Imagine you are an entrepreneur in the perfectly competitive gizmo market. Draw a graph showing market supply, market demand, and equilibrium price and quantity of gizmos in the long run. Draw a corresponding graph for the individual gizmo manufacturing firm using the market equilibrium price, average cost curve, and marginal cost curve. If you line up the two graphs horizontally, the equilibrium price should be the same on both graphs.
Now suppose that a crucial component used in the manufacturing of gizmos becomes cheaper. What impact will this have on the gizmo industry in the short run, in terms of the market price, output of an individual firm, and market equilibrium quantity? What impact will this have on your firm’s profits? What impact will this have in the long run on each of these variables? Show graphically and explain your reasoning.
