Suppose the European Union (EU) is investigating a proposed merger between two of largest distillers of premium Scotch liquor. Based on estimates from the EU’s economists, these two firms have a combined market share of about two-thirds of all sales in the relevant market. The only remaining firm controls the other one-third of the market. Economists have estimated that the wholesale market price elasticity of demand for Scotch is −1.3 and the unit cost to produce and distribute the Scotch is 16.20 per liter. Using the available information, provide quantitative estimates of the pre- and post-merger prices for Scotch in the wholesale market. In your opinion, is the EU’s concern about the merger justified? Why or Why not?

A new restaurant - Uovo - has just opened in West L.A. It is serving the upscale market, with truly outstanding pasta that is flown in overnight from Bologna, Italy. Uovo offers a fixed-price menu with an appetizer, three dishes of pasta, and a delicious tiramisu for dessert. The restaurant faces the following demand function: Q = 500 - 4P where Q is the number of guests per day. The marginal cost is constant at $45 per customer (including expenses for ingredients and personnel). The restaurant is paying a rent of $1,000 per day. What is the profit-maximizing number of guests that Uovo should serve each day, and what price should Uovo charge to maximize profit? What is the elasticity of demand at the optimal price and quantity? Is demand elastic or inelastic at this point? From what we learned in class, make sense for the restaurant to operate in this area of the demand curve (elastic/inelastic part)? 3 4. What is the profit of the restaurant at the optimal price and quantity, and what…

Consider the pharmaceutical company Mylan that produces epinephrine injection devices called EpiPens. In the presence of other firms producing substitutes for this good, the price of EpiPens is $150. Now suppose that competitors to Mylan no longer produce epinephrine injection devices, so Mylan now has pricing power in this market. As the economist on staff at Mylan, you are charged with the task of figuring out what your company's new pricing strategy should be. The following graph shows the marginal cost (MC), which is assumed to be constant, and the average total cost (ATC) of Mylan. The graph also shows the demand curve (D) for EpiPens and the marginal revenue curve (MR) once the firm has market power. On the graph, use the grey point (star symbol) to indicate the quantity of EpiPens demanded if Mylan continues to charge $150. Dashed drop lines will automatically extend to both axes. PRICE (Dollars per EpiPen) 1000 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 0 1 MR 4 2 3 7 5 6 QUANTITY…

You are managing a firm with market power, and you think the price elasticity of demand for your product is between 1.3 and 1.5. You estimate that your marginal cost is between $55 and $70. The price that you should set would range between $ and $. (Round your answers to two decimal places.) If you refine your estimate of the marginal cost to $80, the price you should set would now range between $ and $ (Round your answers to two decimal places.)