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If total utility increases by smaller and smaller amounts as more units of a good are consumed, then marginal utility is
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positive and decreasing
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If the ratio of the marginal utility of good A to the price of good A is less than the ratio of the marginal utility of good B to the price of good B then
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the consumer will consume more of good B to maximize utility.
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The change in total utility due to a one unit change in the quantity consumed is
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marginal utility
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Utility maximization subject to a budget constraint is achieved when
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the marginal utility per dollar for all goods consumed is equal.
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Total utility may be determined by
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summing the marginal utility of each unit consumed
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As a general rule, marginal utility will be less
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as more of the good is consumed.
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The law of diminishing marginal returns
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suggests that as extra units of a variable resource are added to a constant amount of fixed resources the increments in output will decline beyond some point.
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The long run is
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the period of time in which all resources are variable.
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Use the following information:
Output/t - Average Variable Cost - Average Total Cost
1 $20.00 $26.00
2 $13.00 $16.00
3 $12.00 $14.00
4 $10.00 $11.50
The variable cost of producing the third unit is
Output/t - Average Variable Cost - Average Total Cost
1 $20.00 $26.00
2 $13.00 $16.00
3 $12.00 $14.00
4 $10.00 $11.50
The variable cost of producing the third unit is
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$36.00
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Use the following information:
Output/t - Average Variable Cost - Average Total Cost
1 $20.00 $26.00
2 $13.00 $16.00
3 $12.00 $14.00
4 $10.00 $11.50
The marginal cost of increasing production from 3 units to 4 units is
Output/t - Average Variable Cost - Average Total Cost
1 $20.00 $26.00
2 $13.00 $16.00
3 $12.00 $14.00
4 $10.00 $11.50
The marginal cost of increasing production from 3 units to 4 units is
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$4
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The average variable cost curve is U‑shaped because of
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increasing and decreasing marginal returns.
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If long run average costs are falling then a firm is experiencing
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economies of scale.
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Variable cost
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equals total cost less fixed cost.
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Total cost for a typical firm
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always increases as output rises.
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At 100 units of output, total cost is $10,000 and variable cost is $6,000. What does average fixed cost equal at 100 units?
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$40
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When a long run average cost curve has a horizontal portion at the bottom we expect to observe
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many different size firms in the industry.
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If economic profit is positive then accounting profit must
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also be positive.
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Assume that in the short run a firm is producing 500 units of output at an average total cost of $3 per unit. If the marginal cost of producing one additional unit is $5 then the total cost of producing 501 units is
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$1505
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A perfectly competitive firm's marginal cost curve is
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also its short-run supply curve above the minimum point of the average variable cost curve.
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Assume a perfectly competitive increasing cost industry is in long run equilibrium. Now assume an increase in demand occurs. After all resulting adjustments have been completed
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both the new equilibrium price and industrial output will be greater than before.
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In long run equilibrium in a perfectly competitive industry, the price of the product must be equal to
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the marginal cost of producing the product.
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In an increasing cost industry
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the average total cost curve and the marginal cost curve shift down as firms leave the industry.
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Assume that the development of a new type of electronic circuit lowers the cost of production in the personal computer market and that this market is perfectly competitive. The short run effect of this development will probably be
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a lower price and greater output.
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Individual firms in a perfectly competitive market
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can sell all they produce at the market price.
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The firm's demand curve in a perfectly competitive industry
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has a price elasticity of demand equal to minus infinity.
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One of the major assumptions in perfect competition is
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freedom of entry and exit.
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A perfectly competitive firm sells its output for $80 per unit. At 10,000 units of output, marginal cost is $80 and rising, average variable cost is $85, and average total cost is $100. In this situation the firm
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should shut down.
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For a perfectly competitive firm, short‑run economic losses are eliminated in the long
run by
run by
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firms leaving the industry, which causes higher prices
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Positive economic profit indicates
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a firm is doing better than it could in its best alternative.
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If firms in a perfectly competitive industry are suffering economic losses in the short run, then in the long run
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both a and c above occur.
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Monopoly is defined as a market structure in which there is
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a single seller of a product which has no close substitutes
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A monopolist
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is constrained by the market demand curve in setting price
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A profit‑maximizing monopolist produces an output level where
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marginal revenue equals marginal cost
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Barriers to entry
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may allow monopolies to earn positive economic profit in the long run
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Suppose that a price‑discriminating monopolist divides its market into two segments. The firm will charge the lower price in the market segment where consumers
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have relatively more price elastic demand
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Which of the following would not be considered price discrimination?
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charging more for BMWs than for Chevrolets
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A monopolist's short run supply curve is
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nonexistent.
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A major whiskey manufacturer failed in its attempt to engage in price discrimination between students and all other consumers. What is a possible explanation for this failure?
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There was nothing to prevent the students from reselling the whiskey to other consumers.
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In the short run, a monopolist will always shut down when
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variable cost is greater than total revenue at all output levels
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The demand curve any monopolist uses in making output decision is
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the same as the market demand curve