Question

True or False: If Antonio's Fire Engines were a competitive firm instead and $105,000 were the market price for an engine, decreasing its price from $105,000 to $90,000 would result in a decrease in the production quantity, but an increase in total revenue.

Answer 1

Answer:

False

Explanation:

The market demand curve in perfect competition slopes downward.

Price is determined by the intersection of market demand and supply; under perfect competition, the individual firms don't have any influence on the market price.

Individual firms become price takers when the market price is determined by market supply and demand forces. Individual firms are forced to charge the equilibrium price of the market or the consumers would purchase the product from the many other firms in the market who are charging a lower price. The demand curve for an individual firm is, therefore, the same as the equilibrium price in the market

All individual firms are price takers in a perfectly competitive market. The price is determined by the intersection of market supply and demand curves.

The demand curve for an individual firm is not the same as the market demand curve. The market demand curve slopes downward, whereas the firm's demand curve is a horizontal line.

The firm's horizontal demand curve indicates a price elasticity of demand that is perfectly elastic

The horizontal demand curve of an individual firm indicates that the elasticity of demand for the good is perfectly elastic. This means that if any individual firm charged a price somewhat above market price, it would not sell any products.

Offering a firm's product at a lower price than the competitors is a strategy usually used to enhance market share. In a perfectly competitive market, firms cannot reduce their product price without experiencing a negative profit. Thus, assuming that each firm is a profit-maximizer, it will sell its output at the market price.