When the level of output that society demands is produced by the firms in a market. If the marginal benefit enjoyed by consumers equals the marginal cost faced by producers, allocative efficiency is achieved. Only in perfect competition will allocative efficiency be achieved in the long-run, since the price of the good equals the marginal cost of the producers. In imperfectly competitive markets, the price will always be higher than the marginal cost of the firms, indicating that resources are under-allocated towards the product.
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