ECON 208 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Diminishing Returns, Alabama State Route 20, Variable Cost

Use the following information on a hypothetical short-run production function to answer questions A-C.

The price of labor is $20 per day.

Ten units of capital are used each day, regardless of output level.

The price of capital is $50 per unit.

(A). Calculate the marginal product (MP) and average variable product (AP) of each unit of labor input.
(B). Calculate total (TC), average total (ATC), average variable (AVC), and marginal costs (MC).
(C). Can you tell where diminishing marginal returns sets in?

1. The addition to the revenue obtained from firing an additional unit of labour is:

a. marginal revenue product

b. marginal physical product of labour

c.total product

d. marginal factor cost

2. The firm's demand curve for labour is:

a. the demand curve for the good produced divided by the price of the good

b.the marginal revenue product curve for labour

c.the marginal physical product curve for labour divided by the good

d. the marginal physical product curve for labour multiplied by the price of labour

3. If the price of the product is $1.50 and the marginal factor cost of an additional unit of input is $105, how many units of labour should be hired?

Labor input (workers/day)_______________________________-total physical product (output/day)

10 __________________________________________________500

11__________________________________________________600

12__________________________________________________690

13___________________________________________________760

14___________________________________________________800

a. 14

b.12

c.13

d.11

4. the price elasticity of demand for labour equals

a. the change in quantity demanded of labour divided by the change in the price of labour

b. the slope of the demand curve for labour

c. the percentage change in the price of labour divided by the percentage change in the supply of labour

d. the per cent change in the quantity demanded of labour divided by the percentage change in the price of labour

5. We would expect that a rise in labour supply will have a proportionately larger effect on the market wage rate when:

a. the supply for labour is elastic

b.the demand for labour is unitary elastic

c.the demand for labour is elastic

d.the demand for labour is inelastic

8. SMC always passes through the

a. minimum of both short run total cost curve and short run variable cost curve.

b. minimum of both short run average cost curve and short run average variable cost curve.

c. minimum of the long run average curve.

d. minimum of the short run average cost curve only.

9. In the first-degree price discrimination consumer surplus is

a. determined by elasticity of demand.

b. determined by the difference between P and MR

c. determined by area under the demand curve minus price.

d. zero.

10. A price taker firm faces a

a. perfectly elastic demand curve 

b. declining marginal revenue

c. perfectly elastic supply curve

d. declining market demand curve

11. For a discriminating monopolist, the price is usually

a. higher in the market which has elastic demand

b. higher in the market which has inelastic demand.

c. lower in the market which has inelastic demand

d. higher in the market which as higher marginal revenue.

12. At the point of inflection on the total cost curve.

a. marginal and average costs are equal.

b. marginal cost is maximum.

c. marginal cost is minimum.

d. average cost is minimum.

e. marginal product is minimum.

13. A discriminating monopolist must allocate output by the law of

a. equi-marginal utility c. equi-marginal productivity

b. equi-marginal revenue d. equi-marginal cost