经济学基础Chap005.docx

经济学基础Chap005.docx

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经济学基础Chap005

ANSWERSTOQUESTIONSFORDISCUSSIONANDPROBLEMS

QUESTIONSFORDISCUSSION

l.Isyourschoolcurrentlyproducingatcapacity（i.e.,teachingasmanystudentsaspossible）?

Whatconsiderationsmightinhibitfullcapacityutilization?

LO:

1AACSB:

AnalyticBT:

Create

Theremaybeemptyseatsinyourclassroomthatindicateunusedcapacity.Althoughitwouldbeimpracticaltoofferclassesaroundtheclock,capacityutilizationhasincreasedasmanyschoolshaveaddedearlymorning,night,andweekendclassestotraditionalMondaythroughFridaydaytimeclasses.Itisdifficulttoenrolltheexactnumberofstudentstofillupeachclassroomforeverycourseandevenifitwerepossible,somestudentswouldstilldropoutofspecificclassesoreventheschool.Duetothenatureofoureducationalsystem,thesestudentscannotbereplacedduringthemiddleofasemester.

2.Whataretheproductioncostsofyoureconomicsclass?

Whatarethefixedcosts?

Thevariablecosts?

Whatisthemarginalcostofenrollingmorestudents?

LO:

3AACSB:

AnalyticBT:

Analyze

Thefixedcostsarethecostsofprovidingtheclassroomanditsequipment,somelevelofutilities,andtheproratedshareoftheuniversity'sinfrastructureattributedtothisclass.Thevariablecostsincludethecostoftheinstructor,materials（chalkormarkers,handouts）,andsomeadditionalutilities.Themarginalcostofenrollingonemorestudentisnearlyzeroaslongasthereisaseatavailableintheclassroom.

3.Supposeyousetupalawn-mowingserviceandrecruitedfriendstohelpyou.Wouldthelawofdiminishingreturnsapply?

Explain.

LO:

2AACSB:

AnalyticBT:

Analyze

Intheshortrun,yes.Asmoreandmorefriendshelped,therewouldbecapitalconstraintssuchasalimitednumberoflawnmowers,rakes,etc.Sharingthetoolsreduceseachworker’sproductivity.Also,theymighttendtogetineachother’swayandbickerandfuss.Theresultwouldbetodecreasetheoutputofeachaddedworkeroverthatofthepreviousworker.

4.Whatarethefixedcostsof（a）apizzashop,（b）anInternetServiceProvider,（c）acornfarm?

Whoneedsthehighestsalesvolumetoearnaprofit?

LO:

3AACSB:

AnalyticBT:

Create

（a）Thefixedcostsofapizzashopincluderentonthebuilding（eveniftheyownthebuildingthereisanopportunitycost）,insurance,someminimallevelofutilities（forexample,forsecurityandsignage）,ovensandotherequipment,deliverycars,etc.

（b）ThefixedcostsofanInternetServiceProviderincluderentonthebuilding,thecomputerservers,thesoftwarenecessarytoprovideaccesstotheInternet,andadedicatedtelephoneline.

（c）Thefixedcostsofacornfarmincludetheland,buildings,tractors,combines,andotherequipment.

Whicheverbusinesshasthehighestfixedcostsneedsthehighestsalesvolumetoearnaprofit.

5.Owner-operatorsofsmallgasstationsrarelypaythemselvesanhourlywage.Doesthispracticereducetheeconomiccostofdispensinggasoline?

LO:

5AACSB:

AnalyticBT:

Create

No,thispracticedoesnotreducetheeconomiccostofdispensinggasoline.Itcanchangetheaccountingcost,butnottheeconomiccost.Economistsfocusonopportunitycosts;theyincludeanallowanceforhowmuchtheownercouldhaveearnedinanalternativejob.

6.IntheNewsWireonpage99,whydidMPPfalltozero?

Whatwastheopportunitycostofthosesurplusworkers?

LO:

2AACSB:

AnalyticBT:

Evaluate

Asmoreworkersarehiredinagivenplant,MPPdeclines.Iftoomanyarehired,MPPmayevenfalltozero,orless.Inthiscase,theHeadlinetellsusthatthereweresurplus,i.e.,toomany,workers.Theopportunitycosttothestateofthesurplusworkerswaswhattheycouldhavedoneelsewherehadtheynothiredthem.Or,thiscouldincludepurchasingequipmentsothattheproductivityoftheworkforcewouldincrease.

7.WhatroledoexpectationsplayintheproductionandinvestmentdecisionsdescribedintheNewsWireonpage107?

LO:

3AACSB:

AnalyticBT:

Evaluate

AccordingtotheNewsWire,NissanisexpandingtheproductionatitsBarcelonaplantbyhiringanadditional1,000workers.Nissanplanstocreateanewcompactcarandincreaseoutputofapickuptruckalreadybeingmanufacturedthere.Thisproductiondecision–afocusontheshort-runuseofexistingfacilities–isbasedontheexpectationthatconsumerswillbewillingandabletopurchasethesevehicles.

Fiat,ontheotherhand,islookingforawholenewlocationforproduction.Theyareconsideringopeningaplanttomanufacturethebrand’ssport-utilityvehiclesinRussiainanattempttoexpandJeep’sglobalreach.Thisinvestmentdecision–afocusonthelong-runacquisitionofproductivefacilities–isanattempttoexpandJeep’sglobalreach.Thisdecisionisbasedontheexpectation（aswiththeNissanexample）thatconsumerswillbewillingandabletopurchasethesevehicles.

8.Whydoesmarginalphysicalproductdeclineatafast-foodoutlet（e.g.McDonald’s）whenmoreemployeesarehired?

Whatarethefixedinputconstraintsthatlimitworkerproductivity?

LO:

2AACSB:

AnalyticBT:

Evaluate

Thelawofdiminishingreturnsstatesthatthemarginalphysicalproductoflabordeclinesasmoreofitisemployedwithagivenquantityofotherfixedinputs.Forexample,ifMcDonald’shasoneicecreammachineand6employees,oneofwhichisacook,anotherthatisacashier,andtheotherfourpreparethesidedishesincludingtheicecream,spacewillbetightandstillonlyoneicecreamcanbepreparedatonetime.This“crowding”reducesmarginalphysicalproduct.Hiringanotherworkermightnotincreaseicecreamproduction.

FixedinputconstraintsatanestablishmentsuchasMcDonald’swouldincludefooddispenserssuchasicecreammachines,coladispensers,anddeepfatfryers.Alimitednumberofgrills,microwaves,andcashregisterswouldalsobeconsideredlimitinginputs.Finally,thecounterspaceandspacebehindthecounteralsohasthepotentialtoplaceconsiderableconstraintsonworkerproductivity.

9.Whydoesn’tmaximumoutputgeneratemaximumprofits?

LO:

3AACSB:

AnalyticBT:

Evaluate

Peoplewhosupplygoodsandserviceswanttomakeaprofitfromtheirefforts.Ineconomicterms,profitisthedistancebetweentotalrevenuesandtotaleconomiccosts:

Profit=totalrevenue-totalcost.Forexample,ifthetotalrevenueatajeansfactorywas$300perdayandtotalcostis$245perday,theprofitwouldbe$55perday.Now,ifatmaximumoutput,thejeanfactory’stotalrevenueincreasedby$30,butthetotalcostincreasedby$60inordertocreatemaximumoutputthen,$330-$305=$25ofprofit.

Maximumoutputdoesnotgeneratemaximumprofits,inthecaseaboveprofitdecreasedwithanincreaseinoutput.Generally,costsincreaseasoutputincreases.Indeed,producingmoremayinfactleadtolossesratherthananyprofitatall.

10.POLICYPERSPECTIVESIfcapitalinvestmentceased,whatwouldhappenovertimetoworkerproductivityandlivingstandards?

LO:

1AACSB:

AnalyticBT:

Evaluate

TheU.S.laborforcecontinuestogrowbymorethanamillionworkerseachyear.Capitalinvestmentstimulateseachandeveryworker’sproductivity.Ifcapitalinvestmentsdon’tkeeppaceor,evenworse,theycease,theseaddedworkerswouldstrainproductionfacilities.Thelawofdiminishingmarginalproduct（decreasedworkerproductivity）wouldpushwageslowerandreducelivingstandards.

PROBLEMS

1.（a）WhatisthemarginalphysicalproductofeachsuccessiveworkerinFigure5.1?

Forwhichworkerismarginalphysicalproduct

（b）Firstdiminishing?

（c）Zero?

Answers:

（a）worker12345678

MPP1519104210-4

（b）workernumber3

（c）workernumber7

Explanation:

Laborinput

（worker/day）012345678

Output

（jeans/day）01534444850515147

MPP01519104210-4

（a）Marginalphysicalproduct（MPP）isthechangeintotaloutputassociatedwithoneadditionalunitofinput.TheMPPforthefirstworkeris15（=15–0）.TheMPPforthesecondworkeris19（=34–15）,andsoon.

（b）Therelativescarcityofotherinputs（capitalandland）constrainsthemarginalphysicalproductoflaborandeventuallycausesittodiminish.InthiscasetheMPPfirstdiminishedwiththethirdworker;theMPPofthethirdworkerisinfactsmallerthantheMPPofthesecondworker.

（c）Accordingtothetabledevelopedabove,theMPPoftheseventhworkeriszero.

LO05-02

Topic:

CapacityConstraints:

TheProductionFunction

AACSB:

Analytic

Blooms:

Level3Apply

2.（a）ComputeaveragefixedcostsandaveragevariablecostsinFigure5.3forallratesofoutput.

Atwhatrateofoutput

（b）areaveragefixedcoststhelowest?

（c）areaveragevariablecoststhelowest?

（d）isaveragetotalcostthelowest?

Answers:

（a）

（b）Rateofoutput=51

（c）Rateofoutput=20

（d）Rateofoutput=40

Explanation:

（a）Averagefixedcostisfixedcostdividedbyoutput.ForexampleatpointIaveragefixedcostis$12（=$120/10pairs）,atpointJaveragefixedcostis$8.00（=$120/15pairs）,andsoon.Averagevariablecostisdeterminedinthesameway;variablecostdividedbyoutput.Inthiscase,atpointIaveragevariablecostis$8.50（=$85/10pair）,atpointJaveragevariablecostis$8.33（=$125/15pairs）,andsoon.

（b）Accordingtothetable,averagefixedcostsarelowestatpointOwheretherateofoutputis51pairsandaveragefixedcostsof$2.35.

（c）AveragevariablecostsarelowestatpointKwheretherateofoutputis20pairsandaveragevariablecostis$7.50.

（d）AveragetotalcostsarelowestatpointMwheretherateofoutputis40pairsandaveragetotalcostis$11.75.

LO05-03

Topic:

CostsofProduction

AACSB:

Analytic

Blooms:

Level