MONOPOLISTIC COMPETITION AND EFFICIENCY: A monopolistically competitive firm generally produces less output and charges a higher price than would be the case for a perfectly competitive industry. In particular, the price charged by monopolistic competition is not equal to (in fact, higher than) the marginal cost of production. The equality between price and marginal cost is THE key indication that resources are allocated efficiently and that society's resources are NOT being used to generate the highest possible level of satisfaction. See also | monopolistic competition | market control | marginal cost | demand curve | market failure | monopolistic competition characteristics | monopolistic competition and demand | inefficiency |
