Final answer:
A monopolist charges a higher price and supplies a lower quantity compared to a firm in a perfectly competitive market because it is the sole provider and faces a less elastic demand curve.
Step-by-step explanation:
Compared to a pure competitor, a monopolist finds it profitable to charge a higher price and supply a lower quantity. This is because the monopolist is the sole provider of a particular good or service and thus faces a downward-sloping demand curve without direct competition. In contrast, in a perfectly competitive market, firms are price takers due to the presence of many sellers, and the individual firm's demand curve is perfectly elastic. The monopolist will seek out the quantity where marginal revenue is equal to marginal cost and then will produce that level of output, setting the price based on the demand curve which is less elastic than that of a monopolistic competitor or a firm in perfect competition.