Ron is sad that JJ’s diner is closing even though it is a sign that he is a failure as a businessman, or the market has determined he is not adding enough value.
See more: competition, free entry and exit, invisible hand, profit maximization
Tom gets an offer that someone is interested in buying his business. After some though, Tom chooses not to sell his clothing rental business and then finds out that the potential buyer will now try to drive him out of business by setting up across the street. Monopolistic competition allows for easy entry and exit into a market that is profitable and results in a reduction in long term profits. This is also a good example of the Hotelling Model where similar firms setup near each other to split the market.
See more: barriers to entry, demand shifts, duopoly, free lunch, hotelling model, imperfect competition, invisible hand, marketing, mergers, monopolistic competition, NSTAFL, product differentiation, supply shifts, zero profit
The Pawnee Video Dome is failing and going out of business. Leslie is trying to find tax breaks to keep him afloat, but Ron says the market is signaling that the company is not providing enough value to consumers and deserves to fail. If companies provide a social good (like intellectual conversations) then governments may step in and subsidize the production of the service.
See more: bailouts, competition, growth, invisible hand, market exit in LR, positive externalities, product differentiation, role of government, social benefits, subsidies, technology
Economics of Parks & Recreation 