Final answer:
The true statement for a pure, unregulated monopolist in short-run equilibrium that cannot price discriminate is b) Price is greater than marginal cost. The monopolist sets a price higher than the marginal cost to maximize profits, leading to allocative inefficiency and higher prices for lower quantities compared to a perfectly competitive market.
Step-by-step explanation:
A pure, unregulated monopolist in short-run equilibrium that cannot price discriminate will typically set the price greater than the marginal cost (MC). This outcome diverges from a perfectly competitive market scenario, where price equals marginal cost. The monopolist's goal is to maximize profits by setting the quantity where marginal revenue (MR) equals MC, and charging a price based on the demand curve, which is higher than MC. This leads to a situation where the monopolist produces less quantity at a higher price compared to what would be produced in a perfectly competitive market, creating allocative inefficiency and resulting in a loss of potential social surplus.
In contrast, in a perfectly competitive market, firms produce at a point where price equals marginal cost, both in the short run and the long run, which leads to allocative efficiency and an optimal resource allocation that maximizes societal welfare. However, a pure monopolist has no direct competition and therefore faces a downward-sloping demand curve, which means price will be set above marginal cost, resulting in less quantity and higher prices.