Explain what a cartel is and the difficulties faced in maintaining a cartel

What will be an ideal response?


A cartel is a group of firms acting together to decrease output, raise price, and increase economic profit. The difficulty faced by a cartel is the fact that each member has the incentive to cheat on the cartel and increase its output. If a member increases its output and the rest of the cartel members do not, the cheating member's profits will increase substantially. Each member reasons that if it is the only cheater, it can significantly increase its profit and so each firm has an incentive to cheat.

Economics

You might also like to view...

Based on the table, what is Barry's marginal benefit from the 40th slice of pizza?

A) $3 B) $5.50 C) $0.50 D) $12

Economics

Refer to Table 10-5, which lists the values of Harry Taber's marginal utility and marginal utility per dollar for Italian submarine (sub) sandwiches and tacos. Assume that the price of a sub sandwich is $4 and the price of a taco is $2

When Harry's income is $14, he buys two Italian sub sandwiches and three tacos. The last column lists the values of the marginal utility per dollar for tacos when the price of a taco decreases to $1. Complete this statement: As a result of the change in price A) Harry's purchasing power has increased. He will reduce his consumption of tacos so he can buy one more sub. This is an example of the substitution effect of a price change. B) Harry's purchasing power has increased. Harry buys fewer tacos. This is an example of the substitution effect of a price change C) Harry's purchasing power has increased. If tacos are a normal good for Harry he will buy fewer tacos. This is an example of the income effect of a price change. D) Harry's purchasing power has increased. If tacos are a normal good for Harry he will buy more tacos. This is an example of the income effect of a price change.

Economics

Crowding out occurs when the government

a. reduces the level of the national debt, forcing up interest rates b. balances the budget, increasing the value of government bonds and thereby causing consumption to fall c. borrows money to finance the national debt, forcing up interest rates, causing private investment to fall d. borrows money to finance the national debt, causing interest rates to fall causing private investment to fall e. borrows money to finance the national debt, forcing up interest rates, causing consumption to fall

Economics

The social insurance provided by the government is insurance against

a. floods, hurricanes, and other natural disasters b. loss of funds in private pension programs c. sizable income losses when people retire or when they become disabled or unemployed d. loss of value of stocks and bonds when corporations go bankrupt e. loss of funds in private pension plans, retirement annuities, and unemployment

Economics