Cost and profit maximization under competition - What price to set?

3 important questions on Cost and profit maximization under competition - What price to set?

What price should be set in a competitive industry?

To maximize the profit you sell at the market price:

- You can't sell it for more, because no one will buy it.
- You won't sell it for less, because you can get more for your produce.

When is there a perfectly elastic demand curve?

1. When the product being sold is similar across different firms
2. When there are many buyers and sellers, each one a small relative to the total market.

Demand curves are more elastic in the long run: all entry and exit have already occurred.

VB: market for gold, paper, wheat etc

When is an industry competitive?

An industry is competitive when firms don't have much influence over the price of their products. Conditions:
1. The product is similar across sellers.
2. There are many buyers and sellers
3. There are many potential sellers.

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