ECON 1010 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Diminishing Returns, Average Cost, Marginal Product

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12 Dec 2017

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Decision time frames: firms make decisions, all rms make similar decisions about how to produce, which unlike other decisions, does not depend on the industry the rm operates in, this deals with the relationship between output and cost. Short-run technology constraint: to increase output short-run, a rm must increase the quantity of labour employed. Product curves: graph the relationship between employment and the three product concept de ned above. Total product curve: shows the boundary between attainable (on and below the curve) and unattainable (above the curve), points below curve are inef cient-more labour than necessary used to produce an output, as employment increases, graph become less steeper. Increasing marginal returns: increased marginal return occurs when the marginal product of an additional worker exceeds the marginal product of the previous worker, happens from increased specialization and dividing labour in the production process. As a rm uses more of a variable factor of production with a given quantity of a.

Related Questions

Question:

Is it true that in a short-run production process, the marginal cost curve eventually slopes upward because firms have to pay workers a higher wage rate as they produce more output? Explain your answer.

Answer:

According to the definition of the short-run in Investopedia, the short-run, in economics, expresses the concept that an economy behaves differently depending on the length of time it has to react to certain stimuli. The short-run does not refer to a specific duration of time but rather is unique to the firm, industry, or economic variable being studied. A key principle guiding the concept of short-run and long-run is that in the short-run, firms face both variable and fixed costs, which means that output, wages and prices do not have full freedom to reach a new equilibrium. Most businesses make decisions not only about how many workers to employ at any given point in time (i.e. the amount of labor) but also about what scale of an operation (i.e. size of factory, office, etc.) to put together and what production processes to use. In contrast, economists often define the short-run as the time horizon over which the scale of operation is fixed and the only available business decision is the number of workers to employ. Technically, the short-run could also represent a situation where the amount of labor is fixed and the amount of capital is variable, but this is fairly uncommon. The logic is that even taking various labor laws as given, it's usually easier to hire and fire workers than it is to significantly change a major production process or move to a new size of factory or office. In the short-run, one factor of production is fixed, e.g. capital. This means that if a firm wants to increase output, it could employ more workers, but not increase capital in the short-run (it takes time to expand.) Therefore in the short-run, we can get diminishing marginal returns, and marginal costs may start to increase quickly. Also, in the short-run, we can see prices and wages out of equilibrium, e.g. sudden rise in demand, may lead to higher prices, but firms don't have the capacity to respond and increase supply.

Tejvan Pettinger. (2015). Short-run, long-run, very long-run. Glossary Terms. Economics help blog. NY: Helping to Simplify Economic.
Retrieved from: http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/glossary/short-run-long-run-very-long-run/
Short-Run. Short-Run Definition | Investopedia
Retrieved from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/shortrun.asp#ixzz4KO1YXsri

I need a peer reply for this, please.

taupeswan96

1- All of the following statements apply to a purely competitive market in the long run, except:

A- In the long run, all inputs are variable in quantity.

B- Firms can expand their plant capacities in the long run.

C- Total fixed costs remain constant even when output expands in the long run.

D- Firms may enter or leave the industry in the long run.

2- Which of the following is true of normal profits?

A- They are necessary to keep a firm in the industry in the long run

B- They are zero under pure competition in the long run

C- They are excluded from a firm's costs of production

D- They are what attract other firms to enter an industry

3- -The long-run supply curve would be perfectly elastic when:

A- An increase in demand does not cause a change in product price

B- An increase in demand causes an increase in product price

C- A decrease in demand causes an increase in short-run supply

D- A decrease in demand causes an increase in product price

4- What happens in a decreasing-cost industry when some firms leave and the industry's output contracts?

A- The average cost will increase

B- The average cost will decrease

D- The total cost will decrease

C- The product price will decrease

5- Which of the following statements about a competitive firm is correct?

A-To maximize profits a competitive firm should produce at that output at which total revenue is greatest

B- In long-run equilibrium a competitive firm will produce at the point of minimum average costs

C- A competitive firm will produce in the short run so long as total receipts are sufficient to cover total fixed costs

D-A competitive firm will close down in the short run whenever price is less than the minimum attainable average total cost

6- When there is allocative efficiency in a purely competitive market for a product, the minimum price producers are willing to accept is:

A- Less than marginal benefit

B- Greater than marginal cost

C- Equal to the amount of efficiency or deadweight losses

D- Equal to the maximum price consumers are willing to pay

7- A patent is the legal right granted to a firm that allows it to:

A- Make copies of other firm's products

B- Be the sole buyer of a particular product or resource

C- Sell its new product exclusively for a set number of years

D- Be the exclusive distributor of a particular imported product

coffeeyellowjacket176

4. Decisions made âat the marginâ entail a choice based upon_____________ of a decision.

a. the additional benefits
b. the total costs
c. comparing the total benefits and costs
d. comparing the additional benefits and costs
5. 100 units of Good X are available but individuals desire 500units. ______________ will determine who attains Good X, and whodoes not.

a. A rationing device
b. Opportunity Cost
c. Utility
d. Natural Selection

6. Individuals will continue consuming so long as:

a. The price of a good continues to decrease
b. The marginal costs of consuming are outweighed by the marginalbenefits
c. The individual seeks additional utility
d. The individual is willing and able

8. If the cross-price elasticity of two goods is positive, thenthose two goods are
a. substitutes.
b. complements.
c. normal goods.
d. inferior goods.

11. The basic reason most supply curves are upward sloping isthat:

a. More firms are in the market, therefore more goods areproduced.
b. Because more quantity is being demanded, suppliers raise theprice.
c. Producers face higher opportunity costs when producing higherlevels of quantity, so they must receive a higher price.
d. Producers seek to maximize total revenue.

18. When the price of bubble gum is $0.60, the quantity demanded is500 packs per day. When the price falls to $0.50, the quantitydemanded increases to 900. The demand for gum would beconsidered:

a. inelastic.
b. elastic.
c. unit elastic.
d. perfectly inelastic.

20. Inefficient Production implies which of the following:

a. it is impossible to produce more of one good without producingless of another
b. there are too few resources
c. there are too many resources
d. it is possible to produce more of one good without producingless of another

21. Workers at a bicycle assembly plant currently make minimumwage. If the federal government increases the minimum wage by $1.00an hour it is likely that the

a. demand for bicycle assembly workers will increase.
b. supply of bicycles will shift to the right.
c. supply of bicycles will shift to the left.
d. firm must increase output to maintain profit levels.

24. Suppose at a price of $5 and at a price of $9, John purchases40 units of good X. Given this information, we know that Johnâsdemand for good X is
a. perfectly elastic at all prices.
b. inelastic at all prices.
c. unit elastic between the prices of $5 and $9.
d. perfectly elastic between the prices of $5 and $9.
e. perfectly inelastic between the prices of $5 and $9.

25. If the price of good A decreases by 10 percent and the quantitydemanded of good B decreases by 10 percent, this is evidence that Aand B are
a. substitute goods.
b. complement goods.
c. inferior goods.
d. normal goods.
e. not related.

6. For an individual to achieve consumer equilibrium when consumingtwo goods, A and B, the individual must satisfy the followingcondition:

a. TUA = TUB
b. TUA/PA = TUB/PB
c. MUA = MUB
d. MUA/PA = MUB/PB
e. MUA/PB = MUB/PA

7. Which of the following statements is correct regarding a firm'sdecision making?
a. The decision to shut down and the decision to exit are bothshort-run decisions.
b. The decision to shut down and the decision to exit are bothlong-run decisions.
c. The decision to shut down is a short-run decision, whereas thedecision to exit is a long-run decision.
d. The decision to exit is a short-run decision, whereas thedecision to shut down is a long-run decision.

Table 1

Output Total Cost
0 $20
1 $30
2 $41
3 $51
4 $65
5 $75
6 $84
7 $105

13. Refer to Table 1. The marginal cost of producing the fifth unitof output is
a. $55.00
b. $15.00
c. $9.00
d. $10.00

21. A perfectly competitive firm can produce its current level ofoutput at an average total cost of $10 and a marginal cost of $8.If the market price of the product is currently $8, what should thefirm do?

a. The firm should definitely shut down since average total costexceeds price.
b. The firm should shut down if average variable cost is $8 orgreater, but the firm should continue to produce the current levelof output if average variable cost is less than $8.
c. The firm should increase production in order to increaseprofit.
d. The firm should continue to produce, but it should decreaseproduction in order to increase profit.
24. In the long run all costs are variable. Thus, aprofit-maximizing firm may exit:

a. When Price < Average Total Cost
b. When Price > Average Total Cost
c. When Average Revenue > Average Fixed Cost
d. When Average Revenue > Marginal Cost

25. Marginal cost tells us the
a. value of all resources used in a production process.
b. marginal increment to profitability when price isconstant.
c. amount by which total cost rises when output is increased by oneunit.
d. amount by which output rises when labor is increased by oneunit.

26. For a perfectly competitive firm:
a. marginal revenue is equal to price.
b. price is equal to marginal cost at the output level thatmaximizes profit.
c. selling an additional unit of the good it produces increasestotal revenue by the price of the good.
d. a and b
e. a, b, and c

ECON 1010 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Diminishing Returns, Average Cost, Marginal Product

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