intervening 25 or so years has the mix of crops changed? Since it is relatively easy to switch crops, did farmers

change what they planted in response to changes in relative crop prices? We will find out at chapter’s end.

In the meantime, let's consider the topic of this chapter—the perfectly competitive market. This is a market in which

entry and exit are relatively easy and competitors are “a dime a dozen.”

Most businesses face two realities: no one is required to buy their products, and even customers who might

want those products may buy from other businesses instead. Firms that operate in perfectly competitive

markets face this reality. In this chapter, you will learn how such firms make decisions about how much to

produce, how much profit they make, whether to stay in business or not, and many others. Industries differ

from one another in terms of how many sellers there are in a specific market, how easy or difficult it is for a
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