Evaluate the following statement using economic reasoning: "A monopolist can charge whatever she wants because she is the only source available."
Example answer:
“A monopolist can charge whatever she wants because she is the only source available”. This statement is not true because a monopolist cannot charge whatever she likes. She can only choose either what price to charge or what quantity to produce. Even though the monopolist uses control over the price of output, profit maximization means she cannot charge whatever price she wants. Sometimes, even the monopolist finds herself in situations where she has to reduce the price in order to sell more. But then again, if the monopolist knows what its customer want and want, as well as their buying behaviors, it can use price differentiation and take away consumer surplus. The way to do that will be to restrict output onto the market to take advantage of its leading position over a period of time, or as a way to raise the price. Once the monopolist chooses a price, she is forced to sell only so much as demanded by consumers at that price, given by the demand curve. On the other hand, the monopolist can use price discrimination to gain added profits by charging the maximum price only the maximum price that consumers will be willing to pay (Economics Online, n.d.).