The late Nobel Prize-winning economist George Stigler once wrote, "the most common and most important criticism of perfect competition... [is] that it is unrealistic." Source: George Stigler, "Perfect Competition, Historically Contemplated," Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 55, No. 1, (February 1957), pp. 1-17. Despite the fact that few firms sell identical products in markets where there are no barriers to entry, economists believe that the model of perfect competition is important because A. economists prefer studying theoretical markets instead of actual markets
B. it is a benchmark-a market with the maximum possible competition—that economists use to evaluate actual markets that are not perfectly competitive.
C. all markets eventually become perfectly competitive O D. this is the type of market that our business laws protect and promote