ECON 202 Chapter : WHY FIRMS EXIST

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azuremammoth471

15 Mar 2019

School

University of Louisiana Lafayette

Department

Economics

Course

ECON 202

Professor

All

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Document Summary

Why firms exist: business firm- an entity that employs factors of production to produce goods and services to be sold to consumers, other firms, or the government. The market and the firm: invisible hand vs. The alchian and demsetz answer: firms are formed when benefits can be obtained from individuals working as a team, sum of team > sum of individual production. In doing this he can increase output: residual claimants- persons who share in the profits of a business firm. Ronald coase on why firms exist: firms exist to economize on buying and selling everything or they exist to reduce transaction cost. Markets: outside and inside the firm: economist is largely about trades or exchanges; it is about market transactions. Implicit cost- is a cost that represents the value of resources used in production for which no actual (monetary) payment is made.

Related Questions

The primary costs of FDI to host countries are:

		Loss of sovereignty and patriotism
		Adverse effects on competition and exports
		Capital outflow
		Loss of sovereignty, adverse effects on competition, and capital outflow

____ suggests that FDI, unrestricted by government intervention, will enable countries to tap into their absolute or comparative advantage by specializing in the production of certain goods or services.

		The radical view
		The free market view
		Pragmatic nationalism
		Expropriation

What are the benefits of FDI to home countries?

		Repatriated earnings from profits from FDI.
		Increased exports of components and services to host countries.
		Learning via FDI from operations abroad.
		All of these answers

When one firm enters a foreign country through FDI, its rivals are likely to follow by undertaking additional FDI in a host country to:

		Create knowledge spillover
		Discover a new market for its goods
		Overcome and combat market failure through FDI
		Acquire location advantages or neutralize the first moverâs location advantages

Most countries practice:

		Pragmatic nationalism
		Free market based FDI
		Government embracing radical view
		French patriotism

FDI may be viewed as a reflection of firm motivation to extend firm-specific capabilities abroad and their responses to overcome imperfections and failures.

		True
		False

Most countries practice a totally "free market" view.

		True
		False

8. Outsourcing is the process of turning over an organizational activity to an outside supplier, located in a foreign country, which will perform it on behalf of the local firm.

		True
		False

Financial, physical, and technological resources and capabilities are all tangible assets.

		True
		False

A firm's resources and capabilities are tangible assets a firm uses to choose and implement its strategies.

		True
		False

An example of low power distance would be when subordinates address their bosses on a first-name basis.

		True
		False

Benchmarking is an assessment as to whether a firm has resources and capabilities to perform a particular activity in a manner superior to competitors.

		True
		False

A country with low-masculinity has a more subtle differentiation between the gender roles.

		True
		False

Setting up subsidiaries abroad so the work can be performed in-house but in the foreign location is also called captive sourcing.

		True
		False

Managers in low uncertainty avoidance countries rely more on experience and training than managers in high uncertainty avoidance countries who rely more on rules.

		True
		False

Informal institutions include laws, regulations, and rules.

		True
		False

The United States is often classified as a collective society.

		True
		False

A pure market economy characterized by the "invisible hand" of market forces is noted by

		John Stuart Mill
		Adam Smith
		Aristotle
		Amatya Zen

Culture is defined in the text as:

		The communication between members of similar location.
		The collective programming of the mind, which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another.
		The main component of formal institutions.
		The attitudes and behaviors characteristic of a particular social group or organization.

When an expat employee returns to her or his current employer but the employer does not provide attractive opportunities, she/he often may be hired by a competitor firm. Why?

		Competitor firms are also interested in globalizing their business.
		Former expats bring instant expertise and experience.
		Competing firms will pay a higher premium for expertise.
		All of these answers

The government taking a "hands-off approach" is known as:

		Laissez faire
		Command economy
		Mixed economy
		Liberal approach

Expatriate managers make ideal candidates for top management positions.

		True
		False

____ are defined as rights associated with the ownership of intellectual property.

		Patents
		Copyrights
		Trademarks
		Intellectual property rights

In a collective society:

		Family units are highly valued.
		Being an entrepreneur is a popular mindset
		Being different than your neighbor is important.
		Outsiders are easily trusted.

Which of the following definitions best defines an expatriate manager?

		A manager who works outside his or her native country
		A manager of great expertise
		An ex-manager rehired for advisory purposes
		None of these answers

Please circle the right answer. (two points each)

1. If the price of gasoline is $2.0, and the price elasticity of demand is 0.5, how much will a 10 % reduction in the quantity placed on the market increase the price?

a.There will be 22% increase in the price

b.There will be 5% increase in the price

c.There will be 10 % increase in price

d.There will be 20% increase in price

e. None of the above

2.The consumer's budget line

a. indicates the options from which the consumer can choose

b. identifies the optimal basket for the consumer.

c. identifies the tastes of the consumer

d. ranks the baskets of goods in the order the consumer prefers them

e. shows that the consumer prefers more better than less

3. In the long run, a profit-maximizing firm will choose to exit a market when
a. fixed costs exceed sunk costs.
b. average fixed cost is rising.
c. revenue from production is less than total costs.
d. marginal cost exceeds marginal revenue at the current level of production.

4. When a perfectly competitive firm makes a decision to shut down, it is most likely that
a. price is below the minimum of average variable cost.
b. fixed costs exceed variable costs.
c. average fixed costs are rising.
d. marginal cost is above average variable cost.

5. Which of the following will always cause the demand curve for a product to shift to the right?

a. an increase in income whether the good is a compliment or substitute

b. an increase in the price of the compliment

c. an increase in the price of a substitute

d. an increase in technology

e. a decrease in the price of the good

6. Consumers understandably like lower prices, but they should understand there is a great difference between a lower price produced by the government price ceiling and a lower price that comes about through normal market channels, one benefits the consumer, the other may not.

a. This statement is not true, Consumers are benefited when the government lowers the price and the consumers are benefited when businesses lower the price.

b. This is because when the government forces prices down, there is a shortage and reduction in total surplus. Lower prices through markets don't create shortage but they do benefit consumers.

c. this is because the government forces prices down, there is a surplus and reduction in total surplus. Lower prices through markets don't create surpluses but they do benefit consumers

d. This is because when markets force the prices down, there is a shortage and reduction in total surplus. Lower prices through government actions don't create shortages but they do benefit consumers

e. None of the above

7. How does an increase in the price of a variable input affect the AC and the MC curves?

a. MC shifts to the right and AC increases.

b. MC shifts to the left and AC increases

c. MC shifts to the right and AC does not change

d. MC does not change but AC increases

e. none of the above

8. Which of the following is a characteristic of a perfectly competitive market?
a. Firms are price setters.
b. There are few sellers in the market.
c. Firms can exit and enter the market freely.
d. All of the above are correct.

9. In a perfectly competitive market, the process of entry or exit ends when
a. firms are operating with excess capacity.
b. firms are making zero economic profit.
c. firms experience decreasing marginal revenue.
d. price is equal to marginal cost.

10. The relative price of two goods is shown by:

a. the slope of an indifference curve

b. the slope of the budget line

c. the diminishing marginal rate of substitution

d. the slope of the income-consumption curve

e. none of the above

11. When firms have an incentive to exit a competitive market, their exit will

a. drive down market prices.
b. drive down the profits of existing firms in the market.
c. decrease the number of goods supplied in the market.
d. All of the above are correct.

12. If a perfectly competitive firm currently produces where the price is greater than the marginal cost, it

a. will increase its profits by producing more.
b. will increase its profits by producing less.
c. is making positive economic profits.
d. is making negative economic profits.

13. Does a consumer well being vary along a demand curve?

a. Yes. When price increases, consumers move to a lower indifference curve.

b. Yes. When price increases, consumers move to a higher indifference curve.

c. No. When price increases, consumers stay on the same indifference curve.

d. No. When price increases, the higher price has no effect on budget constraints or indifference curves.

e. None of the above

14. If a competitive firm sets its output such that marginal revenue, marginal cost, and average total cost are equal, economic profit must be:

a. Negative

b. positive

c. Zero

d. Indeterminate from the given information

15. Which of the following is a characteristic of a perfectly competitive market?

a. Firms are price setters.

b. There are few sellers in the market.
c. Firms can exit and enter the market freely.
d. All of the above are correct.

tanchinchilla75

Need help revising, and recommendation for a conclusion.

Throughout this paper is my understanding of what I have learned in class chapters 1-4, expressing my understanding and opinions. Economics is the study of how we deal with scarce resources. Microeconomics specially deals with business in the home country exclusively. This type of economics affects small businesses in the home country only. On the other hand, macroeconomics concerns our national welfare concerning trade and international business.

I believe that many things affect our economy on a microeconomics level. Things such as our understanding of our country in reflection to the world are very important. That is why we study ourselves before we study the macroeconomic principle of the world. Understanding ourselves is what microeconomics teaches us. Working from the inside out. The world is a place where there are differences in our wants and what we get. That is what makes items scarce. That is what positive economics is. Positive economics deals with what is and what we have. The other type of economics is called normative statements. This deals with what we should receive instead of what is and deserved to some extent. It's our scarce resources that determine our allocation of resources and how we use our resources and time. This is where opportunity costs come in, giving up something to do something. A successful business or country never ignores opportunity costs. We must ensure that we have a comparative advantage instead of the absolute advantage. Our resources must be used to achieve maximum output. Comparative is met when we have fewer opportunity costs to make some certain products than the other person or entity.

My initial understanding was scarcity was oil potentially running out, but we have so much of it that you can always find more with techniques such as fracking. Now it's obvious to me, one of our most scarce resources is time. You cannot avoid the 8,760 hours in a year. I understand that people have unlimited wants but limited resources. Everything has a cost and we must make a choice as we don't have unlimited farms, factories workers, etc. scarcity forces choices and this ties in with opportunity cost, for every gun made, a theft from the hungry is made. The opportunity cost not being used to feed the poor, but to make guns. And I find it easy to understand no one can have everything choices must be made on benefits. If I'm going to school, imp giving up making cash, as I'm giving up money for an education, I value education more. Scarcity is also related to the invisible hand. As it's an achievement that leads free markets and capitalism through competition for scarce resources.

My understanding of the invisible hand is a person neither intends to promote public interest and does not know how much he is promoting it. Only intending on his own gain. Without being his intention a person can be lead by the invisible hand to do good for society by pursuing one's own self-interest. Going into equity and efficiency the invisible hand does ensure both equity and efficiency. People work in their selfish ways to maximize profit while also contributing to the economy as a whole. It can also be argued that as the invisible hand wants to ensure efficiency, it cannot guarantee efficiency, because it can fail to produce an efficient allocation of resources, which in turn lead to a market failure. It can also be argued that it can't guarantee equity because not everyone gets a fair price. The way I like to remember efficiency is with a real-life example, like a reduction in the number of workers needed to produce a particular good for a particular amount. Equity refers to the ownership interest in an asset, for example, if a person owns a house with a market value of $800,000 and owes $100,000 on the mortgage leaving a $700,000 equity in the home.

It can be predicted that if the price of beef increases - ceteris paribus-the quantity of beef demanded by buys will decrease. In other words, if the price of beef increases, then the quantity of beef increases, then the quantity of beef demanded will decrease because all things have to be equal. In-class lecture thought me all other things remaining the same. Economists use ceteris paribus to determine the effect of a factor when all other factors have been held the same and helps simplify the study and get a more refined data set.

Economists deal with many issues that pertain to assuring that both a countries domestic output is efficient and that there is an effective trade balance. This means that there are a balance and limit on the amount of imports. Also, this means home production must be able to meet export demands. There are many factors that affect the production of goods and their effect on shifting the production possibilities frontier. This involves evaluating every detail including knowing the products and any close substitutes and compliments. It also involves knowing how an action or other external force will affect demand. This is called price elasticity; Substitutes are products that can replace any given product or service. An example of this would be Coke and Pepsi. The presence of substitutes affects price elasticity because if there are other options, then any change to the price or quality of the product will cause a shift of the demand curve. O course, price is a huge reason why the demand for a product decreases or increases yet it doesn't shift the curve because of the price only. This price change will cause a domino effect that will end with the shifting of the demand curve because it will cause an increase or decrease in demand of the substitute good if the price change is either lower or higher respectively. This price change serves as a catalyst that will change people's desire to spend more money on a more expensive product and that will instead choose to buy the substitute good for cheaper or buy more of the desired product. The change in the price of actual products will not shift the demand curve yet the change of the price of substitutes will because it serves to change people's purchasing behavior. On the other hand, compliments serve to boost demand when there is a decrease in price. The use of complementary goods is dependent upon another product. An example of this would be hot dogs and buns. If the price of hotdogs decreases then, conversely, the demand for hot dog buns will increase because of this change in price. In this scenario, the decrease in price will cause a positive shift in the demand curve because of people's desire and willingness to buy more buns. This is an example of a demand shifter. There are a few other demand shifters. The shifters of the demand curve are changes in expectations, disposable income, price of substitute goods and complements, tastes and preferences, and population size and composition. Changes in income affect the demand curve because if income is lower then people tend to save any extra income instead of wasting it. Disposable income is minimized and spending is lower. This also causes people to see a perceived value of things and distinguishing between what is necessary and what is a relative luxury. The lower the income, the higher the saving and avoidance to spend. An example of this would be if someone needs to buy some medication and it is relatively expensive, that doesn't mean that someone won't buy the medication just because it is expensive. It is necessary. Other factors that contribute to spending and demand are having a price ceiling and price floor. Having a price ceiling is a limit on the price of the product this is a government-imposed idea that is meant to protect consumers from unfair pricing and other conditions that may be malicious or obscure. This affects demand because if there is a price ceiling there is a limit on profit on a unit-to-unit basis. The other factor is the price floor. This price floor was created to encourage competition and affect consumers' willingness to pay because sometimes this new price may be higher than the original price. This causes a negative impact on a product that has a less than wanted perceived value. Many factors contribute to economic prosperity and certainly do help assure that information is analyzed and implemented into an economic and business plan.

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ECON 202 Chapter : WHY FIRMS EXIST

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