ECON 201 Final: CHAPTER 13-15

Question:

Evaluate the following statement:

In the short-run, information about a perfectly competitive firm's fixed costs is needed to determine both the profit-maximizing level of output and the amount of profit earned when producing that level of output.

Answer:

The objective of a firm is to maximize profits. In determining output, the firm may be subject to two constraints: costs of production and consumer demand. The price that a perfectly competitive firm may sell its products, is determined by consumer demand. Production costs are determined by the technology used. Profits are the difference between total revenues and total costs. Pertaining to short-run profit maximization, firms maximize profits by choosing the output level where its marginal revenue equals its marginal cost.

Farnham, P. G. (2014). Economics for Managers (3rd Ed.).

I need a peer reply for this, please.

Consider a profit-maximizing firm with the following production function: f(x1,x2) = ½x1x2.

The prices of the two inputs are equal to w1= 4 and w2= ½ 2, respectively

.a) What are the returns-to-scale properties of the firm’s production technology. Prove your answer.

.b) What input combination should the firm use to produce Q units of output?

.c) What is the firm's total cost of production as a function of the amount of output, Q?

.d) What is its marginal and average cost of production?

.e) Suppose the price of the first input falls to $2. What input combination should the firm use

now to produce Q units of output? What is its total, marginal, and average cost of production?

#7

If a monopolist or a perfectly competitive firm is producing at a break-even point, then:
i. average revenue is equal to average variable cost
ii. average revenue is equal to average total cost
iii. total revenue is equal to total variable cost
iv. total revenue is equal to total cost

#8

A natural monopoly, such as a local electricity provider, is the result of:
i. a firm owning or controlling a key input used in the production process
ii. economies of scale existing over a wide range of output
iii. long-run average total costs declining continuously as output increases
iv. long-run total costs declining continuously as output increases

#9

What do economies of scale, the exclusive ownership of essential raw materials used in the production process, and patents have in common?

#10

The principle that a firm should produce up to the point where the marginal revenue (MR) from the sale of an extra unit of output is equal to the marginal cost (MC) of producing the extra unit applies:

#11

A monopoly is producing a level of output such that marginal revenue is equal to marginal cost. The firm is selling its output at a price of $8 per unit and is incurring average variable costs of $5 per unit and average total costs of $10 per unit. Given this information, it may be concluded that the firm:

#12

Suppose the demand function for a profit maximizing monopolists good is P = 120 - 0.2Q, its total cost function is TC = 40 + 4Q + Q2, and its marginal cost function is MC = 4 + 2Q. If the firm uses a uniform pricing strategy, then rounded to the nearest unit of output and to the nearest dollar the firm will: