solutions_module4_practice

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Johns Hopkins University *

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BU.220.620

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Economics

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Jun 24, 2024

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pdf

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Module 4 Extra Practice Problems For Questions 1 - 5, choose the best answer. 1. A seller engaging in perfect price discrimination (first-degree price discrimination) A. charges each buyer their maximum willingness to pay. B. charges different prices to each customer based upon different costs of delivery. C. generates a deadweight loss to society. D. charges lower prices to customers who buy greater quantities. E. maximizes consumer surplus. Solution: A firm that engages in perfect/first-degree price discrimination, charges each buyer their maximum willingness to pay for all quantities. As a result, all consumer surplus is captured by the seller and there is zero deadweight loss. 2. Consumers who have a relative high willingness to pay for a good: A. are likely to have a higher consuemr surplus under perfect price discrimination. B. are likely to have a higher consumer surplus under a single-price monopoly. C. are likely to have the same consumer surplus under first-degree/perfect price discrimination and a single-price monopoly. D. are likely to have the same consumer surplus under third-degree price discrimination and a single-price monopoly. Solution: A consumer who puts a high-value on a good will be charged their value under perfect price discrimination–resulting in zero consumer surplus. Under a single price monopoly however, they will pay lower than their willingness to pay (as the monopolist will set MR = MC for the entire market). Similarly, under third-degree price discrimination, the firm will segment the market based on value and the consumer will pay a higher price than under the single price monopolist–resulting in lower consumer surplus. 3. A two-part pricing monopolist A. creates deadweight loss. B. increases market inefficiency. C. captures all consumer surplus. D. decreases total welfare. E. decreases producer surplus Solution: A firm engaged in two-part pricing charges P = MC for all units and an up-front fixed-fee equal to the would-be consumer surplus when P = MC. As a result, the producer captures all the consumer surplus and there is zero deadweight loss (and therefore no market inefficiency).
4. A firm engaging in third-degree price discrimination can sell its output in its domestic market or in a foreign market. Having sold a certain level of output in these two markets, it discovers that its marginal revenue in the domestic market is 42 while its marginal revenue in the foreign market is 40. Assume that the marginal costs of distribution and production are the same in both markets. To maximize profits from the sale of this level of output, the firm for sure should A. have sold more output in the domestic market and less in the foreign market. B. do nothing until it acquires more information on costs. C. have sold less output in the domestic market and more in the foreign market. D. have sold only in the domestic market. E. have sold only in the foreign market. Solution: The firm should allocate sales across market segments such that MR Domestic = MC and MR F oreign = MC . Since MC is the same in both markets, this implies that MR Domestic = MR F oreign at the profit maximizing solution. Since MR Domestic > MR F oreign , ( 42 > 40), the firm should sell more in the domestic market where incremental revenues are higher. 5. Suppose all individuals are identical, and their monthly demand for Internet access from Xfinity can be represented as P = 5 0 . 5 Q (or Q = 10 2 P ) where P is price in per hour and Q is hours per month. Xfinity faces a constant marginal cost of 1. Which of the following pricing schemes will lead to the highest profit for Xfinity? A. Set a per-unit price = 1 B. Set a per-unit price = 3 C. Set a per-unit price = 1 plus have a fixed-fee = 16 D. Set a per-unit price = 3 plus have a fixed-fee = 4 E. Set a fixed-fee = 25 and allow all goods to be free (P = 0) Solution: The two-part tarrif will always extract the maximum amount of consumer surplus and therefore maximize profit. In a two-part tarrif, P = MC, and the fixed-fee is the would-be consumer surplus at that per-unit price. The other choices all results in lower profit for Xfinity. Choices A & B leave consumer surplus on the table. Choice D captures all possible consumer surplus when P = 3 but results in deadweight loss that could be converted to profit under a two-part tarrif. Choice E is not profit-maximizing as Xfinity would lose on its per-unit sales since P < MC. The graphs below illustrate all of these choices. Remember that profit under each choice will include fixed fees (if any) pluis any revenue earned on the per-unit sales minus any per-unit costs. P P = 1 8 5 MC = 1 10 Profit = 1(8) – 1(8) = 0 Page 2
P P = 3 4 5 MC = 1 10 Profit = 3(4) – 1(4) = 8 Q P P = 1 8 5 CS = fixed fee = ½*(4)(8) = 16 MC = 1 10 Profit = 16 + 1(8) – 1(8) = 16 Q P P = 3 4 5 CS = fixed fee = ½*(2)(4) = 4 MC = 1 10 Profit = 4 + 3(4) – 1(8) = 8 Q Q P P = 0 5 CS = fixed fee = ½*(5)(10) = 25 MC = 1 10 Profit = 25 + 0(10) – 1(10) = 15 Page 3
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