Consider the competitive market for steel. Assume that, regardless of how many firms are in the industry, every firm in the industry is identical and faces the marginal cost (MC), average total cost (ATC), and average variable cost (AVC) curves shown on the following graph.

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Chapter7: Production, Costs, And Industry Structure
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Problem 19RQ: What shapes would you generally expect each of the following cost curves to have: fixed costs,...
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7. Short-run supply and long-run equilibrium

Consider the competitive market for steel. Assume that, regardless of how many firms are in the industry, every firm in the industry is identical and faces the marginal cost (MC), average total cost (ATC), and average variable cost (AVC) curves shown on the following graph.
 
Consider the competitive market for steel. Assume that, regardless of how many firms are in the industry, every firm in the industry is identical and
faces the marginal cost (MC), average total cost (ATC), and average variable cost (AVC) curves shown on the following graph.
80
72
64
56
48
ATC
40
32
24
AVC
16
MC O
4
12
16
20
24
28
32
36
40
QUANTITY (Thousands of tons)
COSTS (Dollars per ton)
Transcribed Image Text:Consider the competitive market for steel. Assume that, regardless of how many firms are in the industry, every firm in the industry is identical and faces the marginal cost (MC), average total cost (ATC), and average variable cost (AVC) curves shown on the following graph. 80 72 64 56 48 ATC 40 32 24 AVC 16 MC O 4 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 QUANTITY (Thousands of tons) COSTS (Dollars per ton)
Use the orange points (square symbol) to plot the initial short-run industry supply curve when there are 10 firms in the market. (Hint: You can
disregard the portion of the supply curve that corresponds to prices where there is no output since this is the industry supply curve.) Next, use the
purple points (diamond symbol) to plot the short-run industry supply curve when there are 20 firms. Finally, use the green points (triangle symbol) to
plot the short-run industry supply curve when there are 30 firms.
80
72
Supply (10 firms)
64
56
48
Demand
Supply (20 firms)
40
32
Supply (30 firms)
24
16
120
240
360
480
600
720
B40
960
10B0 1200
QUANTITY (Thousands of tons)
If there were 10 firms in this market, the short-run equilibrium price of steel would be $
. Therefore, in the long run, firms would
|per ton. At that price, firms in this industry would
the steel market.
Because you know that competitive firms earn
economic profit in the long run, you know the long-run equilibrium price must be
24
per ton. From the graph, you can see that this means there will be
firms operating in the steel industry in long-run equilibrium.
True or False: Assuming implicit costs are positive, each of the firms operating in this industry in the long run earns positive accounting profit.
True
O False
PRICE (Dollars per ton)
Transcribed Image Text:Use the orange points (square symbol) to plot the initial short-run industry supply curve when there are 10 firms in the market. (Hint: You can disregard the portion of the supply curve that corresponds to prices where there is no output since this is the industry supply curve.) Next, use the purple points (diamond symbol) to plot the short-run industry supply curve when there are 20 firms. Finally, use the green points (triangle symbol) to plot the short-run industry supply curve when there are 30 firms. 80 72 Supply (10 firms) 64 56 48 Demand Supply (20 firms) 40 32 Supply (30 firms) 24 16 120 240 360 480 600 720 B40 960 10B0 1200 QUANTITY (Thousands of tons) If there were 10 firms in this market, the short-run equilibrium price of steel would be $ . Therefore, in the long run, firms would |per ton. At that price, firms in this industry would the steel market. Because you know that competitive firms earn economic profit in the long run, you know the long-run equilibrium price must be 24 per ton. From the graph, you can see that this means there will be firms operating in the steel industry in long-run equilibrium. True or False: Assuming implicit costs are positive, each of the firms operating in this industry in the long run earns positive accounting profit. True O False PRICE (Dollars per ton)
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