Econ Final
example of short run decisions
1.whether to produce or shut down temporarily 2. if the decision is to produce, what quantity to produce at.
zero
Firms total product is maximized when marginal product is
The deadweight loss associated with a monopoly occurs because the monopolist
produces an output level less than the socially optimal level.
For a monopolist, when the price effect is greater than the output effect, an increase in output sold causes marginal revenue to be
negative
Economic profit
total revenue - {total costs(explicit costs - implicit costs)}
example of long run decisions
1. whether to increase or decrease its plant size 2. whether to stay in industry or leave
average productivity
(total product/ labor inputs) average amount of goods and services produced by the inputs
partnership
2+ managers with owners having limited liability
Which of the following statements is correct? Assuming that explicit costs are positive, economic profit is greater than accounting profit. Assuming that explicit costs are positive, accounting profit is equal to economic profit. Assuming that implicit costs are positive, economic profit is positive. Assuming that implicit costs are positive, accounting profit is greater than economic profit.
Assuming that implicit costs are positive, accounting profit is greater than economic profit.
the marginal social benefit
For the perfectly competitive market, the marginal social cost is equal to
Incentive system
Organizing the factors of production through incentives
Which of the following are barriers to entry for a monopoly? Choose all that apply. 1. Patents 2.Ownership of a vital resource. 3.The existence of a close substitute good or service. 4.Public franchises 5. Diseconomies of scale
Patents, Ownership of a vital resource, Public franchises
Which of the following are features of game theory? Quantities Prices Payoffs Strategies Players Profit
Payoffs Strategies Players
When the MSB or demand curve is above the MSC curve or supply curve
Underproduction of a graph happens when which sloped line is above what other sloped line
Principle agent problem
When one persons decisions or actions effect another person
Output effect
When price is above marginal cost, selling one more unit at the current price will increase profit. This concept is known as the
Total cost and average variable cost increases
When the marginal cost curve is above the total cost and average variable cost curve
perfect information
all individuals have immediate and complete information (symmetric system)
A firm that wants to achieve economies of scale could do so by 1.employing a smaller number of workers. 2.producing a smaller quantity of output. 3.producing an output level higher than the efficient scale. 4.assigning limited tasks to its employees, so they can master those tasks.
assigning limited tasks to its employees, so they can master those tasks.
short run
at-least one input is fixed when producing goods or services
Average total cost is very high when a small amount of output is produced because marginal cost is high. average variable cost is high. average fixed cost is high. marginal product is high.
average fixed cost is high.
total variable cost
costs that rise as outputs increase.
sunk costs
decisions that create a cost that already occurred and can not be recovered
moral hazard
engage in risky behavior because others will bear the cost.
If a firm in a perfectly competitive market triples the quantity of output sold, then total revenue will 1. exactly triple. 2. less than triple. 3. be reduced by one third. 4. more than triple
exactly triple.
A competitive market is in long-run equilibrium. If demand decreases, we can be certain that price will 1. not fall in the short run because firms will exit to maintain the price. 2. fall in the short run. All firms will shut down, and some of them will exit the industry. Price will then rise to reach the new long-run equilibrium. 3. fall in the short run. All, some, or no firms will shut down, and some of them will exit the industry. Price will then rise to reach the new long-run equilibrium. 4. fall in the short run. No firms will shut down, but some of them will exit the industry. Price will then rise to reach the new long-run equilibrium.
fall in the short run. All, some, or no firms will shut down, and some of them will exit the industry. Price will then rise to reach the new long-run equilibrium.
Oligopoly
few large sellers producing similar but not identical goods and services, firms each have some power to affect prices.
factors that influence supply curve
firms productivity, factor costs, taxes and subsidies, # of firms
Monopoly
one seller produced goods and services (price searcher), must lower price to sell more, faces market demand, price is greater than marginal revenue,The firm determines the price to charge its buyers,There are high barriers to entry or exit, firm's demand curve is downward sloping.
Proprietorship
single owner that is responsible for all debts and damages
dominated strategy
strategies we'll want to avoid no matter what, will never be the best response to anything our opponent will do
If a firm uses labor to produce output, the firm's production function depicts the relationship between the maximum quantity that the firm can produce as it adds more capital to a fixed quantity of labor. fixed inputs and variable inputs in the short run. marginal product and marginal cost. the number of workers and the quantity of output.
the number of workers and the quantity of output.
Marginal cost increases
If marginal productivity decreases than
Marginal cost decreases
if marginal productivity increases than
total cost
Average total cost * quantity
perfect competition
to many buyers and sellers to influence the market demand curve is perfectly elastic. (price-taker), perfect elastic demand, must produce more to sell more, all units sold at same price. barriers to entry do not exist.
Average variable costs
(Total variable costs/ outputs)
Marginal productivity
(difference between total product) the change in the total amount of goods and services produced divided by the change in the inputs
A firm maximizes profit
A firm maximizes profit total revenue curve is above total cost and the distance between them is maximized
Marginal revenue, Marginal cost
A firm will expand the amount of output it produces as long as its ------ exceeds its ------.
profit maximization
A firms goal is ------- through short and long run decisions
zero-sum game.
A game in which any gains within the group are exactly offset by equal losses by the end of the game is called
cartel
A group of independent firms who collude to improve their profits
When a monopolist increases the amount of output that it produces and sells, average revenue
Average revenue decreases, and marginal revenue decreases.
Marginal costs
Change in total costs/ change in outputs
Compared to a similar perfectly competitive industry, a single-price monopoly [ Select ] consumer surplus and [ Select ] economic efficiency.
Decreases, decreases
implicit costs
Depreciation, interest payments, owners time
price falls to break even price
Firms enter market
Price increases to break even level
Firms exit market
monopoly firm must face a downward-sloping demand curve, firm needs to prevent the resale of the good or service, the monopoly firm must separate their customers by age, group affiliation (ex. students), or preferences, and the monopoly firm must be able to determine the different price elasticities of their customers
For firms to price discriminate, certain conditions must exist?
Nash
In the prisoners' dilemma game, when each player takes the best possible action given the action of the other player, a ------ equilibrium is reached.
Rent seeking by a monopolist increases the social [ Select ] of a monopoly and [ Select ] its average total cost
Increases, increases
Rent seeking
Increasing one's wealth (rent) without producing any good or service.
command system
Managerial system hierarchy, information passed down through line of command
Which of the following can eliminate the inefficiency inherent in monopoly pricing?
Price discrimination
Which of the following are barriers to entry for a oligopoly? Choose all that apply. 1.Price wars 2.Ownership of a vital resource. 3.Diseconomies of scale 4.The existence of a close substitute good or service. 5.Economies of scale
Price wars, Ownership of a vital resource, economies of scale
production function
Relationship between outputs of a good or service and the inputs used to produce the outputs
Which of the following represents the firm's short-run condition for shutting down? 1. Shut down if TR < FC 2. Shut down if TR < VC 3. Shut down if P < ATC 4. Shut down if TR < TC
Shut down if TR < VC
The position of a firm's cost curves depends on two factors:
Technology and prices of factors of production
total productivity
Total amount of Goods or services produced by the inputs per period
Average total cost
Total costs/ outputs
Average fixed costs
Total fixed costs/ outputs
decreases
Total productivity ------ when marginal product is negative
increases
Total productivity ------ when marginal product is positive
A competitive firm maximizes profit at the point where average revenue equals marginal cost; a monopolist maximizes profit at the point where average revenue exceeds marginal cost. True or false
True
Total cost and average variable cost decreases
When the marginal cost curve is below total cost and average variable cost curve
long run
all inputs are variable in producing goods or services
adverse selection
buyer and seller has more information than the other
When firms are said to be price takers, it implies that if a firm raises its price, 1. firms in the industry will exercise market power. 2. competitors will also raise their prices. 3. buyers will pay the higher price in the short run. 4. buyers will go elsewhere.
buyers will go elsewhere.
The intersection of a firm's marginal revenue and marginal cost curves determines the level of output at which 1. profit is maximized. 2. total revenue is equal to fixed cost. 3. total revenue is equal to total cost. 4. total revenue is equal to variable cost.
profit is maximized.
Economic loss
if the price (P) is below the minimum average total cost (ATC) but above the minimum average variable cost (AVC)
Bubba is a shrimp fisherman who could earn $5,000 as a fishing tour guide. Instead, he is a full-time shrimp fisherman. In calculating the economic profit of his shrimp business, the $5,000 that Bubba gave up is counted as part of the shrimp business's marginal costs. total revenue. implicit costs. explicit costs.
implicit costs
Marginal revenue (MR) = Marginal cost (MC)
in a data set if both units produce the same profit what can you do to know how many units to produce. What two variables must be equal?
Imperfect information
individuals do not have immediate and complete information (asymmetric system)
Firms may experience diseconomies of scale when 1. average fixed costs begin to rise again. 2. large management structures are bureaucratic and inefficient. 3. they are too small to take advantage of specialization. 4. there are too few employees, and managers do not have enough to do.
large management structures are bureaucratic and inefficient.
corporation
legal structure authorized by the government, double taxation, owners have limited liability over the initial value of their investments.
economies of scale
long-run average cost decreases as output increases
When a firm experiences constant returns to scale, 1.long-run marginal cost is less than long-run average total cost. 2.long-run marginal cost is greater than long-run average total cost. 3. long-run average total cost is unchanged, even when output increases. 4. the firm is experiencing coordination problems.
long-run average total cost is unchanged, even when output increases.
When Sidney's Sweaters, Inc. makes exactly zero economic profit, Sidney, the owner,
makes an income equal to his best alternative forgone income.
The minimum points of the average variable cost and average total cost curves occur where the 1. marginal cost curve lies below the average variable cost and average total cost curves. 2. average variable cost and average total cost curves intersect. 3. marginal cost curve intersects those curves. 4. slope of total cost is the smallest.
marginal cost curve intersects those curves. slope of total cost is the smallest.
Profit
price (P) is greater than/ above the average total cost (ATC).
Shutdown
price (P) they receive falls below the minimum average variable cost (AVC)
For a monopoly, the socially efficient level of output occurs where
price equals marginal cost
In the short run, a firm will
produce and incur an economic loss if its total revenue covered its total variable cost but not its total cost.
If there is an increase in market demand in a perfectly competitive market, then in the short run 1. the demand curves facing firms will become more elastic. 2. profits will rise. 3. there will be no change in the demand curves faced by individual firms in the market. 4. the demand curves facing firms will shift downward.
profits will rise
law of diminishing marginal returns
says that as the firm uses more of a" variable" , with a given quantity of "fixed inputs", the "marginal"product of the variable input eventually diminishes.
monopolistic competition
sellers produce similar but not identical goods and services
Accounting profit
total revenue minus total explicit cost