question
Economists define a market to be competitive when the firms
answer
are price takers
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In a perfectly competitive market
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firms can freely enter and exit
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Should a competitive firm ever produce when it is losing money? Why or why not?
answer
Yes, as long as revenue can cover total variable costs plus any portion of fixed costs
question
If a competitive firm is producing a profit-maximizing level of output and chooses to continue operating at a loss, which of the following must be true?
answer
AC >/ p >/ AVC
p = MC
MR = MC
ALL OF THE ABOVE*
p = MC
MR = MC
ALL OF THE ABOVE*
question
Suppose the firm faces a price of $39, an average variable cost of $27, and has an average fixed cost of $5. In the short-run, the firm_____
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Will earn an economic profit
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Suppose the firm faces a price of $30, an average variable cost of $32, and has an average fixed cost of $5. In the short-run, this firm_____
answer
cannot cover all its costs
AND
will have a loss per unit of $-7
AND
will have a loss per unit of $-7
question
If the marginal cost function is: MC = 10 - 2q + q^2
Which of the following is/are the profit-maximizing condition if the market is perfectly competitive?
Which of the following is/are the profit-maximizing condition if the market is perfectly competitive?
answer
MR = 10 - 2q + q^2
P = 10 - 2q + q^2
P = 10 - 2q + q^2
question
If a competitive firm's cost function is:
C(q) = a + bq - cq^2 + dq^3
Where a, b, c, and d are constants, what is the firm's marginal cost function?
What is the firm's profit-maximizing condition?
C(q) = a + bq - cq^2 + dq^3
Where a, b, c, and d are constants, what is the firm's marginal cost function?
What is the firm's profit-maximizing condition?
answer
P = b - 2cq + 3dq^3
MR = b - 2cq + 3dq^3
MR = b - 2cq + 3dq^3
question
In the long run, profits will equal zero in a competitive market because of
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free entry and exit
question
In making its exit decision, does Kodak compare the price of its paper and average variable cost (at its optimal output)? Alternatively, does Kodak compare the price of its paper and average total cost (again at its optimal output)?
answer
Since the decision to exit an industry is a long-run decision, it compares the price to average total cost
question
1. What factors (such as fuel) determine the marginal explicit cost to a corporation of an executive's personal flight?
Explicit costs to a corporation of an executives personal flight include:
2. Does any one of the three valuation methods correctly determine the marginal explicit cost?
3. What is the marginal opportunity cost to the corporation of an executive's personal flight?
Explicit costs to a corporation of an executives personal flight include:
2. Does any one of the three valuation methods correctly determine the marginal explicit cost?
3. What is the marginal opportunity cost to the corporation of an executive's personal flight?
answer
1. Payments to the pilot
2. The incremental cost of the flight
3. The price the corporation could have earned from leasing the jet to someone else
2. The incremental cost of the flight
3. The price the corporation could have earned from leasing the jet to someone else
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What is the principle distinction between explicit costs and implicit costs?
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Explicit costs reflect a foregone opportunity involving a direct, out-of-pocket payment, while implicit costs reflect a forgone opportunity with no direct payment
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The difference between the total cost and the total variable cost is a constant
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True
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When total cost or total variable cost is increasing, there are increasing marginal returns to the variable input
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False
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Changes in fixed costs do not affect the shape or placement of the total cost curve
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False
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The marginal cost is the slope of the total cost curve or the total variable cost curve
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True
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The average cost curve is everywhere above the average variable cost curve
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True
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The marginal cost at a particular output level is the slope of a line from the origin to the corresponding point on the cost curve
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False
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Is this firm producing at minimum cost? If it is minimizing cost, explain why. If it is not minimizing cost, explain how the firm should change the ratio of inputs it uses to lower its cost
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The bottling company is not minimizing the cost of production because MP M/r < MP L/w and should use more labor and fewer machines
question
Toward the end of the exam, the more time you spend on either question, the fewer extra points per minute you get for that question. How should you allocate your time between the two questions?
answer
Allocate you time such that the marginal product of spending another unit of time on the first question is equal to the marginal product of spending another unit of time on the second question
question
Given labor is on the horizontal axis and capital is on the vertical axis, as the price of labor increases, the isocost line becomes
answer
Steeper
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If both the price of labor and capital rise in the same proportion, which of the following will occur (holding production costs constant)?
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The isocost line makes a parallel shift inward
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A U-shaped short-run average cost curve touches a U-shaped long-run average cost curve
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to the left of its minimum when long-run average costs are decreasing and to the right of its minimum when long-run average costs are increasing
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The steeper an isoquant (labor measure on the horizontal axis)
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The greater is the marginal productivity of labor relative to that of capital
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To say that isoquants are convex is to say that:
answer
The marginal rate of technical substitution falls as labor increases
question
Suppose the production function for a certain device is:
q = L + K
If neutral technical change has occurred, which of the following could be the new production function?
q = L + K
If neutral technical change has occurred, which of the following could be the new production function?
answer
q = 5 x (L + K)
question
Joey's snow shoveling service, with Joey being the only employee, recently traded in his snow shovel for a gasoline-powered snow blower. Joey still requires one worker per blower; however, more snow is now moved in the same amount of time as before. This is an example of
answer
neutral technical change