ECON1101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Giffen Good, Demand Curve, Marginal Cost

MULTIPLE CHOICE.

1) Which of the following is true of the typical relationship between marginal product (MP) and average product (AP)?

A) The AP curve intersects the MP curve at minimum MP.

B) If MP is less than AP, then AP is increasing.

C) If MP is greater than AP, then AP is falling.

D) The MP curve intersects the AP curve at maximum AP.

TRUE/FALSE. Write 'T' if the statement is true and 'F' if the statement is false.

2) If, for a particular short-run production, we observe that marginal product is decreasing we can conclude that average product is decreasing as well.

MULTIPLE CHOICE.

3) An implicit cost is defined as:

A) the amount by which the money spent on an input to production exceeds its opportunity cost.

B) the difference between an input's explicit cost and its actual cost.

C) the opportunity cost of using a resource that is not explicitly paid out by the firm.

D) the amount by which economic profit exceeds accounting profit.

MULTIPLE CHOICE.

4) The amount of output a firm can produce with a given quantity of fixed and variable inputs is called:

A) total fixed product.

B) average variable product.

C) marginal product.

D) total product.

5) Which of the following statements is true of the relationship among the average cost functions?

A) AFC = ATC + AVC

B) ATC = AFC - AVC
C) AVC = AFC + ATC

D) AFC = ATC - AVC

TRUE/FALSE. Write 'T' if the statement is true and 'F' if the statement is false.

6) A firm's production function is the relationship between the factors of production and the resulting outputs of the production process.

MULTIPLE CHOICE.

Scenario 2:
Output (Q): 0 1 2 3 4 5 6

Total Cost (TC): $24 $33 $41 $48 $54 $61 $69

7) Refer to Scenario 2. Diminishing marginal returns starts to occur between units:

A) 2 and 3.

B) 3 and 4.

C) 4 and 5.

D) 5 and 6.

8) Which of the following would be classified as a short-run decision?

A) trucking firm's decision to move to a smaller facility.

B) A firm's decision to decrease the amount of electricity used in day-to-day operations by encouraging employees to adopt conservation strategies, e.g., shut off lights when leaving a room.

C) A university's decision to add a new residence hall.

D) A restaurant's decision to increase the number of patrons it can accommodate by adding on a new dining room.

9) Economic profit is equal to the difference between: 9)

1.

2.

3.

4.

TRUE/FALSE. Write 'T' if the statement is true and 'F' if the statement is false.

10) At the point where a firm incurs diminishing marginal returns, total product will begin to decline.

MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question.

11) In the context of a production function, the remote order takers in the fast food industry would be classified as:

A) a fixed input.

B) a marginal input.

C) an inframarginal input.

D) a variable input.

Scenario 3:
Total Product (Q): 0 1 2 3 4 5 6

Total Cost (TC): $50 $80 $105 $125 $155 $195 $250

12.

13.

increase; lower

decrease; lower

increase; higher

decrease; higher

TRUE/FALSE. Write 'T' if the statement is true and 'F' if the statement is false.

14.

15.

MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question.

16) A labor-intensive method of production is one that:
A) combines a small but sophisticated labor force with a large amount of capital.

B) requires employees to work harder than they would in other occupations.
C) relies on large quantities of labor and smaller quantities of capital equipment. D) relies exclusively on labor.

MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question.

17) Assume a firm produces 500 units of a good by using two inputs, capital and labor, whose per unit prices are $10 and $4. Assume also that the marginal physical product of the last unit of capital is 30 and the marginal physical product of the last unit of labor is 10. To minimize costs this firm should employ:

A) more labor and less capital. B) more capital and less labor.
C) the existing combination of resources. D) both more labor and more capital.

TRUE/FALSE. Write 'T' if the statement is true and 'F' if the statement is false.

18) All else constant, a decrease in the per unit price of labor would create an incentive for a firm manager to substitute labor for capital in the firm's production process.

MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question.

19) All else constant, as the price of petroleum increases relative to the prices of other inputs to the production process, in their effort to minimize their total costs of production, we can expect to see firms employ:

A) the same amount of petroleum since there are no substitutes for petroleum. B) less petroleum and more of the other inputs to production.
C) less of each of the inputs of production.

D) more petroleum and less of the other inputs to production.

Multiple Choice:

1. If 8 percent increase in the price of one good results in an increase of 4 percent in the quantity

demanded of another good, then it can be concluded that the two goods are:

a) complements.

b) substitutes.

c) independent.

d) normal.

2. The law of diminishing marginal utility explains why:

a) supply curves are upsloping.

b) demand curves are downsloping.

c) real income of the consumer rises when the price of a commodity falls.

d) substitution effect is always higher than income effect mentioned in c) above.

3. A necessary and sufficient condition for a rational consumer to be in equilibrium or at that position where he

maximizes utility is that the marginal utility:

a) of all products he consumes is zero.

b) of all products he consumes is positive.

c) is the same for all products.

d) per last dollar is the same for products consumed.

4. Diminishing returns are observed in increases of production output by adding a variable input to a fixed of

inputs because:

a) the ability or quality of the variable input added decreases are more is used.

b) the firm must lower the price of its product when it produces more units of output.

c) the per unit cost it must pay for the variable input increases as more of the input is used.

d) as more variable input is used, the amount of fixed input per variable input decreases.

5. A necessary and sufficient condition for a rational consumer to be in equilibrium or at that position where he

maximizes utility as he spends the last dollar of his budget is that the marginal utility:

e) of all products he consumes is zero.

f) of all products he consumes is positive.

g) is the same for all products.

h) per dollar for all products is the same.

6. The short run marginal cost (MC) curve eventually rises because of:

a) diseconomies of scale.

b) decreasing per unit fixed costs.

c) diminishing marginal returns.

d) increasing marginal productivity of the variable input.

7. Other things being equal, if the prices of a firm

1. Suppose that there is a tax of $1 per unit, and the elasticity of supply is 3 and the elasticity of demand is 2 (in absolute value). How much of the $1 tax is paid by sellers?

2. In Market X, the external benefit of consumption is $5. In Market Y, the external cost of consumption is $10. Efficiency in both markets could be achieved by:

3.Economic theory suggests that a natural monopoly should be:

4.When the size of the production is the most efficient:

5.A firm should exit the industry if which of the following conditions apply?

6.Figure: Costs

Reference: Ref 11-6

(Figure: Costs) Use the figure. At a price of $20, the firm earns profit of:

7.When external benefits are present, the market price is ________, however when external costs are present, the market price is ________.

8.Which of the following statements is TRUE?

I. The EPA's tradeable allowances program for sulfur dioxide establishes property rights to pollute and helps reduce transaction costs by distributing allowances, maintaining databases, and monitoring emissions.

II. One criticism of tradeable allowances is that they prohibit non-businesses and environmental groups from purchasing the allowances.

III. The tradeable allowances for sulfur dioxide have performed poorly because electricity output has increased, causing a rise in sulfur dioxide levels.

9.Price floors make it illegal to compete for more customers by lowering prices, so firms compete by offering customers:

10.Figure: Government Price Controls

Reference: Ref 8-3

(Figure: Government Price Controls) Refer to the figure. If the government sets the price ceiling at $31, there will be:

11.In which of these instances does price function as a signal in the market?

12.Ethanol and sugar are both made from sugar cane, and ethanol can be used as substitute fuel for oil. Increasing oil prices cause the demand for ethanol to increase. This will cause the ______ sugar to ______ and its price to ______.

13.Why do cotton growers spend billions of dollars to dam rivers and transport water hundreds of miles to grow cotton in California deserts?

14.Suppose that the equilibrium price in the market is $10. If the current market price is $7.50:

15.Which of the following would increase the demand for beef?

16.A change in quantity supplied is reflected by a movement along the same supply curve while a change in supply refers to a shift in the entire supply curve.

True

False

17.Table: Production in the United States and Germany

Reference: Ref 2-8

(Table: Production in the United States and Germany) According to the table, the opportunity cost of producing one sofa in the United States is _________, and the opportunity cost of producing one sofa in Germany is _______.

18.Mark values his drum set at $800 and Ella values her guitar at $1,000. Suppose that Mark trades his drum set for Ella's guitar.