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A kink in an otherwise linear demand curve. Note how marginal costs can fluctuate between MC1 and MC3 without the equilibrium quantity or price changing. The Kinked-Demand curve theory is an economic theory regarding oligopoly and monopolistic competition. Kinked demand was an initial attempt to explain sticky prices.
In order to distinguish themselves well, these firms can compete in price, but more often, oligopolistic firms engage in non-price competition because of their kinked demand curve. In the kinked demand curve model, the firm will maximize its profits at Q,P where the marginal revenue (MR) is equal to the marginal cost (MC) of the firm.
The graph below depicts the kinked demand curve hypothesis which was proposed by Paul Sweezy who was an American economist. [29] It is important to note that this graph is a simplistic example of a kinked demand curve. Kinked Demand Curve. Oligopolistic firms are believed to operate within the confines of the kinked demand function.
The fierce price competitiveness, created by a sticky-upward demand curve, causes firms to use non-price competition in order to accrue greater revenue and market share. "Kinked" demand curves appear similar to traditional demand curves but are distinguished by a hypothesised [clarification needed] convex bend with a discontinuity at the bend ...
Technically, the price elasticity of demand is low (inelastic) at a price lower than the price point (steep section of the demand curve), and high (elastic) at a price higher than a price point (gently sloping part of the demand curve). Firms commonly set prices at existing price-points as a marketing strategy. [citation needed]
Shift of the demand curve as a whole occurs when a factor other than price causes the price curve itself to translate along the x-axis; this may be associated with an advertising campaign or perceived change in the quality of the good. [3] Demand curves are estimated by a variety of techniques. [4]
Sweezy did pioneering work in the fields of expectations and oligopoly in these years, introducing for the first time the concept of the kinked demand curve in the determination of oligopoly pricing. [3] Harvard published Sweezy's dissertation, Monopoly and Competition in the English Coal Trade, 1550–1850, in 1938.
Cost and demand differences between firms: If costs vary significantly between firms, it may be impossible to establish a price at which to fix output. Firms generally prefer to produce at a level where marginal cost meets marginal revenue, if one firm can produce at a lower cost, it will prefer to produce more units, and would receive a larger ...