1. Why must price cover average variable costs if the firm is to continue operating?

2. Why do perfectly competitive firms sell their products only at the market price? Why not try to raise prices to make more profit or lower them to garner more sales?

3. Describe the role that easy entry and exit play in competitive markets over the long run.

4. Why are marginal revenue and price equal for the perfectly competitive firm?

5. Why, if competitive firms are earning economic profits in the short run, are they unable to earn them in the long run?

6. Describe the reasons why an industry’s costs might increase in the long run. Why might they decrease over the long run?

7. When a sports team consistently struggles, one strategy is to replace the coach. But when this happens, the new coach initially has the same players (its primary input). How can a new coach improve the team’s record when the players are mostly the same?

8. Why isn’t a short-run supply curve for a perfectly competitive firm equivalent to the entire marginal cost curve?

9. Suppose you master the art of growing herbs in your garden and selling them for profit at the local farmer’s market. Your neighbor sees your profitable business and decides to do the same; however, with less experience he faces a much higher marginal cost curve. How is it possible for both you and your neighbor to sell herbs at the same price?

10. Assume a competitive industry is in long-run equilibrium and firms in the industry are earning normal profits. Now assume that production technology improves such that average total cost declines by $5 per unit. Describe the process this industry will go through as it moves to a new long-run equilibrium.

11. When a competitive firm is earning economic profits, is it also maximizing profit per unit? Why or why not?

12. In this chapter, we suggested that whenever market price fell below average variable costs, the firm would shut down. At that point, revenue is not covering its variable costs and the firm is losing more money than if it just shut down and lost fixed costs. Clearly, shutting the firm is more complicated than that. Under what circumstances might the firm continue to operate even though prices are below its average variable cost?

13. The growth of ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft has generated much discussion in the news. Drivers operate as independent businesses, working as many hours as they choose and earning a portion of the fares set by the company. However, during periods of high demand, the market price increases (such as “surge” pricing by Uber). Provide a few reasons why ride-sharing companies share the characteristics of a perfectly competitive industry.

14. The opening of formal Cuban relations with the United States has led to greater trade between the two countries, especially in perfectly competitive products such as sugar, tobacco, and oranges. Explain what is likely to happen in the market for these agricultural products under increased trade with Cuba, and how that might affect individual farmers in the United States. What are the potential benefits to consumers and other producers?

15. Use the following figure for a firm in a perfectly competitive market.

16. Use the figure below to answer the following true/false questions:

17. According to By the Numbers, which two regions employ the highest number of people in the farm and farm-related industries? Approximately how many total persons are employed in the farm and farm-related industries in these two regions combined?

18. According to By the Numbers, in which year (since 1991) did the following crops reach their highest and lowest prices per bushel: corn, wheat, soybeans?