Answer each separately

1. Firms in a competitive market make zero economic profit in the long run. Before looking into this a little deeper, it may appear to be pointless to operate since the firm does not come out ahead from producing their good. Explain why a firm would operate, even if they have zero economic profit.
2. When we consider monopolies, it is interesting to note that in the long run, most perceived monopolies do have to compete with other monopolies. That is, if my electric company is bad, I can move to another electric company's zone. For this discussion, you should consider the short run where it may not be an option to simply move to an area served by another company. For this discussion, your task is to:

• Think of a monopoly that is prevalent in your lifeand identify whether it is a natural or legal monopoly
• Describe some benefits of your monopoly being a monopoly for the consumer
• Explain some drawbacks of your monopoly being a monopoly for the consumer