14.6 A perfectly competitive industry has a large number of potential entrants. Each firm has an identical cost structure such that long-run average cost is minimized at an output of 20 units

(qi 20). The minimum average cost is $10 per unit. Total market demand is given by Q
1,500  50P.

a. What is the industry’s long-run supply schedule?

b. What is the long-run equilibrium price (P*)? The total industry output (Q*)? The output of each firm (q*)? The number of firms? And the profits of each firm?

c. The short-run total cost curve associated with each firm’s long-run equilibrium output is given by C
0.5q 2  10q 200.

Calculate the short-run average and marginal cost curves. At what output level does short-run average cost reach a minimum?

d. Calculate the short-run supply curve for each firm and the industry short-run supply curve.

e. Suppose now that the market demand function shifts upward to Q 2,000  50P. Using this new demand curve, answer part

(b) for the very short run when firms cannot change their outputs.

f. In the short run, use the industry short-run supply curve to recalculate the answers to (b).

g. What is the new long-run equilibrium for the industry?