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Social loss is the [[social cost]] imposed by a monopoly.  In other words, it is the net economic burden that a monopoly imposes on the public.

'''Social loss''' is the [[social cost]] imposed by a [[monopoly]].  In other words, it is the net economic burden that a monopoly imposes on the public.

Due to a lack of competition, a monopoly increases its profits by reducing its output and raising the price.  Consumers suffer a social cost because there is less of the good available.  An example is Microsoft Word.  In a perfectly competitive market, the price of Microsoft Word would be equal to its marginal cost (MC), which may be only $20.  But instead Microsoft, by virtue of its near-monopoly, can sell it for perhaps $200.  Fewer copies of Microsoft Word are available at that high price, and many computer users go without it.

Due to a lack of competition, a monopoly increases its profits by reducing its output and raising the price.  Consumers suffer a social cost because there is less of the good available.  An example is [[Microsoft]] Word.  In a perfectly competitive market, the price of Microsoft Word would be equal to its marginal cost (MC), which may be only $20.  But instead Microsoft, by virtue of its near-monopoly, can sell it for perhaps $200.

== Quantifying the Social Loss ==

== Quantifying the Social Loss ==