When government regulations force a natural monopoly to produce where price equals average total cost, social welfare is

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When a natural monopoly is regulated to produce where price equals average total cost, it covers its costs and provides a fair price to consumers, improving social welfare compared to an unregulated monopoly, but it does not achieve the allocative efficiency of price equaling marginal cost, so welfare is not maximized.

When Government Regulations Force a Natural Monopoly to Produce Where