Principles of Economics (Second Edition)
Principles of Economics (Second Edition)
2nd Edition
ISBN: 9780393623826
Author: Lee Coppock, Dirk Mateer
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Question
Book Icon
Chapter 3, Problem 1QFR
To determine

The working of a competitive market and its reliability on the existence of many buyers and sellers

Expert Solution & Answer
Check Mark

Explanation of Solution

In perfect competition market, neither a single producer nor a single consumer can determine the operation of this market. It offers efficiency in both allocation and production.

The market depends on the existence of many buyers and sellers because of the following reasons:

  1. There are so many customers that one customer can purchase a very small portion of the market supply, likewise a single seller can provide a very small fraction of the total output too. Hence in relation to the sector it belongs, the size of the competitive firm is very small.
  2. All suppliers provide a homogenous product in a perfect competition market, in simple words all the competitive firm's products are the same.
  3. Since many sellers sell more or less the same product or service, sometimes a single business is an irrelevant part of the market. It has no control over both the supply and price of the market.
  4. Buyers, as well as sellers, have complete knowledge of the current market price. That is why in a perfect competition market there can only be one price.
  5. A new business can freely enter into this particular type of market or an existing business can freely leave the industry in the longer term.

Hence, a competitive market depends on the presence of many consumers and producers as there are huge amount of buyers and sellers for a single product or service. The products of the competitive market are homogenous or identical.

Economics Concept Introduction

Introduction:

A perfect competition market is one where a huge number of sellers compete with each other to fulfill the demands and requirements of a huge number of consumers. The brief idea of perfect competition market is given in the following diagram:

  Principles of Economics (Second Edition), Chapter 3, Problem 1QFR

Figure - A

Want to see more full solutions like this?

Subscribe now to access step-by-step solutions to millions of textbook problems written by subject matter experts!
Students have asked these similar questions
Explain the requirements of the states that have enacted legislation to protect taxpayers from predatory tax return preparers and tax refund advances.
Responsd to Luis Rodriguez    1800 tons of pomegranates a year is a lot of sweetness! So, you can get 71 Afghanis for $1? How cool. Does that mean you can buy a lot of stuff in Afghanistan for only $1? How do you know that your purchasing power in Afghanistan is stronger than in the United States? Yes, with an exchange rate of 71 Afghan Afghani for 1 US dollar, you can buy many things in Afghanistan for just $1. However, purchasing power isn't solely determined by the exchange rate. It also depends on the cost of goods and services in each country. For example, if a meal in Afghanistan costs 200 Afghanis, you would need about $2.82 to buy that meal in US dollars (since 200 Afghanis divided by 71 Afghanis per dollar equals approximately $2.82). So, while the exchange rate allows you to get more Afghanis for your dollars, you also need to consider how much things cost in Afghanistan. Now that the world seems to like Afghani stuff and is buying more of it, does that mean your…
The idea that a country can experience gains from trade means that it can A) consume at a point outside its production possibilities frontier. B) increase its exports. C) increase the efficiency of its production. D) experience a bowed-out production possibilities frontier.
Knowledge Booster
Background pattern image
Similar questions
SEE MORE QUESTIONS
Recommended textbooks for you
Text book image
Economics Today and Tomorrow, Student Edition
Economics
ISBN:9780078747663
Author:McGraw-Hill
Publisher:Glencoe/McGraw-Hill School Pub Co
Text book image
Microeconomics: Private and Public Choice (MindTa...
Economics
ISBN:9781305506893
Author:James D. Gwartney, Richard L. Stroup, Russell S. Sobel, David A. Macpherson
Publisher:Cengage Learning
Text book image
Macroeconomics: Private and Public Choice (MindTa...
Economics
ISBN:9781305506756
Author:James D. Gwartney, Richard L. Stroup, Russell S. Sobel, David A. Macpherson
Publisher:Cengage Learning
Text book image
Economics: Private and Public Choice (MindTap Cou...
Economics
ISBN:9781305506725
Author:James D. Gwartney, Richard L. Stroup, Russell S. Sobel, David A. Macpherson
Publisher:Cengage Learning
Text book image
Economics:
Economics
ISBN:9781285859460
Author:BOYES, William
Publisher:Cengage Learning
Text book image
Economics (MindTap Course List)
Economics
ISBN:9781337617383
Author:Roger A. Arnold
Publisher:Cengage Learning