The two largest cigarette producers are Phillip Morris and R. J. Reynolds. Both are considering whether to increase their price for a pack of cigarettes or keep the price unchanged. The relevant factors to consider are: 1) demand for cigarettes is inelastic, so if both firms raise prices they will increase their revenue, and 2) if one raises price and the other doesn't, they will lose market share to their rival R. J. Reynolds Increase No change Increase R: 500 million R: 400 million P: 600 million P: 300 million Phillip Morris No change R: 200 million R: 300 million P: 500 million P: 400 million Does either cigarette maker have a dominant strategy? Why or why not? Use the above matrix to answer, and assume the two companies do not cooperate For purposes of the problem, ignore the existence of other cigarette makers. 2. Does the answer to #1 change if the two firms can cooperate? 3. How would your answer to #1 change if the outcome matrix changed to the following: R. J. Reynolds Increase No change R: 500 million P: 300 million Increase R: 400 million P: 500 million

Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are the leading competitors in the market for cola products. In 1960 Coca-Cola introduced Sprite, which today is among the worldwide leaders in the lemon-lime soft drink market and ranks in the top 10 among all soft drinks worldwide. Prior to 1999, PepsiCo did not have a product that competed directly against Sprite and had to decide whether to introduce such a soft drink. By not introducing a lemon-lime soft drink, PepsiCo would continue to earn a $200 million profit, and Coca-Cola would continue to earn a $300 million profit. Suppose that by introducing a new lemon-lime soft drink, one of two possible strategies could be pursued: (1) PepsiCo could trigger a price war with Coca-Cola in both the lemon-lime and cola markets or (2) Coca-Cola could acquiesce and each firm maintain its current 50/50 split of the cola market and split the lemon-lime market 30/70 (PepsiCo/Coca-Cola). If PepsiCo introduced a lemon-lime soft drink and a price war resulted, both companies…

Suppose the European Union (EU) was investigated and proposed a merger between two of the largest distillers of premium Scotch liquor. Based on some economists’ definition of the relevant market, the two firms proposing to merge enjoyed a combined market share of about two-thirds, while another firm essentially controlled the remaining share of the market. Additionally, suppose that the (wholesale) market elasticity of demand for Scotch liquor is −2 and that it costs $16.90 to produce and distribute each liter of Scotch. Based only on these data, provide quantitative estimates of the likely pre- and postmerger prices in the wholesale market for premium Scotch liquor. Instructions: Do not round intermediate calculations. Enter your final responses rounded to the nearest penny (two decimal places). Pre-merger price: $ Post-merger price: $

Rawlding is a manufacturer in the oligopolistically competitive market for footballs. Two other manufacturers, Spaldon and Wilke, compete with Rawlding for football consumers. Rawlding faces the demand curve for footballs depicted on the graph. Initially, Rawlding charges $30 per football, producing and selling 7 million footballs per year. PRICE (Dollars per ball) 36 35 34 33 32 31 30 29 28 27 26 O 7 8 FOOTBALLS (Millions of balls) 9 10 G As an oligopolist, Rawlding is a price maker. If Rawlding raises the price of its football from $30 to $32 per ball, the quantity of Rawlding footballs demanded by million footballs per year. If Rawlding reduces the price of its football from $30 to $28 per ball, the quantity of by million footballs per year. (Hint: Click on the points on the graph to see their coordinates.) footballs demanded If Rawlding raises the price of its football above $30, the kinked demand curve model suggests that Spaldon and Wilke will respond by The portion of Rawlding's…

Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are the leading competitors in the market for cola products. In 1960 Coca-Cola introduced Sprite, which today is the worldwide leader in the lemon-lime soft drink market and ranks fourth among all soft drinks worldwide. Prior to 1999, PepsiCo did not have a product that competed directly against Sprite and had to decide whether to introduce such a soft drink. By not introducing a lemon-lime drink, PepsiCo would continue to earn a $200 million profit and Coca-Cola would continue to earn a $300 million profit. Suppose that by introducing a new lemon-lime soft drink, one of two possible strategies could be pursued: (1) PepsiCo could trigger a price war with Coca-Cola in both lemon-lime and cola markets or (2) Coca-Cola could acquiesce and each firm maintains its current 50/50 split of the cola market and split the lemon-lime market 70/30 in favor of Coca-Cola. If Pepsi introduced a lemon-lime drink and a price war resulted, both companies would earn profits of $100…

Suppose that a monopolistically competitive restaurant is currently serving 230 meals per day (the output where MR = MC). At that output level, ATC per meal is $10, and consumers are willing to pay $12 per meal. What is this firm's profit or loss? Will there be entry or exit? Will this restaurant's demand curve shift left or right? In long-run equilibrium, suppose that this restaurant charges $11 per meal for 180 meals and that the marginal cost of the 180th meal is $8. What is the firm's profit? (LO3)

Suppose Giocattolo of Italy and American Toy Company of the United States are the only two firms producing toys for sale in the U.S. market. Each firm realizes constant long-term costs so that the average total cost (ATC) equals the marginal cost (MC) at each level of output. Thus, MCo = ATCO is the long-term market supply schedule for toys. Suppose Giocattolo and American Toy Company operate as competitors, and the cost schedules of each company are MCo = ATCO = $10. On the following graph, use the grey point (star symbol) to identify the competitive market equilibrium. Then, use the green triangle (triangle symbols) to identify consumer surplus in this case. Note: Select and drag the point from the palette to the graph. Dashed drop lines will automatically extend to both axes. Then select and drag the shaded region from the palette to the graph. To resize the shaded region, select one of the points and move to the desired position. ? PRICE (Dollars per toy) 20 18 16 14 10 00 6 4 2 0…

Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) and Cargill are the biggest makers of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), used to sweeten Coke, Pepsi, and other non-diet soft drinks. Each firm is currently choosing between increasing or decreasing their price for HFCS. The table below gives each firm's profits in each possible situation. A is Archer Daniels Midland and C is Cargill. For purposes of this question, ignore the existence of other HFCS makers. Cargill P increase P decrease P increase A: $500 million A: $200 million C: $400 million C: $500 million ADM P decrease A: $600 million A: $350 million C: $200 million C: $300 million a. Assuming the two firms do not cooperate, does either have a dominant strategy? If so, what is it? b. If ADM and Cargill decide to cooperate, how, if at all, will the outcome differ from part a? Would this case be an evample of a repeated or a pon-reneated game?

Pizza Hut and Dominoís are considering to open a shop in a new shopping precinct in Burwood. Suppose both charge $10 for a pizza (price competition is ignored here), and the aggregate local demand for pizza at this price is Q: If both Örms open a shop in the shopping precinct, Q is shared equally between the two shops. On the other hand, if there is only one pizza shop in the shopping precinct, the total demand Q goes to that shop. The total cost function for Pizza Hut is TC P(Q) = 5Q + 6000   and the total cost function for Dominos is   TCD(Q) = 5Q+ 6000:   Each  has two strategies: Open a shop or Not, and they make their decisions simultaneously. The payoff is zero for a firm that does not open a shop in the shopping precinct.     Suppose Q= 3000: Construct a 2 X 2 payoff matrix for this entry game between Pizza Hut and Dominoís and Önd the NE of the game.   Suppose Q = 2000:Construct a 2x2 payoff matrix for this entry game between Pizza Hut and Dominoís and Önd the NE of the game.…

Suppose the European Union (EU) is investigating a proposed merger between two of the largest distillers of premium Scotch liquor. Based on some economists’ definition of the relevant market, the two firms proposing to merge enjoyed a combined market share of about two-thirds, while another firm essentially controlled the remaining share of the market. Additionally, suppose that the (wholesale) market elasticity of demand for Scotch liquor is –1.3 and that it costs $16.20 to produce and distribute each liter of Scotch. Based only on these data, provide quantitative estimates of the likely pre- and postmerger prices in the wholesale market for premium Scotch liquor. In light of your estimates, are you surprised that the EU might raise concerns about potential anticompetitive effects of the proposed merger? Explain carefully.