Asked by Ramanan Srinivasagopalan on Jul 05, 2024

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A monopolist faces a constant marginal cost of $1 per unit and has no fixed costs.If the price elasticity of demand for this product is constant and equal to 4, then

A) to maximize profits, he should charge a price of $4.
B) he is not maximizing profits.
C) to maximize profits, he should charge a price of $1.33.
D) to maximize profits, he should charge a price of $1.25.
E) None of the above.

Price Elasticity

A measure of how much the quantity demanded or supplied of a good changes in response to a change in its price.

Marginal Cost

The additional cost incurred by producing one more unit of a good or service, central to economic decision-making regarding production levels.

  • Implement the principle of price elasticity of demand within the framework of monopoly pricing strategies.
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MM
Michael MarescoJul 08, 2024
Final Answer :
C
Explanation :
The profit-maximizing price for a monopolist is where marginal revenue (MR) equals marginal cost (MC). As the monopolist has no fixed cost, we can equate the total cost to the marginal cost, which is $1.
As the price elasticity of demand is constant and equal to -4, we know that the monopolist faces a relatively elastic demand curve. This means that as the monopolist increases the price, the quantity demanded decreases proportionately more.
Using the formula for the elasticity of demand, we can find that the monopolist's marginal revenue (MR) is equal to (price x (1 - elasticity)) or (P(1+4)) = 5P.
Setting 5P = MC = $1, we can find that profit-maximizing price is $0.2, or $1.33 rounded to the nearest cent. Thus, the correct answer is (C).