thus in the long-run π must equal 0

7
 o Market Shocks – What is the Long-run Market Supply?
Now consider what happens in the long-run with a shock in the market, such as
an increase or a decrease in market demand. Figure 7 shows the long-run
equilibrium for a perfectly competitive market and firm. Profit is zero because
price equals ATC.

$ MC P

ATC S

P2 P2
Df = MR S2
P1 P1
D2
D

q1 q2 q Q1 Q2 Q3 Q

Firm Market
Figure 7
However, consider what happens in both the short-run and the long-run as
market D increases or decreases. Initially market price equals P1 while firm
output is q1 and market output is Q1. Now suppose that market D increases to D2.
What happens in both the short and the long run as a result?

Short-run Impact Long-run Impact

P↑ (to P2) With π > 0 => entry occurs and the

short run S shifts right (to S2)

q ↑ (to q2) P↓ (back to P1)

Q ↑ (to Q2) q ↓ (back to q1) while Q ↑ (to Q3). How

does total Q increase while firm q
decreases?

π ↑ (was 0 now is > 0) π ↓ (back to zero)

Just the opposite in both the short-run and long-run would happen if D were to
decrease rather than increase. Thus, in the long-run profit is always equal to
zero which is caused by either entry (if D increases) or exit (if D decreases).
Notice that, in the long-run price remains constant at P1, which must happen in
order to keep profit equal to zero. The only change in the long-run with an
increase or decrease in market D is that total output rises or falls, respectively.

This implies that the long-run market supply curve is perfectly elastic at the
market price that yields a zero profit (P1 in figure 7).

• Long Run Market Supply Curve

8
o Assumes that π = 0
o Shows market Q given market P
o Three possible types of long-run supply curves exist: Constant cost, Increasing
cost, and Decreasing cost
industry. P
• Constant Cost – Figures 7 and
8 illustrate a constant cost
industry. Essentially, if
scarcity does not apply, then LRSC
with entry the demand for P1
resources ↑ but the price of
resources remains constant
and the cost of inputs is also
constant. Therefore price of Q
the output remains constant
Figure 8
in the long-run to keep profit
equal to zero.
o Assumes neither market entry nor exit affects production costs.
• During entry input supply ↑
• During exit input supply ↓

• Increasing Cost – Figure 9 P

illustrates an increasing cost
industry. If scarcity does apply
then with entry demand for LRSC
resources ↑, price of resources
↑, and costs of production ↑. P*
Likewise with exit demand for
resources ↓, price of resources
↓, and costs of production ↓.
Therefore the price must rise Q
with increasing output (entry) in Figure 9
the long-run to keep profit equal
to zero. In other words, the long-run supply curve must have a positive slope.

9
• Decreasing Cost – Figure 10
illustrates a decreasing cost P
industry. A decreasing cost
industry can only occur if entry
causes costs to fall. This can only
happen for relatively short periods
of time and occurs for two primary P*
reasons: (1) economies of scale in
a new industry and (2) new LRSC
technology that decreases costs.
Q
Figure 10

Therefore, the price must fall with increasing output (entry) in the long-run to
keep profit equal to zero and, hence, the long-run supply curve will have a
negative slope.

10