ECON 200 Chapter Notes - Chapter 12: Average Cost, Marginal Cost, Marginal Product

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erinmole972

18 Apr 2016

School

University of Maryland

Department

Economics

Course

ECON 200

Professor

Robert Schwab

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Document Summary

Fixed costs: stays the same regardless of how much is produced. Variable costs: costs that depend on the level of production. Total revenue: the amount that a firm receives from the sale of goods and services: quantity sold x price paid per unit. Total cost: the amount that a firm pays for all of the inputs that go into producing goods and services. Profit = total revenue total cost. Explicit costs: costs that require a firm to spend money. Accounting profit: total revenue explicit costs: what companies report as their profits. Economic profit: total revenue explicit costs implicit costs: what investors are interested in. The relationship between quantity of inputs and the resulting quantity of outputs. Marginal product: the increase in output that is generated by an additional unit of input: slope of total production curve. Diminishing marginal product: a principle stating that the marginal product of an input decreases as the quantity of input increases.

Related Questions

Question:

Evaluate the following statement:

In the short-run, information about a perfectly competitive firm's fixed costs is needed to determine both the profit-maximizing level of output and the amount of profit earned when producing that level of output.

Answer:

The objective of a firm is to maximize profits. In determining output, the firm may be subject to two constraints: costs of production and consumer demand. The price that a perfectly competitive firm may sell its products, is determined by consumer demand. Production costs are determined by the technology used. Profits are the difference between total revenues and total costs. Pertaining to short-run profit maximization, firms maximize profits by choosing the output level where its marginal revenue equals its marginal cost.

Farnham, P. G. (2014). Economics for Managers (3rd Ed.).

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sangriacockroach968

1-7 True or False

1) In the short run, a perfectly competitive firm can earn positive, zero, or negative profit depending on the market price of the firm's output.

2)In the model of the perfectly competitive firm, the firm's fixed costs are equal to its implicit costs of production.

3)Assume the market price is greater than average total cost at the perfectly competitive firm's profit-maximizing level of output. In this case, the firm is earning positive economic profits, which act as an incentive for new firms to enter the market.

4)Assume that at the current level of output, price equals marginal revenue, but is less than average total cost. So long as price is greater than average variable cost, the firm should continue to operate in the short run to minimize its losses.

5)The fact that a firm is a price-setter does not ensure it will make a positive economic profit in the short run and over time.

6)Barriers to entry serve to limit the number of firms that operate in a particular market and, as 11) such, reduce the amount of total profit earned in the market.

7)In the prisoner's dilemma game, each player's dominant strategy is also the Nash equilibrium.

14-17 Multiple Choice

14) Marginal revenue is equal to:
A) the change in P x Q due to a one unit change in output. B) the change in quantity divided by the change in price.

C) the change in price divided by the change in output. D) price, but only if the firm is a price searcher.

15) In order to maximize its profits, a price-taking firm should produce the level of output at which:

A) marginal revenue = marginal cost. B) total revenue = total cost.

C) variable revenue = variable cost. D) average revenue = average cost.

16) Assume that there is an improvement in the technology used by firms in a perfectly competitive industry that is initially in long-run equilibrium. In the short run this would cause:

A) cannot be determined with the information given. B) no change in the firm's economic profit.
C) a decrease in the firm's economic profit. D) an increase in the firm's economic profit.

17) Assume at the firm's profit-maximizing level of output P = AVC. In this case, the firm will be:

A) incurring an economic loss. B) earning a positive economic profit.

C) earning economic profit = 0. D) breaking even.

20) When price is less than average variable cost at the profit-maximizing level of output, a firm should: A) continue to produce the level of output at which marginal revenue equals marginal cost if it is operating in the long run. B) shutdown, because it cannot even cover all of its variable costs let alone its fixed costs if it stays in business. C) shutdown, because it will lose nothing in that case. D) continue to produce the level of output at which marginal revenue equals marginal cost if it is operating in the short run. 21) When price is greater than average variable cost but less than average total cost at the profit-maximizing level of output, a firm should: A) continue to produce the level of output at which marginal revenue equals marginal cost. B) shutdown to minimize its losses. C) reduce output to the level at which price equals average variable cost to minimize its losses. D) increase output to minimize its losses. 22) Assume that at the current market price, a perfectly competitive firm's profit-maximizing level of output yields total revenues that are just equal to total costs. Which of the following statements applies to this firm? A) The firm should increase its explicit costs to reduce its tax burden. B) The firm should shut down right now. C) The firm should continue to operate in the short run to minimize losses, but shut down if things don't improve over the long run. D) The firm is earning zero economic profit and should continue to operate. 23) The perfectly competitive firm's supply curve: A) coincides with its perfectly elastic demand curve. B) is the firm's average total cost curve above the shutdown point. C) is perfectly inelastic at the market price. D) is the firm's marginal cost curve above the minimum point on the AVC curve. 24) Assume there is a decrease in the market demand for a good sold by price-taking firms that are initially producing the profit-maximizing level of output. How will the market adjust over time? A) Firms will exit the market, causing price to rise until losses are eliminated. B) Firms will exit the market, causing price to fall until positive profits are eliminated. C) Firms will enter the market, causing price to fall until positive profits are eliminated. D) Firms will enter the market, causing price to rise until losses are eliminated. 25) What is the "most efficient capacity" for the perfectly competitive firm? A) The plant size for which Price = AR. B) The plant size at which LRAC is at its minimum. C) The plant size at which MR = MC. D) The plant size at which any of the SRATC curves are tangent to the LRAC curve.

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ECON 200 Chapter Notes - Chapter 12: Average Cost, Marginal Cost, Marginal Product

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