ECO 304L Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Absolute Advantage, Comparative Advantage, Opportunity Cost

Given Fixed costs $ 110 per acre, and the price drops to 58 cents per pound. Complet the Marginal Revenue. on the table below.

1. What is the most profitable cotton yield if the price is 80 cents per pound? What is the profit or loss per acre?

yield ___________________

Profit or loss ___________________

2. a. If the price does fall to 58 cents per pound, should the farmer produce any cotton?

( ) yes ( ) no

If yes profit maximamizing yield per acre ________________

Profit /loss per acre __________

b. How much would the farmer lose if he did not produce any cotton some year?

Loss per acre _______________

3. If the expected price is only 40 cents per pound, should the farmer try to produce anything?

( ) Yes ( ) No

If he does produce, how much? ___________ lbs per acre.

What would profit/loss be if he produces? ______________ (per acre)

4. what is the lowest price that the farmer can receive and adjust to cover all his costs? At what yield?

Price _______________

Yield _________________

Profit/loss _____________ (per acre)

5. At what price will the farmer top producing ? _________________

II. Mr. I.M Farmer has been producing 500 acres of irrigated cotton in the Texas High Plains. He is very concerned about increasing fuel costs because he uses a lot of fuel to pump irrigation water. He is also concerned because he believes that the price of cotton could drop to 58 cents per pound. He is not sure that he can profitably produce cotton if the price falls to 58 cents or less.

Assume you have been asked to analyze this problem. With the help of an extension agent, you developed the following cost schedule for irrigated cotton at various levels of production. All costs were figured on a per-acre basis. Fixed costs are $110 per acre. Total variable costs per acre are listed in the chart below.

Mr. Farmer has asked you to compute the profit-maximizing level of production and the amount of profit he can expect at various cotton prices. He particularly wants advice about whether or not he should produce any cotton at all if the price drops to 58 cents per pound. (Assume I. M. Farmer has no alternative to cotton; that is he either produces cotton or nothing.)

1. What is the most profitable cotton yield if the price is 80 cents per pound? What is the profit or loss per acre?

Yield_________________________________

Profit/Loss_________ _______________

2. a) If the price does fall to 58 cents per pound, should Mr. Farmer produce any cotton?

( ) Yes ( ) No

If yes, profit maximizing yield per acre___________________

Profit/loss per acre______ ______

b) How much would Mr. Farmer lose if he did not produce any cotton some year?

Loss per acre_____________________

3. If the expected price is only 40 cents per pound, should Mr. Farmer try to produce anything?

( ) Yes ( ) No

If he does produce, how much? ______ ___________lbs per acre.

What would Profit/Loss be if he produces? __ ________(per acre)

4. What is the lowest price that Mr. Farmer can receive and just cover all his costs? At what yield?

Price_________ _________________

Yield_________ ___________________

Profit/Loss_____ ____________(per acre)

5. At what price will Mr. Farmer stop producing? ____ ___________

1. Which of the following actions reflect self-interested behavior?
(i) Warren Buffett, one of the world's wealthiest individuals, donated more than $30 billion to humanitarian causes such as AIDS and tuberculosis initiatives.
(ii) Pfizer Inc., a private pharmaceutical company, sponsored a disease-management program for Florida's Medicaid patients with chronic illnesses such as asthma, diabetes and heart disease.
(iii) You agree to babysit your 8-year-old brother instead of going to a kick-boxing class.
(iv) You agree to babysit your 8-year-old brother instead of going to a kick-boxing class only if your mother pays you $8 an hour.
A. (iv) only
B. (ii) and (iii) only
C. All of the above actions except (iii)
D. All of the above actions

2. Unlimited wants and limited resources:
A. Can be overcome through innovation
B. Can be overcome by increasing wealth
C. Are not problems faced by wealthy industrialized nations
D. Necessitate choices about the goods to services to consume

3. The production possibilities frontier can be used to demonstrate which of the following?
(i) The best tradeoffs that individuals and societies should make
(ii) The tradeoffs forced on individuals and societies because of scarcity
(iii) The wealth maximizing output combination that an individual or society should choose
A. (i), (ii) and (ii)
B. (i) only
C. (ii) only
D. (iii) only

Figure 1-1 shows the production possibility frontier for the hypothetical country, Lindenderry, which produces only two goods: corn and automobiles. Assume that Lindenderry uses all its productive resources to their maximum capacity.

Figure 1-1

4. If Lindenderry is using its productive resources to their maximum capacity, it must be producing a combination of goods given by a point such as:
A. Point U, V or W
B. Point U, X or W
C. Point V, U or T
D. Point X

5. If Lindenderry is at point U, producing 1300 tons of corn and 34 million automobiles, what is the opportunity cost of an additional 11 million automobiles?
A. 1,100 tons of corn
B. 2,200 tons of corn
C. 200 tons of corn
D. 18.2 tons of corn

6. Suppose Lindenderry is at point S, producing 700 tons of corn and 56 million automobiles. What happens if it sacrifices 11 million automobiles?
A. It moves to point T and gains 400 tons of corn
B. It moves to point T and gains 1,110 tons of corn
C. It moves to point W and gains 700 tons of corn
D. It moves to point W and loses 11 million automobiles

7. Suppose the price of a banana is $0.50, the price of a can of soda is $1.00 and the price of a power bar is $1.50. What is the opportunity cost of a banana?
A. $0.50
B. 1/2 of a power bar
C. 1/3 of a can of soda
D. 1/2 can of soda or 1/3 of a power bar

8. Which of the following statements is false?
A. Mother Teresa faced trade-offs when deciding to help lepers in India rather than some other needy group
B. When the government funds research into cancer, it is able to avoid trade-offs because public funds are used rather than private funds
C. When you volunteer to help at a soup kitchen, you face an opportunity cost of your time
D. Economics brings tradeoffs to light but does not inform us of which trade-offs society should make

9. Which the following would be likely to raise your opportunity cost of going to college full-time?
(i) You have been offered a full-time job as wardrobe assistant to Paris Hilton that pays $60,000 per year.
(ii) You have been offered a merit scholarship that pays for two years of tuition.
(iii) Your landlord increases the rent on the apartment you are currently living in and will continue to live in even if you choose to attend college full-time.
(iv) An increase in the value of your college trust fund set up by your grandfather.
A. All of the above
B. All of the above except (ii)
C. (i) only
D. (i) and (iii) only

Suppose Galesburg produces only two goods: textiles and wheat. Table 1-1 shows the combinations of the two goods that Galesburg can produce if it uses all its productive resources to their maximum capacity.

Table 1-1

10. If Galesburg is currently producing at point H, what is the opportunity cost of obtaining an additional 100 bushels of wheat?
A. 360 bales of textiles
B. 240 bales of textiles
C. 60 bales of textiles
D. 20 bales of textiles

11. Suppose Galesburg is currently producing at point K and would like to move to point J. This movement:
A. Enables it to obtain an additional 20 bales of textiles and an additional 60 bushels of wheat
B. Requires a sacrifice of 60 bushels of wheat to obtain an additional 20 bales of textiles
C. Enables Galesburg to increase textile production with no reduction in wheat production
D. Suggests that point K is an inefficient choice for Galesburg

12. Suppose Galesburg is currently producing 60 bales of textiles and 200 bushels of wheat. Which of the following statements is true?
A. It is not possible to produce more wheat without sacrificing any textiles
B. It is possible to produce more wheat without sacrificing any textiles
C. The people of Galesburg do not value wheat as highly as they value textiles
D. The price of wheat must have fallen, so producers have reduced their supply of wheat

13. Suppose the people of Galesburg want to consume 50 bales of textiles and 310 bushels of wheat. Are they able to achieve this?
A. Yes, if they are willing to pay higher prices for these products to induce suppliers to produce them
B. No, at this time Galesburg has insufficient resources to satisfy its consumers' wants
C. Yes, if they rearrange their resource use so as to increase total output
D. No, Galesburg must increase its money supply in order to do so

14. The opportunity cost of an item is:
A. The price you paid to acquire that item
B. What you could have bought if you did not purchase that item
C. What it costs to make that item
D. Higher than what you paid to obtain that item

15. The opportunity cost of an item is:
A. The value of all the alternatives that must be given up in order to engage in any economic activity
B. The average value of all the alternatives that you forego in order to engage in any economic activity
C. The highest-valued alternative that must be given up in order to engage in any economic activity
D. The lowest-valued alternative that must be given up in order to engage in any economic activity