Which of the following pricing strategies usually enhances the profits of firms with market power?

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Chapter 11 Pricing Strategies for Firms with Market Power

Multiple Choice Questions

1. You are the manager of a Mom and Pop store that can buy milk from a supplier at $3.00 per gallon. If you believe the elasticity of demand for milk by customers at your store is -4, then your profit-maximizing price is:

A. $2.00. B. $2.50. C. $4.00. D. $5.00. 2. You are the manager of a gas station and your goal is to maximize profits. Based on your past experience, the elasticity of demand by Texans for a car wash is -4, while the elasticity of demand by non-Texans for a car wash is -6. If you charge Texans $20 for a car wash, how much should you charge a man with Oklahoma license plates for a car wash?

A. $1.50 B. $15.00 C. $18.00 D. $20.00

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3. Which of the following is true for perfect competition but not true for monopolistic competition and monopoly?

A. MC = MR B. P = MC C. Positive long run profits D. P = MC and positive long run profits 4. A monopoly producing a chip at a marginal cost of $6 per unit faces a demand elasticity of -2.5. Which price should it charge to optimize its profits?

A. $6 per unit B. $8 per unit C. $10 per unit D. $12 per unit 5. A monopoly produces widgets at a marginal cost of $10 per unit and zero fixed costs. It faces an inverse demand function given by P = 50 - Q. Which of the following is the marginal revenue function for the firm?

A. MR = 60 - 2Q B. MR = 50 - Q C. MR = 100 - Q D. MR = 50 - 2Q 6. A monopoly produces widgets at a marginal cost of $10 per unit and zero fixed costs. It faces an inverse demand function given by P = 50 - Q. The monopoly price is:

A. $30. B. $20. C. $10. D. $40.

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7. A monopoly produces widgets at a marginal cost of $10 per unit and zero fixed costs. It faces an inverse demand function given by P = 50 - Q. The demand elasticity of a widget at the monopoly price and quantity is:

A. -1.5. B. -2. C. -2.5. D. 2. 8. A monopoly produces widgets at a marginal cost of $10 per unit and zero fixed costs. It faces an inverse demand function given by P = 50 - Q. What are the profits of the monopoly in equilibrium?

A. $300 B. $400 C. $500 D. $600 9. A monopoly produces widgets at a marginal cost of $10 per unit and zero fixed costs. It faces an inverse demand function given by P = 50 - Q. Suppose fixed costs rise to $400. What happens in the market?

A. The firm will raise the price. B. The firm will shut down immediately. C. The firm continues to produce the same output and charge the same price. D. The firm will reduce its output and raise price.

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10. Which of the following is NOT a condition for a firm to engage in price discrimination?

A. Consumers are partitioned into two or more types, with one type having a more elastic demand than the other. B. The firm has a means of identifying consumer types. C. The consumers are sincere in revealing their true natures. D. There is no resale market for the good. 11. Suppose P = 20 - 2Q is the market demand function for a local monopoly. The marginal cost is 2Q. The local monopoly tries to maximize its profits by equating MC = MR and charging a uniform price. What will be the equilibrium price and output?

A. $6.33, 3.33 units B. $6.33, 5 units C. $13.33, 3.33 units D. $10, 5 units 12. Suppose P = 20 - 2Q is the market demand function for a local monopoly. The marginal cost is 2Q. The firm currently uses a standard pricing strategy. Which of the following will allow the firm to enhance the profits?

A. Engage in two-part pricing. B. Engage in commodity bundling. C. Engage in randomized pricing. D. Engage in two-part pricing and engage in commodity bundling.

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13. Suppose P = 20 - 2Q is the market demand function for a local monopoly. The marginal cost is 2Q. If fixed costs are zero and the firm engages in two-part pricing, the most profits the firm will earn is:

A. $5. B. $10. C. $25. D. $50. 14. Cinemas sometimes give senior citizens discounts. What is the possible privately motivated purpose for them to do so?

A. Purely because entrepreneurs are benevolent. B. Senior citizens have a more elastic demand for movies than ordinary citizens. C. Senior citizens lack recreational activities. D. None of the statements is correct. 15. Which of the following pricing strategies does NOT usually enhance the profits of firms with market power?

A. Price matching B. Cross-subsidies C. Two-part pricing D. Marginal cost pricing 16. Which of the following statements is true?

A. The more elastic the demand, the higher the profit-maximizing markup. B. The more elastic the demand, the lower the profit-maximizing markup. C. The higher the marginal cost, the lower the profit-maximizing price. D. The higher the average cost, the lower the profit-maximizing price.

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17. In a Cournot oligopoly with N firms and identical marginal costs, the relationship between the price elasticity of market demand and that of the firm is:

A. EM = EF. B. EM = NEF. C. EM = EF/N. D. No deterministic relationship. 18. A new firm successfully enters a three-firm Cournot oligopoly without changing the demand and cost structures. The new price becomes:

A. 75 percent of the original price. B. 50 percent of the original price. C. the same as the original price. D. unknown for lack of other information. 19. The idea of charging two different groups of consumers two different prices is practiced in:

A. price discrimination. B. two-part pricing. C. price matching. D. None of the statements is correct. 20. One of the conditions under which price discrimination is profitable is:

A. ability to identify consumer types. B. inability to resell the good. C. differences in demand elasticities. D. All of the statements associated with this question are correct.

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21. During spring break, students have an elasticity of demand for a trip to Florida of -3. How much should an airline charge students for a ticket if the price it charges the general public is $360? Assume the general public has an elasticity of -2.

A. $240 B. $250 C. $260 D. $270 22. A local video store estimates its average customer's demand per year is Q = 7 - 2P, and it knows the marginal cost of each rental is $0.5. How much should the store charge for an annual membership in order to extract the entire consumer surplus via an optimal two-part pricing strategy?

A. $9 B. $10 C. $11 D. $12 23. A local video store estimates its average customer's demand per year is Q = 7 - 2P, and it knows the marginal cost of each rental is $0.5. How much should the store charge for each rental if it engages in optimal two-part pricing?

A. $0.35 B. $0.5 C. $0.7 D. $1.00

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24. A local video store estimates its average customer's demand per year is Q = 7 - 2P, and it knows the marginal cost of each rental is $0.5. What is the annual profit that the video store expects to make on an average customer if it engages in optimal two-part pricing?

A. $6 B. $7 C. $8 D. $9 25. If your demand for renting videos is Q = 5 - 2P, should you purchase the annual membership from a video store that charges $0.5 per rental, plus an annual membership fee of $12?

A. Definitely yes B. Definitely no C. Probably yes D. Cannot be decided 26. What price should a firm charge for a package of two shirts given a marginal cost of $2 and an inverse demand function P = 6 - 2Q by the representative consumer?

A. $2 B. $6 C. $8 D. $10 27. A Broadway theater sells weekday show tickets at a lower price than for a weekend show. This is an example of:

A. price discrimination. B. peak-load pricing. C. price discrimination or peak-load pricing. D. None of the statements is correct.

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28. A campus auditorium sells tickets at half price to students during the last 30 minutes before a concert starts. This is an example of:

A. price discrimination. B. peak-load pricing. C. price discrimination or peak-load pricing. D. None of the statements is correct. 29. A necessary cost-side condition for a firm to implement a cross-subsidization pricing strategy is:

A. economies of scale. B. economies of scope. C. constant marginal cost. D. limited capacity. 30. The special cost structure that is necessary for a firm to adopt a peak-load pricing policy is:

A. economies of scale. B. economies of scope. C. constant marginal cost. D. limited capacity. 31. The special demand structure that induces a firm to use a cross-subsidization strategy is:

A. perfect substitution among products. B. imperfect substitution among products. C. independent demand for products. D. interdependent demand for products.

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32. Snowpeak Ski Resort offers a price for a lift ticket that is barely over its marginal cost, but the high equipment rental fee keeps generating big profits. Which pricing strategy is the management using?

A. Price discrimination B. Two-part pricing C. Commodity bundling D. Cross-subsidization 33. Which of the following strategies will most likely NOT enhance profits in a Bertrand oligopoly?

A. Two-part pricing B. Price matching C. Randomized pricing D. Brand loyalty 34. Firms that use a price-matching strategy attempt to keep price at:

A. marginal cost. B. the oligopoly price. C. the monopoly price. D. the oligopoly price or the monopoly price. 35. Price-matching strategies may fail to enhance profits when:

A. firms cannot prevent customers from making deceptive claims. B. firms have different marginal costs. C. firms cannot prevent customers from making deceptive claims or firms have different marginal costs. D. None of the statements are correct.

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36. Which of the following statements about a price-matching strategy is incorrect?

A. It may be applied in situations besides Bertrand oligopoly. B. It requires that the firms can monitor their rival's prices. C. It reduces the incentive for a rival firm to initiate a price war. D. It only guarantees to match prices that are advertised publicly. 37. Which of the following pricing policies compensate customers if the firm fails to provide the best price in the market?

A. Price matching B. Beat-or-pay C. Brand loyalty D. Randomized pricing 38. Which group of policies aims at discouraging rivals from starting a price war?

A. Price matching and randomized pricing B. Price matching, brand loyalty, and commodity bundling C. Randomized pricing, price discrimination, and cross-subsidization D. Peak-peak pricing, two-part pricing, and price matching 39. Which group of policies aims at extracting all consumer surplus?

A. Price discrimination and peak load pricing. B. Cross-subsidization and brand loyalty. C. Price matching and randomized pricing. D. Two-part pricing and commodity bundling.

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40. Brand loyalty can be enhanced through:

A. an advertising campaign. B. a price war. C. neither an advertising campaign nor a price war. D. an advertising campaign and a price war. 41. If a product is perceived by consumers as homogeneous, which of the following strategies will work to induce brand loyalty?

A. Intensive advertising campaign B. Price wars with competitors C. Frequent buyer rebate programs D. None of the answers are correct. 42. The purpose of randomized pricing is to reduce:

A. consumer price information only. B. competitor price information only. C. both customer and competitor information about price. D. the firm's pricing inflexibility. 43. If a monopolist claims his profit-maximizing markup factor is 3, what is the corresponding price elasticity of demand?

A. -1.5. B. -2.0. C. -2.5. D. -3.0.

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44. If the profit-maximizing markup factor in a three-firm Cournot oligopoly is 2, what is the corresponding market elasticity of demand?

A. -1/2 B. -2/3 C. -1.0 D. -2.0 45. A firm with market power has an individual consumer demand of Q = 20 - 4P and costs of C = 4Q. What is the optimal amount of this product to package in a single block?

A. 2 B. 3 C. 4 D. 5 46. A firm with market power has an individual consumer demand of Q = 20 - 4P and costs of C = 4Q. What is optimal price to charge for a block of 20 units?

A. $18 B. $36 C. $72 D. $90 47. A firm has capacity limitations and charges $30 for its service during daily peak times. If the market demand elasticity drops from -3 during peak times to -5 at off-peak times, how much should the firm charge to earn the maximum profit during off-peak times?

A. $20 B. $21 C. $24 D. Not enough information to determine

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48. Which of the following pricing policies enhances profits by creating brand-loyal consumers?

A. Frequent flyer programs B. Beat-or-pay strategies C. Trigger strategies D. Frequent flyer programs and beat-or-pay strategies 49. Suppose two types of consumers buy suits. Consumers of type A will pay $100 for a coat and $50 for pants. Consumers of type B will pay $75 for a coat and $75 for pants. The firm selling suits faces no competition and has a marginal cost of zero. If the firm can identify each consumer type and can price discriminate, what is the optimal price for a pair of pants?

A. Charge both types $150. B. Charge both types $75. C. Charge type A consumers $50, and type B consumers $75. D. Charge type A consumers $50, and type B consumers $50. 50. A monopolist claims his profit-maximizing markup factor is 10. What is the price elasticity of demand for the firm's product?

A. -1.5 B. -2.0 C. -2.5 D. None of the answers are correct. 51. If the profit-maximizing markup factor in a 10-firm Cournot oligopoly is -2, what is the corresponding market elasticity of demand?

A. -1.0 B. -1.2 C. -2.0 D. None of the statements is correct.

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52. The average consumer at a firm with market power has an inverse demand function of P = 10 - Q. The firm's cost function is C = 2Q. If the firm engages in two-part pricing, what is the optimal fixed fee to charge each consumer?

A. $2 B. $32 C. $64 D. None of the answers are correct. 53. The average consumer at a firm with market power has an inverse demand function of P = 10 - Q. The firm's cost function is C = 2Q. If the firm engages in two-part pricing, what is the optimal price to charge a consumer for each unit purchased?

A. $0 B. $1 C. $4 D. None of the answers are correct. 54. The average consumer at a firm with market power has an inverse demand function of P = 10 - Q. The firm's cost function is C = 2Q. If the firm engages in optimal two-part pricing, it will earn profits of:

A. $2. B. $32. C. $64. D. None of the answers are correct.

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55. Suppose two types of consumers buy suits. Consumers of type A will pay $100 for a coat and $50 for pants. Consumers of type B will pay $75 for a coat and $75 for pants. The firm selling suits faces no competition and has a marginal cost of zero. If the firm charges $100 for a suit (which includes both pants and a coat), the firm will sell a suit to:

A. type A consumers. B. type B consumers. C. type A consumers and type B consumers. D. None of the answers are correct. 56. Suppose two types of consumers buy suits. Consumers of type A will pay $100 for a coat and $50 for pants. Consumers of type B will pay $75 for a coat and $75 for pants. The firm selling suits faces no competition and has a marginal cost of zero. If the firm charges $75 for pants and $75 for a coat, the firm will sell a coat to:

A. type A consumers. B. type B consumers. C. type A consumers and type B consumers. D. None of the answers are correct. 57. Suppose two types of consumers buy suits. Consumers of type A will pay $100 for a coat and $50 for pants. Consumers of type B will pay $75 for a coat and $75 for pants. The firm selling suits faces no competition and has a marginal cost of zero. If the firm sells coats and pants for $25 each, but offers a bundle containing both a coat and pants for $150, how many bundles will the firm sell?

A. 0 B. 1 C. 2 D. Insufficient information

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58. Suppose two types of consumers buy suits. Consumers of type A will pay $100 for a coat and $50 for pants. Consumers of type B will pay $75 for a coat and $75 for pants. The firm selling suits faces no competition and has a marginal cost of zero. The optimal commodity bundling strategy is:

A. Charge $150 for a suit. B. Charge $75 for a suit. C. Charge $100 for a suit. D. Charge $125 for a suit. 59. When two or more divisions mark up prices in excess of marginal cost:

A. double marginalization occurs. B. two-part pricing occurs. C. second-degree price discrimination occurs. D. None of the answers are correct. 60. To circumvent the problem of double marginalization:

A. transfer prices must be set that maximize the overall value of the firm rather than the profits of the upstream division. B. firms should engage in two-part pricing, unless it is possible to engage in either first-or seconddegree price discrimination. C. firms should vertically integrate. D. None of the answers are correct.

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61. First-degree price discrimination:

A. occurs when a firm charges each consumer the maximum price he or she would be willing to pay for each unit of the good purchased. B. results in the firm extracting all surplus from consumers. C. occurs when a firm charges each consumer the maximum price he or she would be willing to pay for each unit of the good purchased and results in the firm extracting all surplus from consumers. D. None of the answers are correct. 62. Second-degree price discrimination:

A. is the practice of posting a discrete schedule of declining prices for different ranges of quantities. B. eliminates the problem of double marginalization. C. results in transfer pricing. D. None of the answers are correct. 63. You are the manager of a Mom and Pop store that can buy milk from a supplier at $2.00 per gallon. If you believe the elasticity of demand for milk by customers at your store is -3, then your profit-maximizing price is:

A. $1.33. B. $2.75. C. $3.00. D. $4.50.

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64. A monopoly produces widgets at a marginal cost of $8 per unit and zero fixed costs. It faces an inverse demand function given by P = 38 - Q. The monopoly price is:

A. $30. B. $23. C. $15. D. $8. 65. A monopoly produces widgets at a marginal cost of $8 per unit and zero fixed costs. It faces an inverse demand function given by P = 38 - Q. What are the profits of the monopoly in equilibrium?

A. $225 B. $120 C. $345 D. None of the statements is correct. 66. A monopoly produces widgets at a marginal cost of $8 per unit and zero fixed costs. It faces an inverse demand function given by P = 38 - Q. Suppose fixed costs rise to $200. What will happen in the market?

A. The firm will decrease its output and lower its price. B. The firm will increase the price. C. The firm will shut down immediately. D. The firm continues to produce the same output and charge the same price. 67. Which of the following pricing strategies does NOT usually enhance the profits of firms with market power?

A. Marginal cost pricing B. Price discrimination C. Block pricing D. Commodity bundling

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68. Which of the following is a correct statement?

A. The lower the marginal cost, the higher the profit-maximizing price. B. The lower the average cost, the higher the profit-maximizing price. C. The less elastic the demand, the higher the profit-maximizing markup. D. The more elastic the demand, the higher the profit-maximizing markup. 69. The idea of charging two different groups of consumers two different prices is practiced in:

A. two-part pricing. B. price matching. C. commodity bundling. D. None of the answers are correct. 70. During spring break, students have an elasticity of demand for a trip to Cancun, Mexico, of -4. How much should an airline charge students for a ticket if the price it charges the general public is $420? Assume the general public has an elasticity of -2.

A. $210 B. $280 C. $160 D. $105 71. A local video store estimates its average customer's demand per year is Q = 20 - 4P, and it knows the marginal cost of each rental is $1.00. How much should the store charge for an annual membership in order to extract the entire consumer surplus via an optimal two-part pricing strategy?

A. $20 B. $32 C. $40 D. $64

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72. What price should a firm charge for a package of two shirts given a marginal cost of $4 and an inverse demand function P = 8 - 2Q by the representative consumer?

A. $4 B. $8 C. $12 D. $16 73. Which of the following pricing policies does NOT extract the entire consumer surplus from the market?

A. First-degree price discrimination B. Peak load pricing C. Two-part pricing D. Block pricing 74. Firms will often implement randomized pricing in an attempt to reduce:

A. only competitor price information. B. only consumer price information. C. both customer and competitor information about price. D. Randomized pricing does not affect information available to consumers or competitors. 75. To avoid the problem of double marginalization:

A. transfer prices must be set that maximize the overall value of the firm rather than the profits of the upstream division. B. firms should put more emphasis on vertical integration. C. firms should engage in two-part pricing. D. firms should engage in commodity bundling, unless it is possible to engage in either first-or second-degree price discrimination.

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76. In a Cournot oligopoly with N firms and identical marginal costs, the relationship between the price elasticity of demand for the firm and that of the market is:

A. EF = EM. B. EF = NEM. C. EF = EM/N. D. EF = N/EM. 77. Which of the following is a true statement about the process of cross-subsidization, given that a firm is selling two products?

A. The two products cannot have interdependent demand functions. B. The firm will sell both of its products at prices set above costs. C. The firm needs cost complementarities in the production of the two goods. D. The firm will sell both of its products at prices set above costs and the firm needs cost complementarities in the production of the two goods. 78. Which of the following statements is true regarding a simple pricing rule for monopoly and monopolistic competition?

A. P[EF/(1 + EF)] = MC B. P = [(1 + EF)/EF]MC C. P[(1 + EF)/EF] = MC D. All of the statements associated with this question are correct. 79. Which of the following statements is true regarding profit-maximizing markup for a Cournot oligopoly with N identical firms?

A. P[NEF/(1 + NEF)] = MC B. P = [(1 + NEF)/NEF]MC C. P[N(1 + EF)/NEF] = MC D. P = [NEF/(1 + NEF)]MC

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80. Which of the following is true regarding the relationship between the elasticity of demand for an individual firm and the elasticity of demand for the market in a Cournot oligopoly with five identical firms?

A. EF = (df(p)/dP) × (5P/Q) B. EF = (df(p)/dP) × (5Q/P) C. EM = 5EF D. EF = (1/5)EM 81. Suppose you compete in a Cournot oligopoly market consisting of six firms. The equilibrium market price and quantity are $5 and 10 units, respectively. The marginal cost for each firm is $3. Based on this information, we know the price elasticity of the market demand is:

A. -0.417. B. 0.167. C. -2.4. D. There is insufficient information to answer this question. 82. Suppose that the demand for a monopolist's product is estimated to be Q d = 100 - 2P and its total costs are C(Q) = 10Q. Under first-degree price discrimination, the optimal price(s), number of total units exchanged, profit, and consumer surplus are:

A. P = $30; Q = 40, Π = $800; CS = $400. B. 10 ≤ P ≤ 100; Q = 80; Π = $1,600; CS = $1,600. C. 10 ≤ P ≤ 50; Q = 80, Π = $1,600; CS = $0. D. P = $30; Q = 40, Π = $600; CS = $0.

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83. To engage in first-degree price discrimination, a firm must:

A. be able to set P > MC. B. know each consumer's maximum willingness to pay. C. prevent low-value consumers from reselling to high-value consumers. D. All of the answers are correct. 84. The following table contains different consumers' values for three software titles: PowerPoint, Excel, and Word. Suppose there are 100 consumers of each type. It costs Microsoft $5 to produce each piece of software. If Microsoft wants to devise a pricing strategy that is incentive compatible between consumer types and will maximize its profit, then it should:

A. charge $50 for PowerPoint, $80 for Excel, and $75 for Word. B. charge a single price of $300 for the bundle of PowerPoint, Excel, and Word. C. charge $125 for PowerPoint, $175 for Excel, and $150 for Word. D. charge $325 for the bundle of PowerPoint, Excel, and Word and permit consumers to purchase each software title individually at $81.10 each. 85. Suppose you are an analyst for the Coca-Cola Company. An individual's inverse demand for Coca-Cola is estimated to be P = 98 - 4Q (in cents). If Coca-Cola is produced according to the cost function C(Q) = 1,000 + 2Q (in cents), compute the optimal price and the number of cans to sell as a single package.

A. $120 per package and 12 cans B. $12 per package and 24 cans C. $11.52 per package and 12 cans D. $15 per package and 16.67 cans

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86. Suppose you are an analyst for the Coca-Cola Company. An individual's inverse demand for Coca-Cola is estimated to be P = 98 - 4Q (in cents). If Coca-Cola is produced according to the cost function C(Q) = 1,000 + 2Q (in cents), compute the surplus consumers receive when CocaCola charges the optimal block price.

A. $0 B. $11.52 C. $1,152 D. $576 87. Suppose that Verizon Wireless has hired you as a consultant to determine what price it should set for calling services. Suppose that an individual's inverse demand for wireless services in the greater Boston area is estimated to be P = 100 - 33Q and the marginal cost of providing wireless services to the area is $1 per minute. What is the optimal two-part price that you would suggest to Verizon?

A. Charge a fixed fee = $95.5 and a usage fee of $1 per minute. B. Charge a fixed fee = $3 and a usage fee of $0.33 per minute. C. Charge a fixed fee = $148.50 and a usage fee of $1 per minute. D. Charge a fixed fee = $3 and a usage fee of $3 per minute. 88. Suppose that Verizon Wireless has hired you as a consultant to determine what price it should set for calling services. Suppose that an individual's inverse demand for wireless services in the greater Boston area is estimated to be P = 100 - 33Q and the marginal cost of providing wireless services to the area is $1 per minute. Compute consumer surplus when Verizon Wireless charges an optimal two-part price.

A. $0 B. $74.25 C. $148.50 D. There is insufficient information to compute consumer surplus.

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89. Suppose that the inverse demand for a downstream firm is P = 150 - Q. Its upstream division produces a critical input with costs of CU(Qd) = 5(Qd)2. The downstream firm's cost is Cd(Q) = 10Q. When there is no external market for the downstream firm's critical input, the marginal revenue for the downstream firm is:

A. MRd(Q) = 150 - 2Q. B. MRd(Q) = 150 - Q. C. MRd(Q) = 140 - 2Q. D. MRd(Q) = 140 - Q. 90. Suppose that the inverse demand for a downstream firm is P = 150 - Q. Its upstream division produces a critical input with costs of CU(Qd) = 5(Qd)2. The downstream firm's cost is Cd(Q) = 10Q. When there is no external market for the downstream firm's critical input, the net marginal revenue for the downstream firm is:

A. NMRd = 140 - 2Q. B. NMRd = 150 - 2Q. C. NMRd = 140 - Q. D. NMRd = 150 - Q. 91. Suppose that the inverse demand for a downstream firm is P = 150 - Q. Its upstream division produces a critical input with costs of CU(Qd) = 5(Qd)2. The downstream firm's cost is Cd(Q) = 10Q. When there is no external market for the downstream firm's critical input, the downstream firm should produce:

A. 11.67 units. B. 12.5 units. C. 14 units. D. 15 units.

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92. The price elasticity of demand for senior citizens purchasing coffee from McDonald's is -5, while non-senior citizens have a price elasticity of demand equal to -1.25. If it costs McDonald's $0.02 to produce a coffee, the optimal price for a cup of coffee for senior citizens and the resultant marginal cost under third-degree price discrimination are, respectively:

A. $0.016 and $0.20. B. $0.02 and $0.80. C. $0.025 and $0.02. D. $0.10 and $0.02. 93. The price elasticity of demand for senior citizens purchasing coffee from McDonald's is -5, while non-senior citizens have a price elasticity of demand equal to -1.25. If it costs McDonald's $0.02 to produce a coffee, the optimal price for a cup of coffee for non-senior citizens and the resultant marginal cost under third-degree price discrimination are:

A. $0.004 and $0.02. B. $0.02 and $0.80. C. $0.10 and $0.02. D. $10 and $0.20.

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94. Refer to the figure below. During low-peak times, what price-quantity combination should the firm charge to maximize profit?

A. P1 and Q1 B. P3 and Q1 C. P1 and Q2 D. P2 and Q1

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95. Refer to the figure below. During high-peak times, what price-quantity combination should the firm charge to maximize profit?

A. P1 and Q3 B. P2 and Q3 C. P4 and Q3 D. P1 and Q2

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96. Revenues when a firm engages in peak-load pricing based on the figure below will be:

A. (P1 × Q1) + (P4 × Q3). B. (P3 × Q1) + (P4 × Q3). C. (P1 × Q2) + (P2 × Q3). D. (P4 × Q3). 97. Suppose a manager is interested in implementing third-degree price discrimination. The manager knows that the price elasticity of demand for Group 1 is -2 and the price elasticity of demand for Group 2 is -1.2. Based on this information alone we can conclude that the price charged to Group 2 will be:

A. the same as the price charged to Group 1. B. lower than the price charged to Group 1. C. higher than the price charged to Group 1. D. There is insufficient information to determine whether Group 2 will have a higher, lower, or the same price as Group 1.

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98. A monopoly produces X at a marginal cost of $10 per unit and charges a price of $20 per unit. Determine the elasticity of demand at the profit-maximizing price of $20.

A. -0.5 B. -2 C. -0.333 D. There is insufficient information to determine the monopoly's price elasticity of demand. 99. A monopoly produces X at a marginal cost of $80 per unit and charges a price of $100 per unit. Determine the elasticity of demand at the profit-maximizing price of $100.

A. -5 B. -0.2 C. -0.8 D. There is insufficient information to determine the monopoly's price elasticity of demand. 100.Consider a Cournot oligopoly consisting of five identical firms producing good X. If the firms produce good X at a marginal cost of $7 per unit and the market elasticity of demand is -3, determine the profit-maximizing price.

A. $7.50 per unit B. $5.25 per unit C. $7 per unit D. $4.20 per unit

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101.Consider a Cournot oligopoly consisting of four identical firms producing good X. If the firms produce good X at a marginal cost of $7 per unit and the market elasticity of demand is -2, determine the profit-maximizing price.

A. $6 per unit B. $8 per unit C. $10 per unit D. $12 per unit 102.Suppose you are the marketing manager for Fruit of the Loom. An individual's inverse demand for Fruit of the Loom women's underwear is estimated to be P = 25 - 3Q (in cents). If the cost to Fruit of the Loom to produce an item of women's underwear is C(Q) = 1 + 4Q (in cents), compute the number of women's underwear items that should be packaged together.

A. 1 B. 3 C. 4 D. 7 103.Suppose you are the marketing manager for Fruit of the Loom. An individual's inverse demand for Fruit of the Loom women's underwear is estimated to be P = 25 - 3Q (in cents). If the cost to Fruit of the Loom to produce an item of women's underwear is C(Q) = 1 + 4Q (in cents), compute the price Fruit of the Loom should charge for a package of women's underwear.

A. $1.09 B. $1.02 C. $108.50 D. $136.50

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104.Suppose you are the marketing manager for Fruit of the Loom. An individual's inverse demand for Fruit of the Loom women's underwear is estimated to be P = 25 - 3Q (in cents). If the cost to Fruit of the Loom to produce an item of women's underwear is C(Q) = 1 + 4Q (in cents), compute the profit Fruit of the Loom will earn by charging the optimal block price.

A. $0.74 B. $1.37 C. $108.50 D. $136.50 105.Which of the following pricing strategies is NOT used in markets characterized by intense price competition?

A. Price matching B. Transfer pricing C. Randomized pricing D. Inducing brand loyalty 106.Which of the following pricing strategies is NOT used in markets with special cost and demand structures?

A. Peak-load pricing B. Cross-subsidization C. Transfer pricing D. Low-price guarantees

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107.Consider a monopoly facing a demand structure where the price elasticity of demand is -1.25. The optimal markup factor is:

A. 5 times marginal revenue. B. 0.2 times marginal revenue. C. 5 times marginal cost. D. 0.2 times marginal cost. 108.You are the manager of a gas station and your goal is to maximize profits. Based on your past experience, the elasticity of demand by Ohioans for a car wash is -3, while the elasticity of demand by non-Ohioans for a car wash is -1.5. If you charge Ohioans $9 for a car wash, how much should you charge a man with a Kentucky license plate for a car wash?

A. $6 B. $15 C. $18 D. $9 109.A monopoly produces widgets at a marginal cost of $20 per unit and zero fixed costs. It faces an inverse demand function given by P = 100 - 4Q. What are the profits of the monopoly in equilibrium?

A. $800 B. $600 C. $400 D. $200

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110.A monopoly produces widgets at a marginal cost of $20 per unit and zero fixed costs. It faces an inverse demand function given by P = -100 - 4Q. Suppose fixed costs rise to $401. What happens in the market?

A. The firm will raise the price. B. The firm will shut down immediately. C. The firm will continue to produce the same output and charge the same price. D. The firm will reduce its output and raise price. 111.Suppose P = 60 - 3Q is the market demand function for a local monopoly. The marginal cost is 2Q. If fixed costs are zero and the firm engages in two-part pricing, the most profits the firm will earn is:

A. $144. B. $360. C. $504. D. $0. 112.What price should a firm charge for a package of five ties given a marginal cost of $5 and an inverse demand function P = 10 - Q by the representative consumer?

A. $12.50 B. $25 C. $37.50 D. $50

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113.If the profit-maximizing markup factor in a six-firm Cournot oligopoly is 3, what is the corresponding market elasticity of demand?

A. -0.25 B. -1.25 C. 0.08 D. None of the answers are correct. 114.During spring break, students have an elasticity of demand for a trip to Las Vegas of -5. How much should an airline charge students for a ticket if the price it charges the general public is $660? Assume the general public has an elasticity of -3.

A. $440 B. $550 C. $352 D. $792 115.Suppose you compete in a Cournot oligopoly market consisting of four firms. The equilibrium market price and quantity are $8 and 20 units, respectively. The marginal cost for each firm is $4. Based on this information, we know the price elasticity of the market demand is:

A. -0.5. B. 0.5. C. -.25. D. There is insufficient information to answer this question.

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116.Suppose that the inverse demand for a downstream firm is P = -82 - 2Q. Its upstream division produces a critical input with costs of CU(Qd) = 3(Qd)2. The downstream firm's cost is Cd(Q) = 2Q. When there is no external market for the downstream firm's critical input, the downstream firm should produce:

A. 8 units. B. 10 units. C. 12 units. D. 14 units. 117.A monopoly produces X at a marginal cost of $20 per unit and charges a price of $50 per unit. Determine the elasticity of demand at the profit-maximizing price of $50.

A. -0.5 B. -.6 C. .67 D. There is insufficient information to determine the monopoly's price elasticity of demand.

Essay Questions

118.A local dentist read an article published by the American Dental Association estimating that the elasticity of demand for the representative dentist's services is -2.5. How much should the dentist mark up her price over marginal cost?

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119.You are a truck farmer and bring produce to a farmer's market every Wednesday. You have found that on a typical day, five other farmers bring their produce to market. Years of experience have taught you that you make the most money by pricing your produce at 1.15 times your marginal cost. What is your elasticity of demand in this Cournot oligopoly? What is the market elasticity of demand?

120.You are the only pharmacist in a small town; the next closest drugstore is 50 miles away. The population in your town consists of young farmers and older retired families. You have noticed that the young farmers are less sensitive to price changes than the retired population. Specifically, you have found that the working population has an own price elasticity of demand of -2 and the retired farmers have an own price elasticity of -4. How can you use this information to your advantage?

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121.You have just been hired as manager of a new health spa in Retirement Village, Florida. The owner has commissioned a market study that estimates the average customer's monthly demand curve for visiting the health spa to be Qd = 50 - 0.25P. The cost of operating is C(Q) = 3Q, where

Q is the number of visits. The owner has been charging a $20 per month membership fee and a $5 per visit fee. Part of your salary is 10 percent of the monthly profits. Suggest a pricing strategy that will increase your salary.

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122.Suppose a typical consumer's inverse demand function for bottled water at a resort area where one firm owns all the rights to a local spring is given by P = 15 - 3Q. The marginal cost for gathering and bottling the water is $3 per gallon. Find the optimal number of bottles to package together for sale and the profit-maximizing price to charge for the package. Show the solution graphically.

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123.As manager of the only video store in town, you have noticed that on Thursday through Sunday the demand for renting your movies is much higher than it is on Monday through Wednesday. You therefore conducted a study that revealed two different market demand curves. On weekends, your inverse demand curve is P = 10 - 0.001Q; on weekdays, it is P = 5 - 0.01Q. The marginal cost of renting a movie is $.50 (50 cents). Your average customer never rents more than one movie at a time. What pricing strategy will maximize your profits?

124.During the 1990s, several airlines were on the brink of bankruptcy. These same airlines were giving away millions of dollars in free airline travel through their frequent-flyer programs. Do you think it would have been a good idea for these airlines to eliminate their frequent-flyer programs in order to earn higher profits? Explain.

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125.Many restaurants have found that it is advantageous to offer free appetizers with a two-drink minimum during a limited number of hours. Is this profit-maximizing behavior? Why or why not?

126.You run a golf course at a tourist resort. At your resort, there are two distinct groups of players. One group owns property at the resort and resides there most of the year. On average, each of these consumers has a monthly inverse demand for golf services of P = 100 - 0.5Q. The other group visits for one week at a time and has a total weekly demand curve of P = 40 - 0.1Q. What pricing strategy will maximize your profits?

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127.An auto dealer in Chicago recently told his mother that he makes no money on the sales of his cars but the markup on accessories is 200 percent. Can this possibly be a profit-maximizing strategy? Explain.

128.In 1990, Chrysler offered rebates on almost all of its cars. In May of that year it announced that the rebate program would end on June 30. It also announced that no further rebates would be offered for the rest of the year. Chrysler guaranteed this by promising that if it did offer any rebates larger than those offered between May 1 and June 30, all customers who purchased cars before the new rebate would get the full rebate. How should this announcement have affected the pricing behavior of other car manufacturers?

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129.In most cities all lumber yards advertise that they have the lowest price in town. In addition, they often claim that they will match the prices of any other lumber yards. Is this Bertrand competition that brings about zero economic profits? Explain.

130.Grocery stores make most of their profits on soft drinks, beer, chips, and candy. A casual look at prices of these items reveals that these prices change extremely often and can vary as much as 50 percent. Is this because the wholesale price of these items fluctuates this dramatically, or is there some other possible explanation?

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131.You are the owner of a Mom and Pop store that buys milk from a supplier at a cost of $1 per gallon. If you estimate the elasticity of demand for milk sold at your store to be -3.5, what are your profit-maximizing markup and price?

132.You are the manager of a gas station in a small town, and your goal is to maximize profits. Based on your experience, the elasticity of demand of Texans for a car wash is -2, while that of nonTexans is -1.5. Your marginal cost is $6. a. Are the conditions necessary for price discrimination to be an effective means of enhancing profits being met? Explain. b. What is the profit-maximizing price to charge a Texan for a car wash? c. What is the profit-maximizing price to charge a Californian for a car wash?

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133.An industry produces 10,000 units of output at a price of $100. At the equilibrium price and quantity, the market elasticity of demand is -0.75. Does this industry consist of a profit-maximizing monopolist? Explain.

134.A monopolist is profit maximizing where the elasticity of demand is -2 and price is $4. What is the monopolist's marginal cost?

135.Most wholesalers post a "suggested retail price" on packages, which in turn are sold by retailers. Is there an economic basis for the suggested retail price? As the manager of a retailing outlet, what factors will determine whether you should charge the suggested retail price or some higher or lower price?

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136.Before the breakup of AT&T, the firm charged a price for local telephone services that was roughly one-half of its cost of providing the services. In contrast, it charged almost two times it cost for long-distance services. Why do you think AT&T adopted this pricing strategy?

137.Three consumers who want to buy a new car have the following valuations for dealer options:

Assuming costs are zero, how much would the dealer make if it priced power brakes at $800, priced air conditioners at $200, and sold the bundle for $1,300?

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138.You are the CEO of Comchip, a monopoly that sells specialized computers. Each of the firm's computers contains a unique chip that is produced at Comchip's West Coast plant at a cost of Cw(Qc) = Qc2. Once produced, the chips are shipped exclusively to the firm's East Coast plant. There, the computers are assembled, boxed, and shipped to the market at a cost of C e(Q) = 200Q. An economic consultant recently estimated the demand for Comchip's computers and found it to be P = 5,000 - Q. Determine Comchip's optimal output and price for computers, and explain how it can induce plant managers to produce the required number of chips and computers.

139.You are the manager of We Trust, the only bank in a small town. Your boss has been studying a report on transaction volume and has noticed a troubling trend: We Trust does not have enough tellers to handle the bank's maximum capacity, which occurs during the lunch hour. Your boss has asked for a short report that summarizes alternative plans for solving this problem, the pros and cons of each plan, and your recommended course of action. Provide this report.

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140.Suppose that JVC is trying to decide how to price a new stereo system composed of a receiver, CD player, and speakers. The company's economists have estimated that two different groups will purchase these products: students and club owners. The economists' analysis suggests that the total market for its brand of stereos consists of 10,000 students and 50,000 club owners. In addition, it is estimated that the maximum amount each group will pay for each stereo component is as follows:

JVC's objective is to maximize revenues, and it is considering three strategies to price its stereo components: (1) a standard strategy whereby it prices each stereo component separately; (2) perfect price discrimination; or (3) bundling the three components together and selling only bundles containing the receiver, CD player, and speakers. a. If JVC uses a standard pricing strategy, what price should it charge for the receiver, for the CD player, and for the speakers to maximize revenues? What are the revenues they will earn through this strategy? b. Suppose JVC adopts a first-degree price discrimination policy. What prices should it charge to maximize revenues? What are JVC's revenues using this strategy? c. Suppose that JVC markets the receiver, CD player, and speakers together. That is, it uses a commodity-bundle strategy such that the products are sold as one item. What price should JVC charge to maximize revenues? How much will it earn?

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Chapter 11 Pricing Strategies for Firms with Market Power Answer Key

Multiple Choice Questions

1.

You are the manager of a Mom and Pop store that can buy milk from a supplier at $3.00 per gallon. If you believe the elasticity of demand for milk by customers at your store is -4, then your profit-maximizing price is:

A. $2.00. B. $2.50. C. $4.00. D. $5.00. AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

2.

You are the manager of a gas station and your goal is to maximize profits. Based on your past experience, the elasticity of demand by Texans for a car wash is -4, while the elasticity of demand by non-Texans for a car wash is -6. If you charge Texans $20 for a car wash, how much should you charge a man with Oklahoma license plates for a car wash?

A. $1.50 B. $15.00 C. $18.00 D. $20.00 AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 3 Hard 11-50 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

3.

Which of the following is true for perfect competition but not true for monopolistic competition and monopoly?

A. MC = MR B. P = MC C. Positive long run profits D. P = MC and positive long run profits AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Understand Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

4.

A monopoly producing a chip at a marginal cost of $6 per unit faces a demand elasticity of -2.5. Which price should it charge to optimize its profits?

A. $6 per unit B. $8 per unit C. $10 per unit D. $12 per unit AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

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5.

A monopoly produces widgets at a marginal cost of $10 per unit and zero fixed costs. It faces an inverse demand function given by P = 50 - Q. Which of the following is the marginal revenue function for the firm?

A. MR = 60 - 2Q B. MR = 50 - Q C. MR = 100 - Q D. MR = 50 - 2Q AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

6.

A monopoly produces widgets at a marginal cost of $10 per unit and zero fixed costs. It faces an inverse demand function given by P = 50 - Q. The monopoly price is:

A. $30. B. $20. C. $10. D. $40. AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

11-52 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

7.

A monopoly produces widgets at a marginal cost of $10 per unit and zero fixed costs. It faces an inverse demand function given by P = 50 - Q. The demand elasticity of a widget at the monopoly price and quantity is:

A. -1.5. B. -2. C. -2.5. D. 2. AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

8.

A monopoly produces widgets at a marginal cost of $10 per unit and zero fixed costs. It faces an inverse demand function given by P = 50 - Q. What are the profits of the monopoly in equilibrium?

A. $300 B. $400 C. $500 D. $600 AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 3 Hard Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

11-53 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

9.

A monopoly produces widgets at a marginal cost of $10 per unit and zero fixed costs. It faces an inverse demand function given by P = 50 - Q. Suppose fixed costs rise to $400. What happens in the market?

A. The firm will raise the price. B. The firm will shut down immediately. C. The firm continues to produce the same output and charge the same price. D. The firm will reduce its output and raise price. AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 3 Hard Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

10.

Which of the following is NOT a condition for a firm to engage in price discrimination?

A. Consumers are partitioned into two or more types, with one type having a more elastic demand than the other. B. The firm has a means of identifying consumer types. C. The consumers are sincere in revealing their true natures. D. There is no resale market for the good. AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Understand Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-54 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

11.

Suppose P = 20 - 2Q is the market demand function for a local monopoly. The marginal cost is 2Q. The local monopoly tries to maximize its profits by equating MC = MR and charging a uniform price. What will be the equilibrium price and output?

A. $6.33, 3.33 units B. $6.33, 5 units C. $13.33, 3.33 units D. $10, 5 units AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

12.

Suppose P = 20 - 2Q is the market demand function for a local monopoly. The marginal cost is 2Q. The firm currently uses a standard pricing strategy. Which of the following will allow the firm to enhance the profits?

A. Engage in two-part pricing. B. Engage in commodity bundling. C. Engage in randomized pricing. D. Engage in two-part pricing and engage in commodity bundling. AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Analyze Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-55 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

13.

Suppose P = 20 - 2Q is the market demand function for a local monopoly. The marginal cost is 2Q. If fixed costs are zero and the firm engages in two-part pricing, the most profits the firm will earn is:

A. $5. B. $10. C. $25. D. $50. AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 3 Hard Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

14.

Cinemas sometimes give senior citizens discounts. What is the possible privately motivated purpose for them to do so?

A. Purely because entrepreneurs are benevolent. B. Senior citizens have a more elastic demand for movies than ordinary citizens. C. Senior citizens lack recreational activities. D. None of the statements is correct. AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Understand Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-03 Formulate pricing strategies that enhance profits for special cost and demand structures-such as peak-load pricing; cross-subsidies; and transfer pricing-and explain the conditions needed for each strategy to work. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-56 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

15.

Which of the following pricing strategies does NOT usually enhance the profits of firms with market power?

A. Price matching B. Cross-subsidies C. Two-part pricing D. Marginal cost pricing AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Understand Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-04 Explain how price-matching guarantees; brand loyalty programs; and randomized pricing strategies can be used to enhance profits in markets with intense price competition. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

16.

Which of the following statements is true?

A. The more elastic the demand, the higher the profit-maximizing markup. B. The more elastic the demand, the lower the profit-maximizing markup. C. The higher the marginal cost, the lower the profit-maximizing price. D. The higher the average cost, the lower the profit-maximizing price. AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Understand Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

11-57 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

17.

In a Cournot oligopoly with N firms and identical marginal costs, the relationship between the price elasticity of market demand and that of the firm is:

A. EM = EF. B. EM = NEF. C. EM = EF/N. D. No deterministic relationship. AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Remember Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

18.

A new firm successfully enters a three-firm Cournot oligopoly without changing the demand and cost structures. The new price becomes:

A. 75 percent of the original price. B. 50 percent of the original price. C. the same as the original price. D. unknown for lack of other information. AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Analyze Difficulty: 3 Hard Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

11-58 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

19.

The idea of charging two different groups of consumers two different prices is practiced in:

A. price discrimination. B. two-part pricing. C. price matching. D. None of the statements is correct. AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Remember Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

20.

One of the conditions under which price discrimination is profitable is:

A. ability to identify consumer types. B. inability to resell the good. C. differences in demand elasticities. D. All of the statements associated with this question are correct. AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Remember Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-59 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

21.

During spring break, students have an elasticity of demand for a trip to Florida of -3. How much should an airline charge students for a ticket if the price it charges the general public is $360? Assume the general public has an elasticity of -2.

A. $240 B. $250 C. $260 D. $270 AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

22.

A local video store estimates its average customer's demand per year is Q = 7 - 2P, and it knows the marginal cost of each rental is $0.5. How much should the store charge for an annual membership in order to extract the entire consumer surplus via an optimal two-part pricing strategy?

A. $9 B. $10 C. $11 D. $12 AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 3 Hard Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-60 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

23.

A local video store estimates its average customer's demand per year is Q = 7 - 2P, and it knows the marginal cost of each rental is $0.5. How much should the store charge for each rental if it engages in optimal two-part pricing?

A. $0.35 B. $0.5 C. $0.7 D. $1.00 AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

24.

A local video store estimates its average customer's demand per year is Q = 7 - 2P, and it knows the marginal cost of each rental is $0.5. What is the annual profit that the video store expects to make on an average customer if it engages in optimal two-part pricing?

A. $6 B. $7 C. $8 D. $9 AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 3 Hard Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-61 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

25.

If your demand for renting videos is Q = 5 - 2P, should you purchase the annual membership from a video store that charges $0.5 per rental, plus an annual membership fee of $12?

A. Definitely yes B. Definitely no C. Probably yes D. Cannot be decided AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 3 Hard Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

26.

What price should a firm charge for a package of two shirts given a marginal cost of $2 and an inverse demand function P = 6 - 2Q by the representative consumer?

A. $2 B. $6 C. $8 D. $10 AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 3 Hard Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-62 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

27.

A Broadway theater sells weekday show tickets at a lower price than for a weekend show. This is an example of:

A. price discrimination. B. peak-load pricing. C. price discrimination or peak-load pricing. D. None of the statements is correct. AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Understand Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-03 Formulate pricing strategies that enhance profits for special cost and demand structures-such as peak-load pricing; cross-subsidies; and transfer pricing-and explain the conditions needed for each strategy to work. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

28.

A campus auditorium sells tickets at half price to students during the last 30 minutes before a concert starts. This is an example of:

A. price discrimination. B. peak-load pricing. C. price discrimination or peak-load pricing. D. None of the statements is correct. AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Understand Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-04 Explain how price-matching guarantees; brand loyalty programs; and randomized pricing strategies can be used to enhance profits in markets with intense price competition. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-63 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

29.

A necessary cost-side condition for a firm to implement a cross-subsidization pricing strategy is:

A. economies of scale. B. economies of scope. C. constant marginal cost. D. limited capacity. AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Remember Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 11-03 Formulate pricing strategies that enhance profits for special cost and demand structures-such as peak-load pricing; cross-subsidies; and transfer pricing-and explain the conditions needed for each strategy to work. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

30.

The special cost structure that is necessary for a firm to adopt a peak-load pricing policy is:

A. economies of scale. B. economies of scope. C. constant marginal cost. D. limited capacity. AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Remember Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 11-03 Formulate pricing strategies that enhance profits for special cost and demand structures-such as peak-load pricing; cross-subsidies; and transfer pricing-and explain the conditions needed for each strategy to work. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

31.

The special demand structure that induces a firm to use a cross-subsidization strategy is:

A. perfect substitution among products. B. imperfect substitution among products. C. independent demand for products. D. interdependent demand for products. AACSB: Reflective Thinking 11-64 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

Blooms: Remember Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 11-03 Formulate pricing strategies that enhance profits for special cost and demand structures-such as peak-load pricing; cross-subsidies; and transfer pricing-and explain the conditions needed for each strategy to work. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

32.

Snowpeak Ski Resort offers a price for a lift ticket that is barely over its marginal cost, but the high equipment rental fee keeps generating big profits. Which pricing strategy is the management using?

A. Price discrimination B. Two-part pricing C. Commodity bundling D. Cross-subsidization AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Understand Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 11-03 Formulate pricing strategies that enhance profits for special cost and demand structures-such as peak-load pricing; cross-subsidies; and transfer pricing-and explain the conditions needed for each strategy to work. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

33.

Which of the following strategies will most likely NOT enhance profits in a Bertrand oligopoly?

A. Two-part pricing B. Price matching C. Randomized pricing D. Brand loyalty AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Understand Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-65 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

34.

Firms that use a price-matching strategy attempt to keep price at:

A. marginal cost. B. the oligopoly price. C. the monopoly price. D. the oligopoly price or the monopoly price. AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Remember Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-04 Explain how price-matching guarantees; brand loyalty programs; and randomized pricing strategies can be used to enhance profits in markets with intense price competition. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

35.

Price-matching strategies may fail to enhance profits when:

A. firms cannot prevent customers from making deceptive claims. B. firms have different marginal costs. C. firms cannot prevent customers from making deceptive claims or firms have different marginal costs. D. None of the statements are correct. AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Understand Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-04 Explain how price-matching guarantees; brand loyalty programs; and randomized pricing strategies can be used to enhance profits in markets with intense price competition. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

36.

Which of the following statements about a price-matching strategy is incorrect?

A. It may be applied in situations besides Bertrand oligopoly. B. It requires that the firms can monitor their rival's prices. C. It reduces the incentive for a rival firm to initiate a price war. D. It only guarantees to match prices that are advertised publicly. AACSB: Reflective Thinking 11-66 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

Blooms: Understand Difficulty: 3 Hard Learning Objective: 11-04 Explain how price-matching guarantees; brand loyalty programs; and randomized pricing strategies can be used to enhance profits in markets with intense price competition. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

37.

Which of the following pricing policies compensate customers if the firm fails to provide the best price in the market?

A. Price matching B. Beat-or-pay C. Brand loyalty D. Randomized pricing AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Remember Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 11-04 Explain how price-matching guarantees; brand loyalty programs; and randomized pricing strategies can be used to enhance profits in markets with intense price competition. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

38.

Which group of policies aims at discouraging rivals from starting a price war?

A. Price matching and randomized pricing B. Price matching, brand loyalty, and commodity bundling C. Randomized pricing, price discrimination, and cross-subsidization D. Peak-peak pricing, two-part pricing, and price matching AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Understand Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-04 Explain how price-matching guarantees; brand loyalty programs; and randomized pricing strategies can be used to enhance profits in markets with intense price competition. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-67 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

39.

Which group of policies aims at extracting all consumer surplus?

A. Price discrimination and peak load pricing. B. Cross-subsidization and brand loyalty. C. Price matching and randomized pricing. D. Two-part pricing and commodity bundling. AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Understand Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

40.

Brand loyalty can be enhanced through:

A. an advertising campaign. B. a price war. C. neither an advertising campaign nor a price war. D. an advertising campaign and a price war. AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Understand Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 11-04 Explain how price-matching guarantees; brand loyalty programs; and randomized pricing strategies can be used to enhance profits in markets with intense price competition. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-68 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

41.

If a product is perceived by consumers as homogeneous, which of the following strategies will work to induce brand loyalty?

A. Intensive advertising campaign B. Price wars with competitors C. Frequent buyer rebate programs D. None of the answers are correct. AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Understand Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 11-04 Explain how price-matching guarantees; brand loyalty programs; and randomized pricing strategies can be used to enhance profits in markets with intense price competition. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

42.

The purpose of randomized pricing is to reduce:

A. consumer price information only. B. competitor price information only. C. both customer and competitor information about price. D. the firm's pricing inflexibility. AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Understand Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-04 Explain how price-matching guarantees; brand loyalty programs; and randomized pricing strategies can be used to enhance profits in markets with intense price competition. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-69 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

43.

If a monopolist claims his profit-maximizing markup factor is 3, what is the corresponding price elasticity of demand?

A. -1.5. B. -2.0. C. -2.5. D. -3.0. AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

44.

If the profit-maximizing markup factor in a three-firm Cournot oligopoly is 2, what is the corresponding market elasticity of demand?

A. -1/2 B. -2/3 C. -1.0 D. -2.0 AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 3 Hard Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

11-70 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

45.

A firm with market power has an individual consumer demand of Q = 20 - 4P and costs of C = 4Q. What is the optimal amount of this product to package in a single block?

A. 2 B. 3 C. 4 D. 5 AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 3 Hard Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

46.

A firm with market power has an individual consumer demand of Q = 20 - 4P and costs of C = 4Q. What is optimal price to charge for a block of 20 units?

A. $18 B. $36 C. $72 D. $90 AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-71 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

47.

A firm has capacity limitations and charges $30 for its service during daily peak times. If the market demand elasticity drops from -3 during peak times to -5 at off-peak times, how much should the firm charge to earn the maximum profit during off-peak times?

A. $20 B. $21 C. $24 D. Not enough information to determine AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-03 Formulate pricing strategies that enhance profits for special cost and demand structures-such as peak-load pricing; cross-subsidies; and transfer pricing-and explain the conditions needed for each strategy to work. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

48.

Which of the following pricing policies enhances profits by creating brand-loyal consumers?

A. Frequent flyer programs B. Beat-or-pay strategies C. Trigger strategies D. Frequent flyer programs and beat-or-pay strategies AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Understand Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 11-04 Explain how price-matching guarantees; brand loyalty programs; and randomized pricing strategies can be used to enhance profits in markets with intense price competition. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-72 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

49.

Suppose two types of consumers buy suits. Consumers of type A will pay $100 for a coat and $50 for pants. Consumers of type B will pay $75 for a coat and $75 for pants. The firm selling suits faces no competition and has a marginal cost of zero. If the firm can identify each consumer type and can price discriminate, what is the optimal price for a pair of pants?

A. Charge both types $150. B. Charge both types $75. C. Charge type A consumers $50, and type B consumers $75. D. Charge type A consumers $50, and type B consumers $50. AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Analyze Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

50.

A monopolist claims his profit-maximizing markup factor is 10. What is the price elasticity of demand for the firm's product?

A. -1.5 B. -2.0 C. -2.5 D. None of the answers are correct. AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

11-73 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

51.

If the profit-maximizing markup factor in a 10-firm Cournot oligopoly is -2, what is the corresponding market elasticity of demand?

A. -1.0 B. -1.2 C. -2.0 D. None of the statements is correct. AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 3 Hard Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

52.

The average consumer at a firm with market power has an inverse demand function of P = 10 Q. The firm's cost function is C = 2Q. If the firm engages in two-part pricing, what is the optimal fixed fee to charge each consumer?

A. $2 B. $32 C. $64 D. None of the answers are correct. AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-74 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

53.

The average consumer at a firm with market power has an inverse demand function of P = 10 Q. The firm's cost function is C = 2Q. If the firm engages in two-part pricing, what is the optimal price to charge a consumer for each unit purchased?

A. $0 B. $1 C. $4 D. None of the answers are correct. AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

54.

The average consumer at a firm with market power has an inverse demand function of P = 10 Q. The firm's cost function is C = 2Q. If the firm engages in optimal two-part pricing, it will earn profits of:

A. $2. B. $32. C. $64. D. None of the answers are correct. AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-75 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

55.

Suppose two types of consumers buy suits. Consumers of type A will pay $100 for a coat and $50 for pants. Consumers of type B will pay $75 for a coat and $75 for pants. The firm selling suits faces no competition and has a marginal cost of zero. If the firm charges $100 for a suit (which includes both pants and a coat), the firm will sell a suit to:

A. type A consumers. B. type B consumers. C. type A consumers and type B consumers. D. None of the answers are correct. AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Understand Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

56.

Suppose two types of consumers buy suits. Consumers of type A will pay $100 for a coat and $50 for pants. Consumers of type B will pay $75 for a coat and $75 for pants. The firm selling suits faces no competition and has a marginal cost of zero. If the firm charges $75 for pants and $75 for a coat, the firm will sell a coat to:

A. type A consumers. B. type B consumers. C. type A consumers and type B consumers. D. None of the answers are correct. AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Analyze Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-76 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

57.

Suppose two types of consumers buy suits. Consumers of type A will pay $100 for a coat and $50 for pants. Consumers of type B will pay $75 for a coat and $75 for pants. The firm selling suits faces no competition and has a marginal cost of zero. If the firm sells coats and pants for $25 each, but offers a bundle containing both a coat and pants for $150, how many bundles will the firm sell?

A. 0 B. 1 C. 2 D. Insufficient information AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

58.

Suppose two types of consumers buy suits. Consumers of type A will pay $100 for a coat and $50 for pants. Consumers of type B will pay $75 for a coat and $75 for pants. The firm selling suits faces no competition and has a marginal cost of zero. The optimal commodity bundling strategy is:

A. Charge $150 for a suit. B. Charge $75 for a suit. C. Charge $100 for a suit. D. Charge $125 for a suit. AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-77 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

59.

When two or more divisions mark up prices in excess of marginal cost:

A. double marginalization occurs. B. two-part pricing occurs. C. second-degree price discrimination occurs. D. None of the answers are correct. AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Remember Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

60.

To circumvent the problem of double marginalization:

A. transfer prices must be set that maximize the overall value of the firm rather than the profits of the upstream division. B. firms should engage in two-part pricing, unless it is possible to engage in either first-or second-degree price discrimination. C. firms should vertically integrate. D. None of the answers are correct. AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Understand Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-78 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

61.

First-degree price discrimination:

A. occurs when a firm charges each consumer the maximum price he or she would be willing to pay for each unit of the good purchased. B. results in the firm extracting all surplus from consumers. C. occurs when a firm charges each consumer the maximum price he or she would be willing to pay for each unit of the good purchased and results in the firm extracting all surplus from consumers. D. None of the answers are correct. AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Remember Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

62.

Second-degree price discrimination:

A. is the practice of posting a discrete schedule of declining prices for different ranges of quantities. B. eliminates the problem of double marginalization. C. results in transfer pricing. D. None of the answers are correct. AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Remember Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 11-03 Formulate pricing strategies that enhance profits for special cost and demand structures-such as peak-load pricing; cross-subsidies; and transfer pricing-and explain the conditions needed for each strategy to work. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-79 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

63.

You are the manager of a Mom and Pop store that can buy milk from a supplier at $2.00 per gallon. If you believe the elasticity of demand for milk by customers at your store is -3, then your profit-maximizing price is:

A. $1.33. B. $2.75. C. $3.00. D. $4.50. AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

64.

A monopoly produces widgets at a marginal cost of $8 per unit and zero fixed costs. It faces an inverse demand function given by P = 38 - Q. The monopoly price is:

A. $30. B. $23. C. $15. D. $8. AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 1 Easy Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

11-80 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

65.

A monopoly produces widgets at a marginal cost of $8 per unit and zero fixed costs. It faces an inverse demand function given by P = 38 - Q. What are the profits of the monopoly in equilibrium?

A. $225 B. $120 C. $345 D. None of the statements is correct. AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 1 Easy Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

66.

A monopoly produces widgets at a marginal cost of $8 per unit and zero fixed costs. It faces an inverse demand function given by P = 38 - Q. Suppose fixed costs rise to $200. What will happen in the market?

A. The firm will decrease its output and lower its price. B. The firm will increase the price. C. The firm will shut down immediately. D. The firm continues to produce the same output and charge the same price. AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Understand Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

11-81 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

67.

Which of the following pricing strategies does NOT usually enhance the profits of firms with market power?

A. Marginal cost pricing B. Price discrimination C. Block pricing D. Commodity bundling AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Understand Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

68.

Which of the following is a correct statement?

A. The lower the marginal cost, the higher the profit-maximizing price. B. The lower the average cost, the higher the profit-maximizing price. C. The less elastic the demand, the higher the profit-maximizing markup. D. The more elastic the demand, the higher the profit-maximizing markup. AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Understand Difficulty: 3 Hard Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

11-82 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

69.

The idea of charging two different groups of consumers two different prices is practiced in:

A. two-part pricing. B. price matching. C. commodity bundling. D. None of the answers are correct. AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Remember Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

70.

During spring break, students have an elasticity of demand for a trip to Cancun, Mexico, of -4. How much should an airline charge students for a ticket if the price it charges the general public is $420? Assume the general public has an elasticity of -2.

A. $210 B. $280 C. $160 D. $105 AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 3 Hard Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-83 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

71.

A local video store estimates its average customer's demand per year is Q = 20 - 4P, and it knows the marginal cost of each rental is $1.00. How much should the store charge for an annual membership in order to extract the entire consumer surplus via an optimal two-part pricing strategy?

A. $20 B. $32 C. $40 D. $64 AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

72.

What price should a firm charge for a package of two shirts given a marginal cost of $4 and an inverse demand function P = 8 - 2Q by the representative consumer?

A. $4 B. $8 C. $12 D. $16 AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-84 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

73.

Which of the following pricing policies does NOT extract the entire consumer surplus from the market?

A. First-degree price discrimination B. Peak load pricing C. Two-part pricing D. Block pricing AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Understand Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 11-03 Formulate pricing strategies that enhance profits for special cost and demand structures-such as peak-load pricing; cross-subsidies; and transfer pricing-and explain the conditions needed for each strategy to work. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

74.

Firms will often implement randomized pricing in an attempt to reduce:

A. only competitor price information. B. only consumer price information. C. both customer and competitor information about price. D. Randomized pricing does not affect information available to consumers or competitors. AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Remember Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-04 Explain how price-matching guarantees; brand loyalty programs; and randomized pricing strategies can be used to enhance profits in markets with intense price competition. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-85 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

75.

To avoid the problem of double marginalization:

A. transfer prices must be set that maximize the overall value of the firm rather than the profits of the upstream division. B. firms should put more emphasis on vertical integration. C. firms should engage in two-part pricing. D. firms should engage in commodity bundling, unless it is possible to engage in either first-or second-degree price discrimination. AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Understand Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-04 Explain how price-matching guarantees; brand loyalty programs; and randomized pricing strategies can be used to enhance profits in markets with intense price competition. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

76.

In a Cournot oligopoly with N firms and identical marginal costs, the relationship between the price elasticity of demand for the firm and that of the market is:

A. EF = EM. B. EF = NEM. C. EF = EM/N. D. EF = N/EM. AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Remember Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

11-86 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

77.

Which of the following is a true statement about the process of cross-subsidization, given that a firm is selling two products?

A. The two products cannot have interdependent demand functions. B. The firm will sell both of its products at prices set above costs. C. The firm needs cost complementarities in the production of the two goods. D. The firm will sell both of its products at prices set above costs and the firm needs cost complementarities in the production of the two goods. AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Understand Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-03 Formulate pricing strategies that enhance profits for special cost and demand structures-such as peak-load pricing; cross-subsidies; and transfer pricing-and explain the conditions needed for each strategy to work. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

78.

Which of the following statements is true regarding a simple pricing rule for monopoly and monopolistic competition?

A. P[EF/(1 + EF)] = MC B. P = [(1 + EF)/EF]MC C. P[(1 + EF)/EF] = MC D. All of the statements associated with this question are correct. AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Remember Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

11-87 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

79.

Which of the following statements is true regarding profit-maximizing markup for a Cournot oligopoly with N identical firms?

A. P[NEF/(1 + NEF)] = MC B. P = [(1 + NEF)/NEF]MC C. P[N(1 + EF)/NEF] = MC D. P = [NEF/(1 + NEF)]MC AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Remember Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

80.

Which of the following is true regarding the relationship between the elasticity of demand for an individual firm and the elasticity of demand for the market in a Cournot oligopoly with five identical firms?

A. EF = (df(p)/dP) × (5P/Q) B. EF = (df(p)/dP) × (5Q/P) C. EM = 5EF D. EF = (1/5)EM AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 3 Hard Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

11-88 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

81.

Suppose you compete in a Cournot oligopoly market consisting of six firms. The equilibrium market price and quantity are $5 and 10 units, respectively. The marginal cost for each firm is $3. Based on this information, we know the price elasticity of the market demand is:

A. -0.417. B. 0.167. C. -2.4. D. There is insufficient information to answer this question. AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 3 Hard Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

82.

Suppose that the demand for a monopolist's product is estimated to be Q d = 100 - 2P and its total costs are C(Q) = 10Q. Under first-degree price discrimination, the optimal price(s), number of total units exchanged, profit, and consumer surplus are:

A. P = $30; Q = 40, Π = $800; CS = $400. B. 10 ≤ P ≤ 100; Q = 80; Π = $1,600; CS = $1,600. C. 10 ≤ P ≤ 50; Q = 80, Π = $1,600; CS = $0. D. P = $30; Q = 40, Π = $600; CS = $0. AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-89 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

83.

To engage in first-degree price discrimination, a firm must:

A. be able to set P > MC. B. know each consumer's maximum willingness to pay. C. prevent low-value consumers from reselling to high-value consumers. D. All of the answers are correct. AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Understand Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

84.

The following table contains different consumers' values for three software titles: PowerPoint, Excel, and Word. Suppose there are 100 consumers of each type. It costs Microsoft $5 to produce each piece of software. If Microsoft wants to devise a pricing strategy that is incentive compatible between consumer types and will maximize its profit, then it should:

A. charge $50 for PowerPoint, $80 for Excel, and $75 for Word. B. charge a single price of $300 for the bundle of PowerPoint, Excel, and Word. C. charge $125 for PowerPoint, $175 for Excel, and $150 for Word. D. charge $325 for the bundle of PowerPoint, Excel, and Word and permit consumers to purchase each software title individually at $81.10 each. AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 3 Hard Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-90 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

85.

Suppose you are an analyst for the Coca-Cola Company. An individual's inverse demand for Coca-Cola is estimated to be P = 98 - 4Q (in cents). If Coca-Cola is produced according to the cost function C(Q) = 1,000 + 2Q (in cents), compute the optimal price and the number of cans to sell as a single package.

A. $120 per package and 12 cans B. $12 per package and 24 cans C. $11.52 per package and 12 cans D. $15 per package and 16.67 cans AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 3 Hard Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

86.

Suppose you are an analyst for the Coca-Cola Company. An individual's inverse demand for Coca-Cola is estimated to be P = 98 - 4Q (in cents). If Coca-Cola is produced according to the cost function C(Q) = 1,000 + 2Q (in cents), compute the surplus consumers receive when Coca-Cola charges the optimal block price.

A. $0 B. $11.52 C. $1,152 D. $576 AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-91 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

87.

Suppose that Verizon Wireless has hired you as a consultant to determine what price it should set for calling services. Suppose that an individual's inverse demand for wireless services in the greater Boston area is estimated to be P = 100 - 33Q and the marginal cost of providing wireless services to the area is $1 per minute. What is the optimal two-part price that you would suggest to Verizon?

A. Charge a fixed fee = $95.5 and a usage fee of $1 per minute. B. Charge a fixed fee = $3 and a usage fee of $0.33 per minute. C. Charge a fixed fee = $148.50 and a usage fee of $1 per minute. D. Charge a fixed fee = $3 and a usage fee of $3 per minute. AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

88.

Suppose that Verizon Wireless has hired you as a consultant to determine what price it should set for calling services. Suppose that an individual's inverse demand for wireless services in the greater Boston area is estimated to be P = 100 - 33Q and the marginal cost of providing wireless services to the area is $1 per minute. Compute consumer surplus when Verizon Wireless charges an optimal two-part price.

A. $0 B. $74.25 C. $148.50 D. There is insufficient information to compute consumer surplus. AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-92 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

89.

Suppose that the inverse demand for a downstream firm is P = 150 - Q. Its upstream division produces a critical input with costs of CU(Qd) = 5(Qd)2. The downstream firm's cost is Cd(Q) = 10Q. When there is no external market for the downstream firm's critical input, the marginal revenue for the downstream firm is:

A. MRd(Q) = 150 - 2Q. B. MRd(Q) = 150 - Q. C. MRd(Q) = 140 - 2Q. D. MRd(Q) = 140 - Q. AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 11-03 Formulate pricing strategies that enhance profits for special cost and demand structures-such as peak-load pricing; cross-subsidies; and transfer pricing-and explain the conditions needed for each strategy to work. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

90.

Suppose that the inverse demand for a downstream firm is P = 150 - Q. Its upstream division produces a critical input with costs of CU(Qd) = 5(Qd)2. The downstream firm's cost is Cd(Q) = 10Q. When there is no external market for the downstream firm's critical input, the net marginal revenue for the downstream firm is:

A. NMRd = 140 - 2Q. B. NMRd = 150 - 2Q. C. NMRd = 140 - Q. D. NMRd = 150 - Q. AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-03 Formulate pricing strategies that enhance profits for special cost and demand structures-such as peak-load pricing; cross-subsidies; and transfer pricing-and explain the conditions needed for each strategy to work. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-93 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

91.

Suppose that the inverse demand for a downstream firm is P = 150 - Q. Its upstream division produces a critical input with costs of CU(Qd) = 5(Qd)2. The downstream firm's cost is Cd(Q) = 10Q. When there is no external market for the downstream firm's critical input, the downstream firm should produce:

A. 11.67 units. B. 12.5 units. C. 14 units. D. 15 units. AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 3 Hard Learning Objective: 11-03 Formulate pricing strategies that enhance profits for special cost and demand structures-such as peak-load pricing; cross-subsidies; and transfer pricing-and explain the conditions needed for each strategy to work. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

92.

The price elasticity of demand for senior citizens purchasing coffee from McDonald's is -5, while non-senior citizens have a price elasticity of demand equal to -1.25. If it costs McDonald's $0.02 to produce a coffee, the optimal price for a cup of coffee for senior citizens and the resultant marginal cost under third-degree price discrimination are, respectively:

A. $0.016 and $0.20. B. $0.02 and $0.80. C. $0.025 and $0.02. D. $0.10 and $0.02. AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-94 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

93.

The price elasticity of demand for senior citizens purchasing coffee from McDonald's is -5, while non-senior citizens have a price elasticity of demand equal to -1.25. If it costs McDonald's $0.02 to produce a coffee, the optimal price for a cup of coffee for non-senior citizens and the resultant marginal cost under third-degree price discrimination are:

A. $0.004 and $0.02. B. $0.02 and $0.80. C. $0.10 and $0.02. D. $10 and $0.20. AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-95 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

94.

Refer to the figure below. During low-peak times, what price-quantity combination should the firm charge to maximize profit?

A. P1 and Q1 B. P3 and Q1 C. P1 and Q2 D. P2 and Q1 AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Analyze Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 11-03 Formulate pricing strategies that enhance profits for special cost and demand structures-such as peak-load pricing; cross-subsidies; and transfer pricing-and explain the conditions needed for each strategy to work. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-96 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

95.

Refer to the figure below. During high-peak times, what price-quantity combination should the firm charge to maximize profit?

A. P1 and Q3 B. P2 and Q3 C. P4 and Q3 D. P1 and Q2 AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Analyze Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 11-03 Formulate pricing strategies that enhance profits for special cost and demand structures-such as peak-load pricing; cross-subsidies; and transfer pricing-and explain the conditions needed for each strategy to work. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-97 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

96.

Revenues when a firm engages in peak-load pricing based on the figure below will be:

A. (P1 × Q1) + (P4 × Q3). B. (P3 × Q1) + (P4 × Q3). C. (P1 × Q2) + (P2 × Q3). D. (P4 × Q3). AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Understand Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-03 Formulate pricing strategies that enhance profits for special cost and demand structures-such as peak-load pricing; cross-subsidies; and transfer pricing-and explain the conditions needed for each strategy to work. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-98 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

97.

Suppose a manager is interested in implementing third-degree price discrimination. The manager knows that the price elasticity of demand for Group 1 is -2 and the price elasticity of demand for Group 2 is -1.2. Based on this information alone we can conclude that the price charged to Group 2 will be:

A. the same as the price charged to Group 1. B. lower than the price charged to Group 1. C. higher than the price charged to Group 1. D. There is insufficient information to determine whether Group 2 will have a higher, lower, or the same price as Group 1. AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Understand Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

98.

A monopoly produces X at a marginal cost of $10 per unit and charges a price of $20 per unit. Determine the elasticity of demand at the profit-maximizing price of $20.

A. -0.5 B. -2 C. -0.333 D. There is insufficient information to determine the monopoly's price elasticity of demand. AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 3 Hard Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

11-99 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

99.

A monopoly produces X at a marginal cost of $80 per unit and charges a price of $100 per unit. Determine the elasticity of demand at the profit-maximizing price of $100.

A. -5 B. -0.2 C. -0.8 D. There is insufficient information to determine the monopoly's price elasticity of demand. AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 3 Hard Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

100.

Consider a Cournot oligopoly consisting of five identical firms producing good X. If the firms produce good X at a marginal cost of $7 per unit and the market elasticity of demand is -3, determine the profit-maximizing price.

A. $7.50 per unit B. $5.25 per unit C. $7 per unit D. $4.20 per unit AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

11-100 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

101.

Consider a Cournot oligopoly consisting of four identical firms producing good X. If the firms produce good X at a marginal cost of $7 per unit and the market elasticity of demand is -2, determine the profit-maximizing price.

A. $6 per unit B. $8 per unit C. $10 per unit D. $12 per unit AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

102.

Suppose you are the marketing manager for Fruit of the Loom. An individual's inverse demand for Fruit of the Loom women's underwear is estimated to be P = 25 - 3Q (in cents). If the cost to Fruit of the Loom to produce an item of women's underwear is C(Q) = 1 + 4Q (in cents), compute the number of women's underwear items that should be packaged together.

A. 1 B. 3 C. 4 D. 7 AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-101 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

103.

Suppose you are the marketing manager for Fruit of the Loom. An individual's inverse demand for Fruit of the Loom women's underwear is estimated to be P = 25 - 3Q (in cents). If the cost to Fruit of the Loom to produce an item of women's underwear is C(Q) = 1 + 4Q (in cents), compute the price Fruit of the Loom should charge for a package of women's underwear.

A. $1.09 B. $1.02 C. $108.50 D. $136.50 AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

104.

Suppose you are the marketing manager for Fruit of the Loom. An individual's inverse demand for Fruit of the Loom women's underwear is estimated to be P = 25 - 3Q (in cents). If the cost to Fruit of the Loom to produce an item of women's underwear is C(Q) = 1 + 4Q (in cents), compute the profit Fruit of the Loom will earn by charging the optimal block price.

A. $0.74 B. $1.37 C. $108.50 D. $136.50 AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-102 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

105.

Which of the following pricing strategies is NOT used in markets characterized by intense price competition?

A. Price matching B. Transfer pricing C. Randomized pricing D. Inducing brand loyalty AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Understand Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 11-03 Formulate pricing strategies that enhance profits for special cost and demand structures-such as peak-load pricing; cross-subsidies; and transfer pricing-and explain the conditions needed for each strategy to work. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

106.

Which of the following pricing strategies is NOT used in markets with special cost and demand structures?

A. Peak-load pricing B. Cross-subsidization C. Transfer pricing D. Low-price guarantees AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Understand Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 11-03 Formulate pricing strategies that enhance profits for special cost and demand structures-such as peak-load pricing; cross-subsidies; and transfer pricing-and explain the conditions needed for each strategy to work. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-103 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

107.

Consider a monopoly facing a demand structure where the price elasticity of demand is -1.25. The optimal markup factor is:

A. 5 times marginal revenue. B. 0.2 times marginal revenue. C. 5 times marginal cost. D. 0.2 times marginal cost. AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

108.

You are the manager of a gas station and your goal is to maximize profits. Based on your past experience, the elasticity of demand by Ohioans for a car wash is -3, while the elasticity of demand by non-Ohioans for a car wash is -1.5. If you charge Ohioans $9 for a car wash, how much should you charge a man with a Kentucky license plate for a car wash?

A. $6 B. $15 C. $18 D. $9 AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 3 Hard Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

11-104 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

109.

A monopoly produces widgets at a marginal cost of $20 per unit and zero fixed costs. It faces an inverse demand function given by P = 100 - 4Q. What are the profits of the monopoly in equilibrium?

A. $800 B. $600 C. $400 D. $200 AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 3 Hard Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

110.

A monopoly produces widgets at a marginal cost of $20 per unit and zero fixed costs. It faces an inverse demand function given by P = -100 - 4Q. Suppose fixed costs rise to $401. What happens in the market?

A. The firm will raise the price. B. The firm will shut down immediately. C. The firm will continue to produce the same output and charge the same price. D. The firm will reduce its output and raise price. AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 3 Hard Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

11-105 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

111.

Suppose P = 60 - 3Q is the market demand function for a local monopoly. The marginal cost is 2Q. If fixed costs are zero and the firm engages in two-part pricing, the most profits the firm will earn is:

A. $144. B. $360. C. $504. D. $0. AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 3 Hard Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

112.

What price should a firm charge for a package of five ties given a marginal cost of $5 and an inverse demand function P = 10 - Q by the representative consumer?

A. $12.50 B. $25 C. $37.50 D. $50 AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 3 Hard Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-106 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

113.

If the profit-maximizing markup factor in a six-firm Cournot oligopoly is 3, what is the corresponding market elasticity of demand?

A. -0.25 B. -1.25 C. 0.08 D. None of the answers are correct. AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 3 Hard Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

114.

During spring break, students have an elasticity of demand for a trip to Las Vegas of -5. How much should an airline charge students for a ticket if the price it charges the general public is $660? Assume the general public has an elasticity of -3.

A. $440 B. $550 C. $352 D. $792 AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 3 Hard Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-107 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

115.

Suppose you compete in a Cournot oligopoly market consisting of four firms. The equilibrium market price and quantity are $8 and 20 units, respectively. The marginal cost for each firm is $4. Based on this information, we know the price elasticity of the market demand is:

A. -0.5. B. 0.5. C. -.25. D. There is insufficient information to answer this question. AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 3 Hard Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

116.

Suppose that the inverse demand for a downstream firm is P = -82 - 2Q. Its upstream division produces a critical input with costs of CU(Qd) = 3(Qd)2. The downstream firm's cost is Cd(Q) = 2Q. When there is no external market for the downstream firm's critical input, the downstream firm should produce:

A. 8 units. B. 10 units. C. 12 units. D. 14 units. AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 3 Hard Learning Objective: 11-03 Formulate pricing strategies that enhance profits for special cost and demand structures-such as peak-load pricing; cross-subsidies; and transfer pricing-and explain the conditions needed for each strategy to work. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-108 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

117.

A monopoly produces X at a marginal cost of $20 per unit and charges a price of $50 per unit. Determine the elasticity of demand at the profit-maximizing price of $50.

A. -0.5 B. -.6 C. .67 D. There is insufficient information to determine the monopoly's price elasticity of demand. AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 3 Hard Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

Essay Questions

118.

A local dentist read an article published by the American Dental Association estimating that the elasticity of demand for the representative dentist's services is -2.5. How much should the dentist mark up her price over marginal cost?

P = [EF/(1 + EF)]MC = [2.5/1.5] = 1.67MC

AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

11-109 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

119.

You are a truck farmer and bring produce to a farmer's market every Wednesday. You have found that on a typical day, five other farmers bring their produce to market. Years of experience have taught you that you make the most money by pricing your produce at 1.15 times your marginal cost. What is your elasticity of demand in this Cournot oligopoly? What is the market elasticity of demand?

Since, in Cournot oligopoly, P = [NEM/(1 + NEM)]MC, and N = 6, it follows that

Thus the market elasticity of demand is -1.277. Your elasticity of demand is six times the market elasticity, or -7.662.

AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

11-110 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

120.

You are the only pharmacist in a small town; the next closest drugstore is 50 miles away. The population in your town consists of young farmers and older retired families. You have noticed that the young farmers are less sensitive to price changes than the retired population. Specifically, you have found that the working population has an own price elasticity of demand of -2 and the retired farmers have an own price elasticity of -4. How can you use this information to your advantage?

Since the two groups of people have different demand elasticity for drugs, you should charge them different prices for the same drugs to maximize profits. For the working population, which has -2 as demand elasticity, you should follow the rule

That is, you should charge young farmers a price that is 2 times your marginal cost. For the retired population,

AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Evaluate Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-111 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

121.

You have just been hired as manager of a new health spa in Retirement Village, Florida. The owner has commissioned a market study that estimates the average customer's monthly demand curve for visiting the health spa to be Qd = 50 - 0.25P. The cost of operating is C(Q) = 3Q, where Q is the number of visits. The owner has been charging a $20 per month membership fee and a $5 per visit fee. Part of your salary is 10 percent of the monthly profits. Suggest a pricing strategy that will increase your salary.

With the original pricing scheme, the number of visits per customer is Q d = 50 - 0.25(5) = 48.75. Hence, profit from each customer is $20 + ($5 - $3)(48.75) = $117.5, and the compensation to the manager is 10% of $117.5, or $11.75 per customer. However, you may charge a price of $3 (equal to marginal cost) and charge a membership fee equaling the consumer's surplus. This gives the number of visits per customer equal to Q d = 50 - 0.25(3) = 50 - 0.75 = 49.25. The consumer surplus is .5($200 - $3)(49.25) = $4,851.13. Hence, the membership fee should be as high as $4,851.13 per person. Your compensation will be .10($4,851.13) = $485.11 per customer.

AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 3 Hard Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-112 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

122.

Suppose a typical consumer's inverse demand function for bottled water at a resort area where one firm owns all the rights to a local spring is given by P = 15 - 3Q. The marginal cost for gathering and bottling the water is $3 per gallon. Find the optimal number of bottles to package together for sale and the profit-maximizing price to charge for the package. Show the solution graphically.

Each package should contain four bottles, while the price for each package is $36. With this pricing scheme, you capture a net profit of $24, which is the shaded area in Figure 11-2.

AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Analyze Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-113 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

123.

As manager of the only video store in town, you have noticed that on Thursday through Sunday the demand for renting your movies is much higher than it is on Monday through Wednesday. You therefore conducted a study that revealed two different market demand curves. On weekends, your inverse demand curve is P = 10 - 0.001Q; on weekdays, it is P = 5 - 0.01Q. The marginal cost of renting a movie is $.50 (50 cents). Your average customer never rents more than one movie at a time. What pricing strategy will maximize your profits?

This manager can maximize profits by engaging in two-part pricing. Since demand differs on weekends and weekdays, the manager can adopt two different schemes. On weekends, the market inverse demand function is P = 10 - .001Q. Since marginal cost is $0.5, setting P = MC leads to a total 9,500 videos sold on the weekend. Total consumer surplus in the market is.5(10 - .5)(9,500) = $45,125, or $4.75 for each of the 9,500 customers. The optimal policy, therefore, is to charge a fixed fee of $4.75 to enter the store on a weekend, and then rent videos at the bargain price of $0.50 each once a consumer enters the store. Since the average consumer buys one video, this amounts to a price of $5.25 per video. A similar analysis reveals that, on weekdays, the entry fee should be $2.25, with videos still priced at $0.50 each (which amounts to $2.75 per video if each consumer buys exactly one).

AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Evaluate Difficulty: 3 Hard Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-114 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

124.

During the 1990s, several airlines were on the brink of bankruptcy. These same airlines were giving away millions of dollars in free airline travel through their frequent-flyer programs. Do you think it would have been a good idea for these airlines to eliminate their frequent-flyer programs in order to earn higher profits? Explain.

It would probably not be a good idea for an airline to unilaterally eliminate its frequent-flyer program. First, the airline would probably lose customers to other airlines that offered the program. Secondly, frequent-flyer programs allow firms to avoid some of the pitfalls of Bertrand competition by creating brand loyalty and hence some degree of product differentiation. Eliminating the programs would probably result in fewer customers and lower prices, which would harm the airlines since many of their costs are fixed.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Understand Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 11-04 Explain how price-matching guarantees; brand loyalty programs; and randomized pricing strategies can be used to enhance profits in markets with intense price competition. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

125.

Many restaurants have found that it is advantageous to offer free appetizers with a two-drink minimum during a limited number of hours. Is this profit-maximizing behavior? Why or why not?

Yes, it probably is. This is a case of cross-subsidization. The appetizers are typically quite salty, leading customers to buy more drinks than would otherwise be the case.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Understand Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 11-04 Explain how price-matching guarantees; brand loyalty programs; and randomized pricing strategies can be used to enhance profits in markets with intense price competition. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-115 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

126.

You run a golf course at a tourist resort. At your resort, there are two distinct groups of players. One group owns property at the resort and resides there most of the year. On average, each of these consumers has a monthly inverse demand for golf services of P = 100 - 0.5Q. The other group visits for one week at a time and has a total weekly demand curve of P = 40 - 0.1Q. What pricing strategy will maximize your profits?

Suppose the marginal cost to the golf course of each visit is zero. The most a customer is willing to pay is his or her total valuation of the quantity of goods consumed. The total valuation is measured by the area under the inverse demand curve and the horizontal axis for that range of quantity. Hence, the most a property owner is willing to pay is .5($100)(200) = $10,000 per month. The most a tourist is willing to pay is .5($40)(400) = $8,000 per week. Hence, your optimal pricing policy is: charge property owners a membership fee of $10,000 per month per person; charge tourists a membership fee of $8,000 per week per person. And then let each golfer play golf for free.

AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Evaluate Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

127.

An auto dealer in Chicago recently told his mother that he makes no money on the sales of his cars but the markup on accessories is 200 percent. Can this possibly be a profit-maximizing strategy? Explain.

Perhaps. By charging a low price for the "base car" but optimally pricing a bundle of options, the dealer may be able to earn higher profits than by attempting to make a profit on each individual item separately.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Understand Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including 11-116 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

128.

In 1990, Chrysler offered rebates on almost all of its cars. In May of that year it announced that the rebate program would end on June 30. It also announced that no further rebates would be offered for the rest of the year. Chrysler guaranteed this by promising that if it did offer any rebates larger than those offered between May 1 and June 30, all customers who purchased cars before the new rebate would get the full rebate. How should this announcement have affected the pricing behavior of other car manufacturers?

Since Chrysler's offer should be considered credible, other car manufacturers should recognize it as a commitment to charging a relatively high price for the remainder of 1990. Rivals could offer rebates, without fear that Chrysler would follow by matching their rebates.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Understand Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 11-04 Explain how price-matching guarantees; brand loyalty programs; and randomized pricing strategies can be used to enhance profits in markets with intense price competition. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

129.

In most cities all lumber yards advertise that they have the lowest price in town. In addition, they often claim that they will match the prices of any other lumber yards. Is this Bertrand competition that brings about zero economic profits? Explain.

No; it actually leads to higher prices. No firm has an incentive to offer lower prices, since doing so will not attract additional customers (the other firm will match the lower price).

AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Understand Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 11-04 Explain how price-matching guarantees; brand loyalty programs; and randomized pricing strategies can be used to enhance profits in markets with intense price competition. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-117 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

130.

Grocery stores make most of their profits on soft drinks, beer, chips, and candy. A casual look at prices of these items reveals that these prices change extremely often and can vary as much as 50 percent. Is this because the wholesale price of these items fluctuates this dramatically, or is there some other possible explanation?

The frequent variation in prices on soft drinks, beer, chips, and candy is not due to the fluctuation in the wholesale price of these items. It is because grocery stores' managers are engaging in randomized pricing, in an attempt to keep their rivals from being able to know what price to charge to steal their customers.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Understand Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 11-04 Explain how price-matching guarantees; brand loyalty programs; and randomized pricing strategies can be used to enhance profits in markets with intense price competition. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

131.

You are the owner of a Mom and Pop store that buys milk from a supplier at a cost of $1 per gallon. If you estimate the elasticity of demand for milk sold at your store to be -3.5, what are your profit-maximizing markup and price?

P = [EF/(1 + EF)]MC = 1.4MC. Thus, your price should be 1.4 times marginal cost, or $1.40 per gallon.

AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

11-118 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

132.

You are the manager of a gas station in a small town, and your goal is to maximize profits. Based on your experience, the elasticity of demand of Texans for a car wash is -2, while that of non-Texans is -1.5. Your marginal cost is $6. a. Are the conditions necessary for price discrimination to be an effective means of enhancing profits being met? Explain. b. What is the profit-maximizing price to charge a Texan for a car wash? c. What is the profit-maximizing price to charge a Californian for a car wash?

a. Price discrimination can be implemented because you can identify the nature of the driver by noticing the issuing state of the vehicle plate. b. Price for Texans:

c. Price for Californians:

AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-119 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

133.

An industry produces 10,000 units of output at a price of $100. At the equilibrium price and quantity, the market elasticity of demand is -0.75. Does this industry consist of a profitmaximizing monopolist? Explain.

The industry cannot be comprised of a price-setting, profit-maximizing monopolist because such a firm will not produce in the inelastic part of the demand curve. It can increase its profit by lowering output whenever demand is inelastic.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Understand Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

134.

A monopolist is profit maximizing where the elasticity of demand is -2 and price is $4. What is the monopolist's marginal cost?

Using the relation P = [EF/(1 + EF)]MC, it follows that MC = $2.

AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

11-120 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

135.

Most wholesalers post a "suggested retail price" on packages, which in turn are sold by retailers. Is there an economic basis for the suggested retail price? As the manager of a retailing outlet, what factors will determine whether you should charge the suggested retail price or some higher or lower price?

The suggested retail price is the price that maximizes the wholesaler's profit in the national market based on the national elasticity of demand for the product. A local firm should charge a lower price if the local demand is more elastic than the national average and a higher price if the local demand is more inelastic than the national average.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Understand Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Basic Pricing Strategies

136.

Before the breakup of AT&T, the firm charged a price for local telephone services that was roughly one-half of its cost of providing the services. In contrast, it charged almost two times it cost for long-distance services. Why do you think AT&T adopted this pricing strategy?

Cross-subsidization. First, there are some economies of scope in providing telephone services, which means that it is cheaper to produce local and long-distance services together than separately. Moreover, there is interdependence in demand. In order to place a long-distance call, one needs local access to a phone line. By charging a low price for local services, more people purchase phones than would have otherwise been the case. This led to an increase in the number of people who could be called with AT&T's long-distance services (since more phones were used across the nation), and greater long-distance usage than would otherwise have been the case. Thus, by cross-subsidizing local services with long-distance services, AT&T was able to earn higher profits than it otherwise would have earned.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking Blooms: Understand Difficulty: 2 Medium

11-121 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

Learning Objective: 11-03 Formulate pricing strategies that enhance profits for special cost and demand structures-such as peak-load pricing; cross-subsidies; and transfer pricing-and explain the conditions needed for each strategy to work. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

137.

Three consumers who want to buy a new car have the following valuations for dealer options:

Assuming costs are zero, how much would the dealer make if it priced power brakes at $800, priced air conditioners at $200, and sold the bundle for $1,300?

No consumer would buy a bundle at this price, since it would be cheaper to purchase the items separately. The firm would sell consumer 3 a set of power brakes for $800, and an air conditioner to consumers 1 and 2 at $200 each. Total firm profits are thus $1,200.

AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-122 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

138.

You are the CEO of Comchip, a monopoly that sells specialized computers. Each of the firm's computers contains a unique chip that is produced at Comchip's West Coast plant at a cost of Cw(Qc) = Qc2. Once produced, the chips are shipped exclusively to the firm's East Coast plant. There, the computers are assembled, boxed, and shipped to the market at a cost of C e(Q) = 200Q. An economic consultant recently estimated the demand for Comchip's computers and found it to be P = 5,000 - Q. Determine Comchip's optimal output and price for computers, and explain how it can induce plant managers to produce the required number of chips and computers.

Since Qc = Q, the number of chips that maximizes overall firm profits is determined by setting the NMRw = MCw: NMRw = 5,000 - 2Qc - 200 = 2Qc. Solving for Qc, the West Coast plant should produce Qc = 1,200 chips, and (since Q = Qc) the East Coast plant should produce 1,200 computers. The optimal price for the firm's computers, therefore, is P = 5,000 - 1,200 = $3,800. The firm can achieve this outcome by setting the optimal transfer price at the West Coast plant's marginal cost of producing 1,200 chips, or P T = $2,400, and by then providing East and West Coast managers an incentive to maximize their plant's profits given this transfer price.

AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 3 Hard Learning Objective: 11-01 Apply simple elasticity-based markup formulas to determine profit-maximizing prices in environments where a business enjoys market power; including monopoly; monopolistic competition; and Cournot oligopoly. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-123 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

139.

You are the manager of We Trust, the only bank in a small town. Your boss has been studying a report on transaction volume and has noticed a troubling trend: We Trust does not have enough tellers to handle the bank's maximum capacity, which occurs during the lunch hour. Your boss has asked for a short report that summarizes alternative plans for solving this problem, the pros and cons of each plan, and your recommended course of action. Provide this report.

One option would be to hire more tellers, but this would increase the firm's cost. Another option would be to engage in peak-load pricing by charging a fee to customers who use tellers during the noon hour, but this could create bad will. Yet another option would be to provide customers an incentive to use ATM machines. This could be accomplished by setting fees on ATM use that are lower than those charged to customers who use standard tellers.

AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Create Difficulty: 2 Medium Learning Objective: 11-03 Formulate pricing strategies that enhance profits for special cost and demand structures-such as peak-load pricing; cross-subsidies; and transfer pricing-and explain the conditions needed for each strategy to work. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-124 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

140.

Suppose that JVC is trying to decide how to price a new stereo system composed of a receiver, CD player, and speakers. The company's economists have estimated that two different groups will purchase these products: students and club owners. The economists' analysis suggests that the total market for its brand of stereos consists of 10,000 students and 50,000 club owners. In addition, it is estimated that the maximum amount each group will pay for each stereo component is as follows:

JVC's objective is to maximize revenues, and it is considering three strategies to price its stereo components: (1) a standard strategy whereby it prices each stereo component separately; (2) perfect price discrimination; or (3) bundling the three components together and selling only bundles containing the receiver, CD player, and speakers. a. If JVC uses a standard pricing strategy, what price should it charge for the receiver, for the CD player, and for the speakers to maximize revenues? What are the revenues they will earn through this strategy? b. Suppose JVC adopts a first-degree price discrimination policy. What prices should it charge to maximize revenues? What are JVC's revenues using this strategy? c. Suppose that JVC markets the receiver, CD player, and speakers together. That is, it uses a commodity-bundle strategy such that the products are sold as one item. What price should JVC charge to maximize revenues? How much will it earn?

a. Price receivers at $200, CD players at $75, and speakers at $250. Revenues from receiver sales will thus be $200(60,000) = $12 million, revenues from CD player sales will be $75(60,000) = $4.5 million, and speaker sales will be $250(50,000) = $12.5 million. b. Charge each group the maximum price they will pay for each item. Students will pay $250, $150, and $100 for a receiver, CD player, and speakers, respectively. Club owners will pay $200, $75, and $250, respectively. Total revenues from this strategy are: $5 million + $26.25 million = $31.25 million. c. Using a commodity bundling strategy, JVC would maximize revenues when it charges $500 for a bundle containing all three components. Its revenue would be $30 million (60,000 × $500).

AACSB: Analytic 11-125 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

Blooms: Apply Difficulty: 3 Hard Learning Objective: 11-02 Formulate pricing strategies that permit firms to extract additional surplus from consumers-including price discrimination; two-part pricing; block pricing; and commodity bundling-and explain the conditions needed for each of these strategies to yield higher profits than standard pricing. Topic: Strategies that Yield Even Greater Profits

11-126 © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

Which of the following pricing strategies typically enhance the profits of firms with market power?

Price discrimination can be defined as a strategy that involves charging different customers different prices for the same products. This strategy helps firms increase profits with market power and monopolies because they charge higher prices for the products and services.

What are the pricing strategies for firms with market power?

Firms with market power do this by capturing consumer surplus, and converting it to producer surplus. A monopoly finds the profit-maximizing price and quantity by setting MR equal to MC. This strategy maximizes profits for a firm setting a single price and charging all customers the same price.

What is pricing with market power?

Market power refers to a company's relative ability to manipulate the price of an item in the marketplace by manipulating the level of supply, demand or both. In markets with perfect or near-perfect competition, producers have little pricing power and so must be price-takers.

What are the 4 pricing strategies?

The four types of pricing objectives include profit-oriented pricing, competitor-based pricing, market penetration and skimming.