Question 1
Vaccinations for contagious diseases benefit the consumers as well as others in the community.
Assume that vaccines are produced in a competitive market.
A. Draw a correctly labeled graph of supply and demand, and
1. Label the market price “PM”, and label the market output “QM”.
2. Label the socially efficient level of output “QS”.
3. Shade the area of the deadweight loss.
B. Is marginal social cost greater than, less than, or equal to marginal social benefit at the
market output?
C. How will a tax on producers of the vaccines affect the deadweight loss that you identified in
Part A(3)? Explain.
Question 2
Utility and price elasticity of demand are important concepts in explaining consumer behavior.
A. Define marginal utility.
B. The table below shows the quantities, prices, and marginal utilities of two goods, fudge and
coffee, which Mandy purchases.
Quantity purchased
Price per pound
Marginal Utility of the last
pound
Fudge
10 pounds
$2
12
Coffee
7 pounds
$4
20
Mandy spends all her money and buys only these two goods. In order to maximize her utility,
should Mandy purchase more fudge and less coffee, purchase more coffee and less fudge, or
maintain her current consumption? Explain.
C. Assume that consumers always buy 20 units of Good R each month regardless of its price.
1. What is the numerical value of the price elasticity of demand for Good R?
2. If the government implements a per-unit tax of $2 on Good R, how much of the tax
will the seller pay?
Question 3
Social efficiency is affected by government policy and the structure of markets.
A. For a competitive market for which there is a binding (effective) price ceiling, draw a
correctly labeled graph and label the price ceiling “PC”, the quantity sold “QA”, and the
socially efficient output “QS”.
B. The graph below shows a natural monopoly.
1. Using the labeling in the graph, identify each of the following.
a. The profit-maximizing output
b. The socially efficient output
2. At the socially efficient output, is the monopoly making a profit or incurring a loss?
Using the labeling on the graph, identify the area of profit or loss.
Question 4
Two airline companies, Airtouch and Windward, operate a route from City X to City Y,
transporting a mix of passengers and freight. They must file their schedules with the National
Transportation Board each year and cannot alter them during the year. Those schedules are
revealed only after both companies have filed. Each airline must choose between a morning and
an evening departure. The relevant payoff matrix appears below, with the first entry in each cell
indicating Airtouch’s daily profit and the second entry in each cell indicating Windward’s daily
profit.
Airtouch
Airtouch
Morning
Evening
Windward
Morning
$1,000 $700
$750 $950
Windward
Evening
$700 $600
$900 $800
A. In which market structure do these firms operate? Explain.
B. If Windward chooses an evening departure, which departure time is better for Airtouch?
C. Identify the dominant strategy for Windward?
D. Is choosing an evening departure a dominant strategy for Airtouch? Explain.
E. If both firms know all of the information in the payoff matrix but do not cooperate, what will
be Windward’s daily profit?
Question 5
For each of the following statements, indicate whether it is true, false, or uncertain and explain
why.
A. Average total cost is always greater than average variable cost by a constant amount.
B. In the short-run, a perfectly competitive firm always maximizes profit when average total
cost is at a minimum.
C. If a firm shuts down in the short run, its profits will equal zero.
Question 6
The supply and demand for land for residential development is shown in the diagram above. The
land supplied for such development comes from privately held open-space land or privately held
farmland.
A. Redraw the graph above and show how an increase in income will affect the equilibrium
price and quantity of land converted into residential development, assuming that land for
residential development is a normal good.
B. Redraw the graph above and show how a decrease in government per-unit subsidies to
farmers will affect the equilibrium price and quantity of land converted into residential
development.
C. Assume that the conversion of open-space land and farmland imposes costs on the general
population, which can no longer enjoy the scenic vistas.
1. Indicate whether the marginal social cost of converting land is greater than, less than,
or equal to the marginal private cost of converting land.
2. Explain whether the private market quantity of land converted into residential
development is socially optimal.
Question 7
Petsall Corporation is a profit-maximizing monopolist. It sells a patented rabies vaccine for pets
and earns economic profits.
A. Draw a correctly labeled graph that shows each of the following for Petsall.
1. Output and price of the vaccine.
2. Area of economic profits.
B. Assume that Petsall hires its production workers in a perfectly competitive labor market at a
wage rate of $20 per hour.
1. State the marginal conditions for hiring the profit-maximizing amount of labor.
2. Draw a correctly labeled graph that shows the labor supply and demand curves for
Petsall and indicate the profit-maximizing quantity of labor.
C. Suppose that the market wage rate now falls to $15 per hour. Show on your diagram in B(2)
how each of the following would be affected.
1. The supply of labor to Petsall.
2. The amount of labor Petsall would hire.
D. Given the lower wage rate in C, indicate how each of the following would change.
1. Total fixed cost.
2. Marginal cost.
3. Price of the product.
Question 8
Assume that bread and butter are complementary goods. The government begins to subsidize the
production of wheat, which is an input in the production of bread.
A. For each of the following markets, draw correctly labeled supply and demand graphs and
show the effect of the subsidy on the equilibrium price and quantity in the short run.
1. The wheat market
2. The bread market
3. The butter market
B. If the demand for bread is price elastic, how will total revenues for the bread producers
change as a result of the government subsidy?
Question 9
In each part below, assume that the government imposes a per-unit tax and that the supply curve
is upward-sloping.
A. In industry X, consumers buy the same quantity no matter what the price is.
1. Using a correctly labeled graph, show what happens to the quantity sold when the tax
is imposed.
2. How will the burden of the tax be distributed between buyers and sellers?
B. In industry Y, the market demand curve is perfectly elastic.
1. Using a correctly labeled graph, show what happens to the price of the good that the
consumers pay when the tax is imposed.
2. How will the burden of the tax be distributed between buyers and sellers?
C. In industry Z, the market demand curve is downward-sloping. Using a correctly labeled
graph, shade the area that represents total tax revenues.
Question 10
J&P Company operates in a perfectly competitive market for smoke alarms. J&P is currently
earning short-run positive economic profits.
A. Using correctly labeled side-by-side graphs for the smoke alarm market and J&P Company,
indicate each of the following for both the market and the J&P Company.
1. Price
2. Output
B. In the graph in Part A for J&P, indicate the area of economic profits that J&P Company is
earning in the short run.
C. Using a new set of correctly labeled side-by-side graphs for the smoke alarm market and J&P
Company, show what will happen in the long run to each of the following:
1. Long-run equilibrium price and quantity in the market
2. Long-run equilibrium price and quantity for J&P Company
D. Assume that purchasers of smoke alarms create positive externalities. Draw a correctly
labeled graph of the smoke alarm market.
1. Label the market equilibrium quantity as QM
2. Label the socially optimum equilibrium quantity as QS
E. Identify one government policy that could be implemented to encourage the industry to
produce the socially optimum level of smoke alarms.
Question 11
Assume that Countries A and B have equal amounts of resources and identical technologies.
Country A can produce 100 bushels of wheat or 100 yards of cloth or any combination, as show
by the line XZ in the figure above. Country B can produce 100 bushels of wheat or 300 yards of
cloth or any combination, as shown by the line XY in the figure above.
(a) Which country has an absolute advantage in the production of wheat and which has an
absolute advantage in the production of cloth? Explain how you determined your answer.
(b) Which country has a comparative advantage in the production of wheat and which has a
comparative advantage in the production of cloth. Explain how you determined your answer.
(c) With specialization and trade, which country will import wheat? Explain why.
(d) Assume that the two countries trade, and that one bushel of wheat is exchanged for two
yards of cloth. Explain why the country that imports wheat will gain from trade.
Question 12
Claire invented product X and obtained a patent to prevent other firms from producing X. She is
currently producing product X and earning positive economic profits.
A. Using a correctly labeled graph, show each of the following for Claire if she maximizes
profits.
1. Output and Price
2. Economic profits
B. Assume that Claire hires labor in a perfectly competitive labor market. Using correctly
labeled side-by-side graphs for the labor market and for Claire, show each of the following:
1. The wage rate of the workers
2. The number of workers Claire will hire
C. Assume now the patent expires and many firms produce the identical product that Claire
produces. Using correctly labeled side-by-side graphs for the industry and the firm, show
each of the following in long-run equilibrium:
1. Industry price and output
2. The typical firm’s price and output
Question 13
Assume that product X is produced in a perfectly competitive industry and that product X yields
costs to individuals who are neither consumers nor producers of product X.
A. Using one correctly labeled graph, show the industry output and price under each of the
following conditions:
1. The industry ignores the externality
2. The industry produces the socially optimum level of output
Assume that the market is producing the level of output you identified in Part A(1).
B. Identify one policy the government might use to achieve the level of output you identified in
Part A(2).
Question 14
Assume all of the following about imported and domestically produced shoes:
 They are sold in two separate and perfectly competitive markets
 They are close substitutes
 The demand for both is price elastic
Now assume that a tariff is imposed on imported shoes.
A. Using a correctly labeled graph, show the impact of the tariff on each of the following in the
market for imported shoes:
1. Price
2. Output
B. Using a new correctly labeled graph, show the impact of the tariff on each of the following in
the market for domestically produced shoes:
1. Price
2. Output
C. Given that the demand for imported shoes is price elastic, will expenditures on imported
shoes by consumers increase, decrease, or remain the same? How do you know?
Question 15
In the United States, textiles are sold in two separate and perfectly competitive markets. The
textiles produced in the United States are sold in market A, and imported textiles are sold in
market B.
(a) Explain how the supply curve for textiles produced in the United States will be affected by
each of the following:
(i) A decrease in the number of firms in the United States producing textiles.
(ii) An increase in the price of textiles
Assume that textiles produced in market A and market B are close substitutes.
(b) Using one graph for market A and another for market B, show and explain how a substantial
increase in the tariff on textiles imported into the United States will affect each of the
following.
(i) Equilibrium price and quantity of textiles sold in market B (imported textiles).
(ii) Equilibrium price and quantity of textiles sold in market A (textiles produced in the
United States).
Assume that the labor market for textile workers is perfectly competitive. Following a decrease
in the supply of textile workers, the wage rate of textiles workers increases.
(c) Using a new graph for market A, show and explain how a substantial increase in the wage
rate of textile workers will affect the equilibrium price and quantity of textiles sold in market
A.
(d) Using a graph, show and explain how the increase in the wage rate of textile workers and the
change in equilibrium price and quantity of textiles you indentified in part (c) will affect each
of the following.
(i) A firm’s demand for labor
(ii) A firm’s supply of labor
Question 16
CableNow is the only supplier of cable TV services offering a wide range of TV channels.
CableNow is an unregulated firm and is currently earning an economic profit. Assume that
CableNow does not practice price discrimination.
(a) Draw a correctly-labeled graph for CableNow and show each of the following. Make sure
your graph is large enough to be legible.
(i) The profit-maximizing quantity of cable services, labeled as Q*
(ii) The profit-maximizing price, labeled as P*
(iii) The area of economic profit, completely shaded
(iv) The socially optimal level of cable services, assuming no externalities, labeled as QS
(b) Assume that the government grants CableNow a lump-sum subside of $1 million. Will this
policy change CableNow’s profit-maximizing quantity of cable services? Explain.
(c) Instead of granting a subsidy, assume now that the government chooses to require CableNow
to produce the quantity at which CableNow earns zero economic profit. On the graph you
drew in part (a), label this quantity as QR.
(d) At QR, is the firm’s accounting profit positive, negative, or zero? Explain.
(e) Assume that a new study reveals there are external benefits associated with watching TV.
Will the socially optimal quantity of cable services now be larger than, smaller than, or equal
to the QS you identified in part (a)(iv)?
Question 17
Mary & Company, operating in a monopolistically competitive industry, produces a cleaning
product called BriteKlean. The company currently produces the profit-maximizing quantity of
BriteKlean but is operating at a loss.
(a) Draw a correctly-labeled graph for Mary & Company and show each of the following.
(i) The profit-maximizing output and price, labeled as QM and PM respectively
(ii) The area of loss, shaded completely
(b) What must be true in the short run for the company to continue to produce at a loss?
(c) Assume now that the demand for cleaning products increases and that the company is now
earning short-run economic profits. Relative to this short-run situation, now does each of the
following change in the long run?
(i) The number of firms.
(ii) The company’s profit.
(d) In the long run, if the company continues to produce, will it produce the allocatively efficient
level of output? Explain.
(e) In the long run, will the company be operating in a region where economics of scale exist?
Explain.
Question 18
(a) The table below gives the quantity of good X demanded and supplied at various prices.
Price
$30
$20
$10
Quantity Demanded
1
3
4
Quantity Supplied
3
3
3
(i) Is the demand for good X relatively elastic, relatively inelastic, unit elastic, perfectly
elastic, or perfectly inelastic when the price decreases from $30 to $20? Explain.
(ii) Is the supply for good X relatively elastic, relatively inelastic, unit elastic, perfectly
elastic, or perfectly inelastic when the price decreases from $30 to $20? Explain.
(iii) If a per-unit tax is imposed on good X, how is the burden of the tax distributed
between the buyers and sellers of good X?
(b) Assume that the income elasticity of demand for good Y is -2. Using a correctly labeled
graph of the market for good Y, show the effect of a significant increase in income on the
equilibrium price of good Y in the short run.