As the time to respond to a change in market conditions increases, the odds of supply being elastic:
a. Increase

Experience with patents in the pharmaceutical industry shows that when patents on drugs expire

A) prices remain high without patent protection because of a lack of competition. Firms that are not granted patents cannot compete with firms that are granted patents. B) other firms are free to produce chemically identical drugs. Competition reduces the profits that had been earned by the firms that received patents. C) most patients will continue to buy the drugs from the same firms because their doctors recommend they buy brand-name drugs. D) firms will find ways to obtain additional patent protection—often by making cosmetic changes in drugs that were patented—so that they can continue charging high prices.

As a percentage of total federal expenditures, national defense spending has _____ since the mid 1950s

a. slightly increased b. risen precipitously c. essentially stayed the same d. declined