While there is a degree of differentiation between major grocery chains like Albertsons and Kroger, the regular offering of sale prices by both firms for many of their products provides evidence that these firms engage in
If you were in charge of pricing at on of these firms, would you have a clear-cut pricing strategy? If so, explain why. If not, explain why not and propose a mechanism that might solve your dilemma. (Hint: Unlike Walmart, neither of these two firms guarantees "Everyday low prices.")
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- 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…arrow_forwardTwo firms engage in Cournot competition in the Everlasting Gobstopper industry. The price elasticity of demand is-2. Firm 1 has aconstant marginal cost of $110.00 per unit, and firm 2 has a constant marginal cost of $181.50 per unit. If the two firms are currently inequilibrium, what is firm 2's share of the market? Enter your answer as a decimal, rounded to two places if necessary.______ Please show all stepsarrow_forwardArcher 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?arrow_forward
- Suppose that identical duopoly firms have constant marginal costs of $0 per unit. Firm 1 faces ademand function of q1 = 100 – 2p1 + p2, where q1 is Firm 1’s output, p1 is Firm 1’s price, and p2 isFirm 2’s price. Similarly, the demand Firm 2 faces is q2 = 100 – 2p2 + p1. Please solve for theBertrand equilibrium.arrow_forwardMays and McCovey are beer-brewing companies that operate in a duopoly (two-firm oligopoly). The daily marginal cost (MC) of producing a can of beer is constant and equals $0.80 per can. Assume that neither firm had any startup costs, so marginal cost equals average total cost (ATC) for each firm. Suppose that Mays and McCovey form a cartel, and the firms divide the output evenly. (Note: This is only for convenience; nothing in this model requires that the two companies must equally share the output.) Place the black point (plus symbol) on the following graph to indicate the profit-maximizing price and combined quantity of output if Mays and McCovey choose to work together. 2.00 1.80 Monopoly Outcome 1.60 Demand 1.40 1.20 1.00 MC = ATC 0.80 P 0.60 0.40 0.20 MR 70 140 210 280 350 420 490 560 630 700 QUANTITY (Cans of beer) PRICE (Dollars per can) ---arrow_forwardSuppose that firms in a two-firm industry choose quantities every month, and each month the firms sell at the market-clearing price determined by the quantities they choose. Each firm has a constant marginal cost, and the market demand curve is linear of the form P = a - bQ, where Q is total industry quantity and P is the market price. Suppose that initially each firm has the same constant marginal cost. Further suppose that each month the firms attain the Cournot equilibrium in quantities. a) Suppose that it is observed that from one month to the next Firm 1’s quantity goes down, Firm 2’s quantity goes up, and the market price goes up. A change in the demand and/or cost conditions consistent with what we observe is: i) The market demand curve shifted leftward in a parallel fashion. ii) The market demand curve shifted rightward in a parallel fashion. iii) Firm 1’s marginal cost went up, while Firm 2’s marginal cost stayed the same. iv) Firm 2’s…arrow_forward
- Suppose Canon raised the price of its printers, but Hewlett-Packard (the largest seller) refused to follow. Two years later, Canon cut its price, and Hewlett-Packard retaliated with an even deeper price cut, which Canon was forced to match. For the next five years, Hewlett- Packard raised its prices five times, and each time, Canon followed suit within 24 hours. The model underlying the pricing behavior of these firms is the: Cartel model O Perfect competition model Nonprice competition model Price leadership modelarrow_forwardSuppose that two mining companies, Australian Minerals Company (AMC) and South African Mines, Inc. (SAMI), control the only sources of a rare mineral used in making certain electronic components. The companies have agreed to form a cartel to set the (profit-maximizing) price of the mineral. Each company must decide whether to abide by the agreement (i.e., not offer secret price cuts to customers) or not abide (i.e., offer secret price cuts to customers). If both companies abide by the agreement, AMC will earn an annual profit of $36 million and SAMI will earn an annual profit of $24 million from sales of the mineral. If AMC does not abide and SAMI abides by the agreement, then AMC earns $48 million and SAMI earns $6 million. If SAMI does not abide and AMC abides by the agreement, then AMC earns $12 million and SAMI earns $36 million. If both companies do not abide by the agreement, then AMC earns $18 million and SAMI earns $12 million. Complete the following payoff matrix using the…arrow_forwardIn the late 1990s, Vanguard Airlines operated as a low-cost carrier, offering low prices and limited services, out of Kansas City, Missouri. Not long after its inception, Vanguard began offering a significant number of flights based out of Midway International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, as well. When Vanguard expanded to Midway, incumbent airlines, such as Delta, quickly responded to its low fares by offering many competing flights at comparably low prices. The intense price competition ultimately caused Vanguard to exit Midway in 2000 and file for bankruptcy in 2002. At varying points in time, the airline industry has been described as a contestable market; does the example of Vanguard support or refute this characterization of the airline industry? Explainarrow_forward
- Suppose that there are two firms producing a homogenous product and competing in Cournot fashion and let the market demand be given by Q = 360-- Assume for simplicity that each firm operates with zero total cost. Suppose that two firms collude. How much more profit each firm can obtain relative to Cournot competition? 8000 14400 7200 16000arrow_forwardThe figure below shows the market conditions facing two firms, Brooks, Inc., and Spring, Inc., in the domestic market for large utility pumps. Each firm has constant long-run costs, so that MC0 = AC0. As competitors in a duopoly, there are a number of models to determine output and prices. Assume that the Bertrand duopoly model applies, so that they both set price equal to their marginal cost. Initial output in this market will be 16,000 per year (this is split between the two firms), at a price of $300. Suppose that Brooks, Inc. and Spring, Inc. form a joint venture, River Company, whose utility pumps replace the output sold by the parent companies in the domestic market. Assuming that River Company operates as a monopolist and that its costs equal MC0 = AC0, what is: (f) Assume River Company’s formation leads to technological advances that yield cost reductions, such that MC1 = AC1. Compared to the original equilibrium (in (a)), what is the net effect of River Company’s…arrow_forwardMays and McCovey are beer-brewing companies that operate in a duopoly (two-firm oligopoly). The daily marginal cost (MC) of producing a can of beer is constant and equals $0.60 per can. Assume that neither firm had any startup costs, so marginal cost equals average total cost (ATC) for each firm. Suppose that Mays and McCovey form a cartel, and the firms divide the output evenly. (Note: This is only for convenience; nothing in this model requires that the two companies must equally share the output.) Place the black point (plus symbol) on the following graph to indicate the profit-maximizing price and combined quantity of output if Mays and McCovey choose to work together. 1.00 Demand 0.90 Monopoly Outcome 0.80 0.70 MC = ATC 0.60 0.50 + 0.40 0.30 0.20 + 0.10 MR 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 QUANTITY (Cans of beer) PRICE (Dollars per can)arrow_forward
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