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Consider the table below, which shows seven potential customers who are interested in taking a 30-minute helicopter ride. The helicopter company is a profit-maximizing monopolist. The helicopter has room for eight people, including the pilot. The marginal cost for any passenger is $10.

Maximum Amount Customer Willing to Pay Age

Amelia $80 66
Orville $70 34
Wilbur $40 17
Neil $50 16
Charles $60 14
Chuck $100 49
Buzz $20 15

User OTStats
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To determine the profit-maximizing price and quantity as a monopolist, the company needs to find the price that all customers are willing to pay. In this case, the highest price that all customers are willing to pay is $70. Using this price and the maximum number of customers that the helicopter can accommodate, the company can calculate the total revenue, total cost, and profit. The profit-maximizing price is $70, and the company will make a profit of $480.

  • The monopolist decides the price to charge based on what the market is willing to pay.
  • To determine the profit-maximizing quantity, the monopolist looks for the point where marginal revenue equals marginal cost.
  • In this case, the profit-maximizing quantity is the maximum number of customers that can fit in the helicopter, which is 8 (including the pilot).
  • The prices that customers are willing to pay are given in the table, and the monopolist will charge the highest price that is still acceptable to all customers.
  • From the table, the highest price that all customers are willing to pay is $70 (Orville's price).
  • Using the profit-maximizing quantity of 8 and the price of $70, the monopolist can calculate the total revenue by multiplying the price by the quantity, which is $70 x 8 = $560.
  • The monopolist can calculate the total cost by multiplying the quantity by the marginal cost, which is 8 x $10 = $80.
  • Finally, to calculate the profit, the monopolist subtracts the total cost from the total revenue, which is $560 - $80 = $480.
  • So, the profit-maximizing price is $70, and the monopolist will make a profit of $480.
User Omidreza Bagheri
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