Which of the following best explains why price wars may occur in oligopoly markets?

Correct answer: Firms aggressively cut prices to gain market share and attempt to force weaker rivals to exit.

Explanation

Interdependence and competitive pressure in oligopoly can produce price wars to drive out rivals or maintain share.

Other questions

Question 1

A perfectly competitive firm maximizes profit by producing the quantity at which:

Question 2

A firm breaks even when:

Question 3

If a firm is operating where price is below minimum average variable cost, the correct short-run action is:

Question 4

Which statement correctly describes economies of scale?

Question 5

In monopolistic competition in the long run, a typical firm will:

Question 6

Which measure is computed as the sum of squared market shares of firms in an industry?

Question 7

In the Cournot duopoly model with aggregate demand P = 450 - Q and constant marginal cost MC = 30 for each firm, the Cournot equilibrium quantity per firm is:

Question 8

When firms in an oligopoly match rivals' price decreases but do not match price increases, demand becomes:

Question 9

Which of the following increases the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) most, holding all else equal?

Question 10

A firm in imperfect competition faces a downward-sloping demand curve. If it reduces price to sell more units, marginal revenue is:

Question 11

If a firm’s short-run marginal cost (SMC) equals marginal revenue at an output where SMC is falling, this candidate output is:

Question 12

Which of the following most accurately describes the minimum efficient scale?

Question 13

A monopolist chooses output where MR = MC and sets price using the demand curve. Compared to perfect competition, a monopolist will typically:

Question 14

Which factor does NOT determine market structure according to the chapter?

Question 15

Which of the following is true about a firm operating in perfect competition in the long run?

Question 16

Which of the following best explains why advertisers and branding matter in monopolistic competition?

Question 17

If a market has ten firms each with 10 percent share, the four-firm concentration ratio equals:

Question 18

Using the same market (ten firms with 10 percent each), the HHI for the top four firms equals:

Question 19

In an oligopoly, the Cournot equilibrium lies between monopoly and perfect competition because:

Question 20

Which condition is most likely to make successful collusion in an oligopoly more sustainable?

Question 21

Which of the following best describes the shutdown decision in the short run?

Question 22

A firm’s long-run average total cost curve is derived as:

Question 23

Which outcome describes a dominant firm in an oligopoly?

Question 24

Which market structure best fits a product market with many sellers, each selling slightly differentiated goods and engaging in substantial advertising?

Question 25

Which of the following is a weakness of using the concentration ratio to assess market power?

Question 26

If a firm’s total revenue equals 360,000 and total cost equals 360,000 at output Q = 40, the firm is:

Question 27

In the Cournot duopoly example with QD = 450 - P and MC = 30, industry price at Cournot equilibrium is:

Question 28

Which of the following is true about a firm’s supply curve in monopolistic competition?

Question 29

Which of the following best characterizes the long-run equilibrium outcome in monopolistic competition compared to perfect competition?

Question 30

Which practice would most likely be used to identify whether an industry behaves like an oligopoly in practice?

Question 31

If a firm is operating in the short run at a loss but price exceeds average variable cost, the firm should:

Question 32

A firm experiencing diseconomies of scale should ideally:

Question 33

Which of the following is a reason why the HHI may be preferred by regulators over the simple concentration ratio?

Question 34

If a firm in an oligopoly believes rivals will not change output in response to its increase, it is using which assumption?

Question 35

In the shutdown example, a firm had revenue of GBP2 million, TC of GBP2.5 million, TFC of GBP1 million, TVC of GBP1.5 million. Short-run advice is:

Question 36

A cartel is best described as:

Question 37

Which of the following would reduce the likelihood that firms in an oligopoly will successfully collude?

Question 38

Which of the following distinguishes monopolistic competition from perfect competition?

Question 39

Which of the following is an econometric challenge when estimating demand elasticity for market power analysis?

Question 40

Which of the following would most likely indicate increasing returns to scale?

Question 41

A firm’s accounting profit differs from economic profit because economic profit:

Question 42

If a monopoly faces linear demand and decreasing price raises total revenue initially but later reduces it, what does MR do as output increases?

Question 43

Which of the following is true about barriers to entry?

Question 44

Which of the following is a correct statement about a firm’s marginal revenue curve under imperfect competition?

Question 45

Which of the following approaches is considered ideal but often impractical for measuring market power?

Question 46

Which pricing outcome is most likely in an oligopoly under the Nash equilibrium concept?

Question 47

Which of the following is an example of a barrier to entry?

Question 48

If a firm in monopolistic competition is earning positive economic profit this year, what is likely in the long run?

Question 50

Which of the following is NOT a reason why long-run firms under perfect competition earn no economic profits?