In a perfectly competitive market, profit maximization occurs at the output level where marginal revenue (MR) equals ______.

In a perfectly competitive market, profit maximization occurs at the output level where marginal revenue (MR) equals marginal cost (MC). This means that a company will keep producing more goods until the additional money made from selling one more unit (marginal revenue) is equal to the cost of producing that extra unit (marginal cost). If the marginal revenue is higher than the marginal cost, the company can increase its profit by making more goods. Conversely, if the marginal cost is higher than the marginal revenue, the company should reduce its production to avoid losses. For example, if a bakery finds that making one more loaf of bread costs $2 but sells for $3, it will continue to produce bread until the cost of making one more loaf equals the selling price.