Question 1:

What does it mean to say that monopoly is socially inefficent?


A reasonable Answer

The monopolistic firm is producing an output below the level at which the marginal cost equals price. The price is the amount the community is willing to pay to have that last unit. Additional units of output up to the point where the above equality holds will each be worth more to those buying those units than their marginal cost, which equals the amount of resources the firm has to use up to produce them. Return to Lesson