Perfectly Competitive Markets

* Characteristics of Perfectly Competitive Markets

 1. Price taking

 2. Product homogeneity

 3. Free entry and exit

* Price Taking

- The individual firm sells a small share of total market output and, thus, cannot influence the market price.

- The individual consumer buys too small share of industry output to have any impact on market price.

* Product Homogeneity

- The products of all the firms are perfect substitutes.

- Examples

• Agricultural products, copper, oil, iron, lumber

* Free Entry and Exit

- Buyers can switch easily from one supplier to another.

- Suppliers can enter easily or exit a market.

- Possibility of other objectives

1) Revenue maximization

2) Dividend maximization

4) Short-run profit maximization

- Implications of nonprofit objective

• Over long run investors would not support company
• Without profits, survival unlikely

- Long run profit maximization is valid and does not exclude possibility of altruistic behavior.