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1 vote
Consider the markets for three products below. Indicate which characteristics of a competitive market are met by these markets.

Market: gasoline

a. Large number of buyers unanswered
b. Standardized good unanswered
c. Full information unanswered
d. No transaction cost unanswered
e. Participants are price takers unanswered

Market: barbershop haircuts

a. Large number of buyers unanswered
b. Standardized good unanswered
c. Full information unanswered
d. No transaction cost unanswered
e. Participants are price takers unanswered

Market: bicycles

a. Large number of buyers unanswered
b. Standardized good unanswered
c. Full information unanswered
d. No transaction cost unanswered
e. Participants are price takers

User Mike Dour
by
4.9k points

2 Answers

3 votes

Market: gasoline (monopolistic competition with few sellers and many buyers)

a. Large number of buyers

b. Standardized good

c. Full information (not all participants know all the information, but most is available if they search for it)

d. No transaction cost

e. Participants are price takers

Market: barbershop haircuts (monopolistic competition with a lot of sellers and many buyers, but differentiated service)

a. Large number of buyers

d. No transaction cost

e. Participants are price takers

Market: bicycles (resembles a perfect competition market)

a. Large number of buyers

b. Standardized good

c. Full information (not all participants know all the information, but most is available if they search for it)

d. No transaction cost

e. Participants are price takers

Explanation:

No market provides full information to all participants. The closest you can get are some markets where commodities are traded and the price is set be certain exchange institutions. E.g. the Chicago Mercantile Exchange sets the price of agricultural commodities in the US, and most trading companies follow that price but variations still exist (even though they are minimum).

It is not possible for all the consumers of gasoline, haircuts or bicycles to know the exact price of all the goods the services since the price varies from one seller to another. Even if they are part of a retail chain, the price varies. Full information only exists in theoretical models, it doesn't exist in the real world.

User Szymon Marczak
by
5.2k points
6 votes

Answer:

Market: gasoline (monopolistic competition with few sellers and many buyers)

a. Large number of buyers

b. Standardized good

c. Full information (not all participants know all the information, but most is available if they search for it)

d. No transaction cost

e. Participants are price takers

Market: barbershop haircuts (monopolistic competition with a lot of sellers and many buyers, but differentiated service)

a. Large number of buyers

d. No transaction cost

e. Participants are price takers

Market: bicycles (resembles a perfect competition market)

a. Large number of buyers

b. Standardized good

c. Full information (not all participants know all the information, but most is available if they search for it)

d. No transaction cost

e. Participants are price takers

Step-by-step explanation:

No market provides full information to all participants. The closest you can get are some markets where commodities are traded and the price is set be certain exchange institutions. E.g. the Chicago Mercantile Exchange sets the price of agricultural commodities in the US, and most trading companies follow that price but variations still exist (even though they are minimum).

It is not possible for all the consumers of gasoline, haircuts or bicycles to know the exact price of all the goods the services since the price varies from one seller to another. Even if they are part of a retail chain, the price varies. Full information only exists in theoretical models, it doesn't exist in the real world.

User Fluxa
by
5.4k points