question
On a per-unit basis, economic profit can be determined as the difference between
answer
product price and average total cost.
question
Which of the following is not a characteristic of pure competition?
answer
Pricing strategies by firm
question
Other things equal, if the fixed costs of a firm were to increase by $100,000 per year, which of the following would happen?
answer
Average fixed costs and average total costs would rise.
question
Assume that in the short run a firm is producing 100 units of output, has average total costs of $200, and has average variable costs of $150. The firm's total costs are.
answer
20000
question
The first, second, and third workers employed by a firm add 24, 18, and 9 units to total product, respectively. Therefore, we can conclude that
answer
marginal product of the third worker is 9.
question
An explicit cost is
answer
a money payment made for resources not owned by the firm itself.
question
The vertical distance between a firm's ATC and AVC curves represents
answer
AFC, which decreases as output increases.
question
Accounting profits are typically
answer
greater than economic profits because the former do not take implicit costs into account.
question
Which of the following is not correct?
answer
Where total product is at a maximum, average product is also at a maximum.
question
The diagram shows the short-run average total cost curves for five different plant sizes of a firm. The shape of each individual curve reflects
answer
increasing returns, followed by diminishing returns.
question
The substitution effect
answer
refers to the change in the quantity demanded of a good due to a change in its relative price.
question
If marginal utility is diminishing, total utility must also be declining.
answer
False
question
The income and substitution effects will both induce the consumer to buy more of a normal good when its price decreases.
answer
True
question
Where total utility is at a maximum, marginal utility is
answer
zero
question
Frank is purchasing products C and D in utility-maximizing amounts. If the price of C is $4 and the price of D is $2, then
answer
the marginal utility of C is twice that of D.
question
Which of the following is correct?
answer
If the demand for a product is inelastic, a change in price will cause total revenue to change in the same direction.
question
For a linear demand curve,
answer
demand is elastic at relatively high prices.
question
Suppose we find that the price elasticity of demand for a product is 3.5 when its price is increased by 2 percent. We can conclude that quantity demanded
answer
decreased by 7 percent
question
The demand for a luxury good whose purchase would exhaust a big portion of one's income is
answer
relatively price elastic
question
Assume that a 3 percent increase in income across the economy produces a 1 percent decline in the quantity demanded of good X. The coefficient of income elasticity of demand for good X is
answer
negative, and therefore X is an inferior good.
question
In answering the question, assume a graph in which dollars are measured on the vertical axis and output on the horizontal axis.
For a purely competitive firm,
For a purely competitive firm,
answer
the demand and marginal revenue curves will coincide.
question
If a profit-seeking competitive firm is producing its profit-maximizing output and its total fixed costs fall by 25 percent, the firm should
answer
not change its output
question
The principle that a firm should produce up to the point where the marginal revenue from the sale of an extra unit of output is equal to the marginal cost of producing it is known as the
answer
profit-maximizing rule
question
The Ajax Manufacturing Company is selling in a purely competitive market. Its output is 100 units, which sell at $4 each. At this level of output, total cost is $600, total fixed cost is $100, and marginal cost is $4. The firm should
answer
produce 0 units of output
question
An industry comprising a very large number of sellers producing a standardized product is known as
answer
pure competition
question
For a purely competitive seller, price equals
answer
average revenue, marginal revenue, total revenue divided by output
question
The MR = MC rule applies
answer
to firms in all types of industries
question
When total product is increasing at a decreasing rate, marginal product is
answer
positive and decreasing
question
Marginal Product
answer
Marginal product is the change in total output (total product) from adding another unit of an input (in this case, labor). If, for example, total output with five workers is 165, and total output is 180 with six workers, then the sixth worker's contribution to total output (her marginal product) is 15 (= 180 − 165).
question
Which of the following is correct as it relates to cost curves?
answer
Marginal cost intersects average total cost at the latter's minimum point.
question
Economies and diseconomies of scale explain
answer
why the firm's long-run average total cost curve is U-shaped.
question
If the total variable cost of 9 units of output is $90 and the total variable cost of 10 units of output is $120, then
answer
the average variable cost of 9 units is $10.
question
Average Variable cost
answer
Average variable cost (AVC) can be calculated as total variable cost (TVC) divided by the quantity of output. If not explicitly given TVC can be found by subtracting total fixed cost (TFC) from total cost (TC). If, for example, total fixed cost is $24 and total cost when output is 3, is $48, then TVC is $24 (= 48 − 24) and AVC is 8 (= 24/3).
question
If you operated a small bakery, which of the following would be a variable cost in the short run?
answer
baking supplies
question
The basic difference between the short run and the long run is that
answer
at least one resource is fixed in the short run, while all resources are variable in the long run.
question
Total Utility
answer
Total utility is maximized when the marginal utility per dollar spent (MU/P) is equal across all goods consumed and income is exhausted. If, for example, MU of X is 40 and the price of X is $5, then MU/P for X is 8 (= 40/5). If the consumer is in equilibrium (maximizing utility), the MU/P for Y must also equal 8. Since MU of Y is 16, then P must be $2 (8 = 16/P; P = 16/8 = 2).
question
When the federal government started requiring restaurants to print calorie counts next to menu items,
answer
consumption of higher-calorie items increased, contrary to the law's objective.
question
In a topographic map, each line represents a particular elevation above sea level, and in an indifference map, each line represents a particular level of
answer
marginal utility.
question
When total utility reaches a maximum, then marginal utility is
answer
equal to zero
question
Which of the following is correct?
answer
Budget lines are linear and downsloping; indifference curves are downsloping and convex to the origin.
question
The first Pepsi yields Craig 18 units of utility and the second yields him an additional 12 units of utility. His total utility from three cans of Pepsi is 38 units of utility. The marginal utility of the third Pepsi is
answer
8 units of utility
question
If the supply of product X is perfectly elastic, an increase in the demand for it will increase
answer
equilibrium quantity, but equilibrium price will be unchanged
question
Economists distinguish among the immediate market period, the short run, and the long run by noting that
answer
supply is most elastic in the long run and least elastic in the immediate market period.
question
If an increase in the supply of a product in the market results in a decrease in price, but no change in the quantity traded, then
answer
The price elasticity of demand is zero
question
In the immediate market period for a highly perishable crop like tomatoes, the individual farmer's supply curve tends to be
answer
perfectly inelastic
question
Price elasticity of demand tends to be low for goods with few close substitutes.
answer
True
question
(Consider This) In markets entered by Southwest Airlines, gains in passenger traffic and profits
answer
went almost entirely to Southwest.
question
If the government imposes an excise tax on a good, it will collect the most tax revenues from it if the demand for the good is
answer
inelastic
question
The short-run supply curve of a purely competitive producer is based primarily on its
answer
MC Curve
question
Marginal Revenue is the
answer
change in total revenue associated with the sale of one more unit of output.
question
If a purely competitive firm is producing at the P = MC output and realizing an economic profit, at that output
answer
marginal revenue exceeds ATC
question
implicit costs
answer
input costs that do not require an outlay of money by the firm - not direct payments
question
When diseconomies of scale occur,
answer
the long-run average total cost curve rises.
question
explicit costs
answer
input costs that require an outlay of money by the firm - direct payments
question
Which of the following constitutes an implicit cost to the Johnston Manufacturing Company?
answer
use of savings to pay operating expenses instead of generating interest income
question
Mary says, "You would have to pay me $50 to attend that pro wrestling event." For Mary, the marginal utility of the event is
answer
negative
question
Indifference curves and budget lines can be used to derive an individual's demand curve for a product.
answer
True
question
The income effect explains an exception to the law of demand.
answer
False
question
The increase in demand for iPad tablet computers can be explained by
answer
the enhanced versatility and storage capacity of iPads, making their MU/P increase.
question
The supply of product X is elastic if the price of X rises by
answer
5 percent and quantity supplied rises by 7 percent.
question
Price elasticity of supply
answer
The price elasticity of supply for a product equals the percentage change in quantity supplied divided by the percentage change in price.
question
At a price of $4 per unit, Gadgets Inc. is willing to supply 20,000 gadgets, while United Gadgets is willing to supply 10,000 gadgets. If the price were to rise to $8 per unit, their respective quantities supplied would rise to 45,000 and 25,000. If these are the only two firms supplying gadgets, what is the elasticity of supply in the market for gadgets?
answer
1.2 (4+8/2=6 30,000+70,000/2 =50,000 6/50,000=1.2
question
perfectly inelastic
answer
quantity does not respond at all to changes in price
question
The demand for a product is inelastic with respect to price if
answer
consumers are largely unresponsive to a per unit price change.
question
We would expect the cross elasticity of demand for Pepsi to be greater in relation to other soft drinks than that for soft drinks in general because
answer
there are fewer good substitutes for soft drinks as a whole than for Pepsi specifically.
question
If the coefficient of income elasticity of demand is positive, the product is an inferior good.
answer
False
question
The price elasticity of demand for a textbook is estimated to be 1 no matter what the price or quantity demanded. In this case,
answer
a 10 percent increase in price will result in a 10 percent decrease in the quantity demanded.
question
A competitive firm in the short run can determine the profit-maximizing (or loss-minimizing) output by equating
answer
marginal revenue and marginal cost
question
For a purely competitive firm, total revenue
answer
is price times quantity sold, increases by a constant absolute amount as output expands, and graphs as a straight upsloping line from the origin
question
A purely competitive firm's short-run supply curve is
answer
upsloping and equal to the portion of the marginal cost curve that lies above the average variable cost curve.
question
Total fixed cost (TFC)
answer
does not change as total output increases or decreases.
question
When total product is increasing at an increasing rate, marginal product is
answer
positive and increasing
question
Economic profits are calculated by subtracting
answer
explicit and implicit costs from total revenue.
question
Marginal Cost
answer
equals both average variable cost and average total cost at their respective minimums.
question
Marginal cost is the
answer
change in total cost that results from producing one more unit of output.
question
If a firm doubles its output in the long run and its unit costs of production decline, we can conclude that
answer
economies of scale are being realized.
question
A rational consumer will try to achieve the highest indifference curve that his or her income will allow.
answer
true
question
Total utility may be determined by
answer
summing the marginal utilities of each unit consumed.
question
Which of the following defines marginal utility?
answer
the additional satisfaction from consuming one more unit of a product
question
Which of the following is correct?
answer
If marginal utility is diminishing and is a positive amount, total utility will increase.
question
A consumer with a fixed income will maximize utility when each good is purchased in amounts such that the
answer
marginal utility per dollar spent is the same for all goods.
question
The price of old baseball cards rises rapidly with increases in demand because
answer
the supply of old baseball cards is price inelastic.
question
Suppose the price elasticity coefficients of demand are 1.43, 0.67, 1.11, and 0.29 for products W, X, Y, and Z, respectively. A 1 percent decrease in price will increase total revenue in the cases of
answer
W and Y
question
An income elasticity coefficient of −1.8 means the product is a normal good.
answer
False
question
The supply of cars will be more elastic the
answer
longer the time interval considered.
question
Total revenue falls as the price of a good is raised, if the demand for the good is
answer
elastic
question
The lowest point on a purely competitive firm's short-run supply curve corresponds to
answer
the minimum point on its AVC curve.
question
In answering the question, assume a graph in which dollars are measured on the vertical axis and output on the horizontal axis.
For a purely competitive firm, marginal revenue graphs as a
For a purely competitive firm, marginal revenue graphs as a
answer
straight line, parallel to the horizontal axis.
question
Fixed cost is
answer
a cost that does not change as output is increased or decreased
question
To the economist, total cost includes
answer
explicit and implicit costs
question
A consumer is maximizing her utility with a particular money income when
answer
MUa/Pa = MUb/Pb = MUc/Pc = . . . = MUn/Pn.
question
The budget line shows
answer
all possible combinations of two goods that can be purchased, given money income and the prices of the goods.
question
Most economists contend that
answer
noncash gifts are less efficient than cash gifts.
question
The law of supply suggests that the price-elasticity of supply is
answer
positive
question
Which of the following is not characteristic of the demand for a commodity that is elastic?
answer
Total revenue increases if price is increased.
question
When the price of movie tickets in a certain town was reduced, the movie theaters' revenues did not change. This suggests that the demand for movie tickets in that town has a price-elasticity coefficient of
answer
1.0