ECO 304L Chapter Notes - Chapter Unit 3: Ch 9-12, 16: Potential Output

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greenwalrus59

7 Oct 2017

School

UT-Austin

Department

Economics

Course

ECO 304L

Professor

M O S T A S H A R I, S H A L A H

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Document Summary

Labor: population, preferences, incentives: perhaps the most important input into production is labor. Of course the more people a country has the greater its potential output. The labor supply is the number of people willing and able to work at a given time: population: when the population rises, y* will increase. This is a key variable in determining y*. Countries with more people have higher potential output, other things equal: preferences: people must choose to work (rather than stay at home, volunteer, or go to school), economists might also consider cultural factors as a part of preferences. These cultural factors may not be entirely a matter of choice: example: female labor force participation. There has been a large increase in the number of women who want to work over the past 50 years. This change has led to a substantial increase in the potential labor supply, especially labor supply available to produce goods and services sold in markets.

Related Questions

Use the following information to answer the next 2 questions: GDP per capita can be shown to equal average labor productivity times the proportion of the population that is employed (GDP/population= Y/L * L/population).

(a) The two factors that determine a nation's standard of living are: 1) the proportion of the population that works, and 2) its output per worker. The United States has an aging population and the proportion of the population that works is expected to decrease. Mexico has a relatively young population and, thus, the proportion of its population that works is expected to increase in the future. Given these circumstances, which of these two factors do you think is more relevant in each country for their standard of living? Explain your answer.

(b) Explain what happens with Econoland's total output (GDP) and its standard of living (as measured by GDP per capita) between 2014 and 2015, if we know the following information. The population of Econoland remains constant at 1,000 persons during both years. The number of employed workers increases from 400 in 2014 to 440 in 2015, but labor productivity, as measured by output per employed worker, decreases from $2,000 to $1,900 during the same time period. Show your derivations.

lemonlocust738

A change in demand for a given factor of production will not occurif:
Answer
A. the productivity of that factor increases.
B. there is a decrease in the price of a substitute factor.
C. the price of that factor falls.
D. the productivity of that factor decreases.

Question 2

In terms of contribution to total income, the single most importantfactor of production is:
Answer
A. labor.
B. entrepreneurship.
C. natural resources.
D. capital.

Question 3

The trade off between work and leisure underlying the supply oflabor involves the substitution effect and the:
Answer
A. complementary effect.
B. elasticity effect.
C. production effect.
D. income effect.

Question 4

(Exhibit: Marginal Revenue Product and Demand) If the product priceis $4 per unit and the price of the factor of production is $80 perunit, the profit-maximizing quantity of the factor is _______unit(s).
Answer
A. 1
B. 5
C. 7
D. 3

Question 5

In perfect competition:
Answer
A. MFCL is greater than the price of labor.
B. the supply curve of labor to the firm is a horizontalline.
C. MRPL equals the price of the good.
D. MFCL is less than the price of labor.

Question 6

An increase in the participation rate of women in the U.S. laborforce:
Answer
A. has shifted the supply curve of labor to the right.
B. has increased the demand for labor.
C. resulted in a faster increase in wages.
D. has shifted the supply of labor to the left.

Question 7

A firm's demand curve for labor is:
Answer
A. the downward-sloping portion of its marginal revenue productcurve.
B. the upward-sloping portion of its marginal revenue productcurve.
C. horizontal for the firm in perfect competition.
D. the downward-sloping portion of its marginal productcurve.

Question 8

Since the 1970s, wage rates in the United States have _______ more_______ than they did in the previous two decades.
Answer
A. decreased; slowly
B. decreased; rapidly
C. increased; rapidly
D. increased; slowly

Question 9

Which of the following statements is true?
Answer
A. If the MFCL = MRPL the firm should hire more labor.
B. If MFCL < MRPL the firm should hire more labor.
C. If MFCL > 0, the firm should shut down.
D. If the MFCL > MRPL the firm should hire more labor.

Question 10

A leftward shift in the labor supply curve would result if:
Answer
A. people have less nonlabor income.
B. transit costs to and from work decline.
C. the population increases.
D. people value leisure more highly.

Question 11

A firm is in equilibrium when the marginal factor cost is:
Answer
A. equal to the marginal revenue product.
B. less than the price of the factor.
C. equal to the average product.
D. greater than the average product.

Question 12

A leftward shift in the labor supply curve would result if:
Answer
A. transit costs to and from work increase.
B. people value leisure less highly.
C. the population increases.
D. people have less nonlabor income.

Question 13

(Exhibit: Wage Determination in Perfect Competition) Which of thefollowing statements is true?
Answer
A. The firm will hire L1 units of labor, as shown in Panel(a).
B. The individual firm is a wage setter.
C. The firm's MFC of labor is equal to the price of the firm'soutput.
D. Total employment is equal to L1, as shown in Panel (a).

Question 14

(Exhibit: Marginal Revenue Product and Demand) If the product priceis $2 per unit and the price of the factor of production is $20 perunit, the profit-maximizing quantity of the factor is _______units.
Answer
A. 6
B. 4
C. 8
D. 2

Question 15

(Exhibit: Marginal Revenue Product and Demand) Assume that theproduct price is $2 per unit, the price of the factor of productionis $40 per unit, and 8 units are being hired. Profit can bemaximized by hiring _______ unit(s).
Answer
A. 2 more
B. 1 more
C. 3 fewer
D. 1 fewer

Question 16

(Exhibit: Demand and Supply of Bricklayers in a PerfectlyCompetitive Labor Market) If the price for "bricks laid in thewall" by a bricklayer is $.10 a brick, the marginal product of thesecond bricklayer is _______ bricks.
Answer
A. 1,200
B. 1,400
C. 1,300
D. 1,500

Question 17

In a perfectly competitive labor market, each firm can hire:
Answer
A. larger quantities of labor at going market wages perworker.
B. all the labor it wants, but only by outbidding itscompetitors.
C. larger quantities of labor at rising wages per worker.
D. only a fixed amount of labor at the going wage.

Question 18

(Exhibit: Demand and Supply of Bricklayers in a PerfectlyCompetitive Labor Market) If the equilibrium wage in the market forbricklayers is $100 a day, but a minimum wage for bricklayers of$130 a day is set by the government:
Answer
A. 3 workers who otherwise would have been employed are nowunemployed.
B. the firm will shut down.
C. 6 workers will now be hired by the firm.
D. all bricklayers are better off.

Question 19

A factor demand curve will shift because of:
Answer
A. the proportion of the factor's cost relative to totalcost.
B. changes in technology.
C. the slope of the MP curve.
D. the elasticity of demand for the final product.

Question 20

Which of the following statements is true?
Answer
A. MFC = change in total cost/ change in the quantity of afactor.
B. MFC = the change in the quantity of a factor times the change inthe price of the factor.
C. MRPL = MC of the output.
D. MRPL = MPL x (P), where P is the price of labor.

(1)

Which of the following employment situations would most closely approximate a monopsony?

	a steel mill in Yokahama, Japan.
	a fast food restaurant in a big city.
	a farmer hiring seasonal workers.
	a large factory in a small town.

(2)

If a monopsonist hires labor, it will choose to hire that quantity at which ___________ and pay a wage rate that is _______________.

	MR = MC; equal to the MRP curve.
	the supply curve intersect the MRP; less than MFC
	MRP = MFC; less than MRP
	the supply curve intersect the MRP; equal to MRP

(3)

Suppose a firm employs both labor and capital. If the ratio of marginal product to price of labor is 50/$10 and the ratio of marginal product of capital to price of capital is 60/$12, the firm should

	maintain the current combination capital and labor.
	buy more labor and less capital because labor is cheaper.
	buy more capital and less labor because capital is cheaper.
	buy more capital because it is more productive than labor.

(4)

Derived demand for labor means that when a firm hires labor, it has to derive its demand

	mathematically.
	based on the labor supply.
	from the demand for the product that the labor produces.
	based on the minimum wage.

(5)

For a firm in perfect competition, the value of the marginal product is

	the value of an additional unit of output measured in terms of additional cost.
	the total value of the total output output divided by the total output.
	additional revenue minus additional cost as a result of an increase in output.
	the price of the product multiplied by the additional output resulting from an additional unit employed.

(6)

A firm that is perfectly competitive will hire labor as long as which of the following is true?

	VMP < W.
	VMP > W.
	MC > MR.
	VMP < MRP.

(7)

The VMP curve slopes downward at some point because

	congestion in the work place lowers marginal product.
	teamwork in the work place increases marginal product.
	the firm hires less labor as the wage rate rises.
	labor supplies less amounts of labor as the wage rate falls.

(8)

Which of the following would not be considered capital in a business?

	The employees
	The factory
	A machine
	Tools

(9)

The increase in the value of a firmâs capital as it increases in age and use is depreciation.

	true
	false

(10)

On a labor market graph, a firmâs demand for labor is

	the wage rate.
	the marginal revenue product curve.
	the marginal product curve.
	indeterminant.

(11)

Why may a householdâs labor supply curve bend backwards at some wage rate?

	The household substitutes labor for leisure.
	The household substitutes leisure for labor.
	Employers demand fewer employees at higher wage rates.
	Households want to supply more labor as the wage rate decreases to maintain incomes.

(12)

The substitution effect is usually stronger than the income effect, thus creating an upward sloping labor supply curve.

	true
	false

(13)

An inelastic demand for labor means that an increase in the wage rate causes a less than proportionate decrease in the quantity of labor demanded.

	true
	false

(14)

Marginal revenue product is

	marginal revenue divided by marginal product.
	marginal revenue times marginal product.
	marginal product minus marginal revenue.
	marginal product plus marginal revenue.

(15)

A firm obeys the least-cost rule by equating the ratios of ___________________ to the ________________ price.

	marginal product; product
	marginal product; factor
	marginal cost; product
	marginal revenue; product

(16)

Suppose the MP of the last unit of capital hired equals 12 and the MP of the last unit of labor hired equals 16.If the price of capital is $8 per unit and the price of labor is $8 per unit, then the firm

	is maximizing its costs with this combination of factors.
	is maximizing its profits with this combination of factors.
	should hire more labor and less capital in order to minimize its costs.
	should hire more capital and less labor in order to minimize its costs.

(17)

For a firm to minimize its costs with more than one factor of production, for every factor, the ratio of the

	marginal product to factor price must be equal.
	marginal revenue product to factor price must be equal.
	marginal revenue product to output must be equal.
	marginal cost to factor price must be equal.

(18)

A monopsony is a firm that, in a specific market, is the only

	seller of a product.
	buyer of a product.
	seller of a factor of production.
	buyer of a factor of production.

(19)

Which of the following businesses would most closely approximate a monopsonist?

	A steel mill in Pittsburgh
	A fast food franchise in a large city
	A large manufacturer in a rural county
	A rancher who hires ranch help

(20)

A firm has the opportunity to buy a machine that costs $2500. It has found the present value of the income generated by the machine to be $2487. It should purchase the machine.

	true
	false

(21)

An increase in the market rate of interest causes

	a leftward shift in the demand for capital curve.
	a rightward shift in the demand for capital curve.
	a movement up the demand for capital curve.
	a movement down the demand for capital curve.

(22)

The characteristic of capital that makes it different from labor is its

	high cost.
	durability.
	rotunda.
	relatively low cost compared to labor.

(23)

The present value of $1000 one year in the future at a 10 percent interest rate is approximately

	$870.
	$909.
	$1000.
	$1909.

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ECO 304L Chapter Notes - Chapter Unit 3: Ch 9-12, 16: Potential Output

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