Question: A multiproduct firm’s cost function was
A multiproduct firm’s cost function was recently estimated as, 
a. Are there economies of scope in producing 10 units of product 1 and 10 units of product 2? b. Are there cost complementarities in producing products 1 and 2? c. Suppose the division selling product 2 is floundering and another company has made an offer to buy the exclusive rights to produce product 2. How would the sale of the rights to produce product 2 change the firm’s marginal cost of producing product 1?
> Discuss the optimal method for procuring inputs that have well-defined and measurable quality specifications and require highly specialized investments. What are the primary advantages and disadvantages of acquiring inputs through this means? Give an exa
> Recently, the owner of a Trader Joe’s franchise decided to change how she compensated her top manager. Last year, she paid him a fixed salary of $65,000, and her store made $120,000 in profits (not counting payment to her top manager). She suspected the
> Jim’s diner is just about to open in Memphis, Tennessee. However, Jim is trying to decide whether he wants to offer Coke or Pepsi soda products. He determines that, to offer either product, he will have to spend $1,800 in sunk costs to purchase and insta
> HomeGrown is a small restaurant that specializes in serving local fruits, vegetables, and meats. The company has chosen to enter into a long-term relationship with Family Farms, a local farming operation. The two parties have decided to enter into a long
> Andrew has decided to open an online store that sells home and garden products. After searching around, he chooses the software company Initech to provide the software for his website since its product required the least amount of specialized investments
> Automated Data Processing (ADP) provides computer software and services to a host of companies, including automobile dealerships. ADP charges dealerships a monthly lease for hardware, software, and support services but does not charge for training the de
> As a manager in a new product market, you are interested in whether or not your competitors actually produce a close substitute for your product. Your analytics team has carefully collected data on prices and quantities for your product, as well as marke
> You are a management consultant for a 30-year-old partner in a large law firm. In a meeting, your client says: “According to an article in The New York Times, 57 percent of large law firms have a mandatory retirement age for partners in the firm. Before
> Business-process outsourcing (BPO) is a type of outsourcing that consists of contracting operations and responsibilities of a specific business process (e.g., human resources) to a third-party service provider. Such outsourcing generally began with manuf
> A few years ago, the Boston Globe reported that the city of Boston planned to spend $14 million to convert the Fleet Center sports arena and entertainment center into an appropriate venue for the Democratic National Convention (DNC). The city engaged Sha
> Recently, Air Liquide signed a long-term contract with Yan’an Energy and Chemical Co., a subsidiary of Yanchang Petroleum Group—one of China’s largest firms engaged in oil and natural gas exploration and production as well as oil refining. The new contra
> Teletronics reported record profits of $100,000 last year and is on track to exceed those profits this year. Teletronics competes in a very competitive market where many of the firms are merging in an attempt to gain competitive advantages. Currently, th
> EFI—a material handling company—pays each of its salespersons a base salary plus a percentage of revenues generated. To reduce overhead, EFI has switched from giving each salesperson a company car to reimbursing them $0.35 for each business-related mile
> Suppose that Honda is on the verge of signing a 15-year contract with TRW to supply airbags. The terms of the contract include providing Honda with 85 percent of the airbags used in new automobiles. Just prior to signing the contract, a manager reads tha
> The Wall Street Journal reported that Juniper Networks Inc.—a maker of company network equipment—plans to offer its more than 1,000 employees the opportunity to reprise their stock options. Juniper’s announcement came at a time when its stock price is do
> The division of a large office services company that makes high-end copiers recently signed a five-year, $25 million contract for IT services from CGI Group, a Canadian information technology company. If you were the manager of the division, how would yo
> The manager of your company’s pension fund is compensated based entirely on fund performance; he earned over $1.2 million last year. As a result, the fund is contemplating a proposal to cap the compensation of fund managers at $100,000. Provide an argume
> Not long ago, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) implemented “local number portability” rules allowing cellular phone consumers to switch cellular providers within the same geographic area and maintain the same phone number. How would you expect
> DonutVille caters to its retirement population by selling over 10,000 donuts each week. To produce that many donuts weekly, DonutVille uses 1,000 pounds of flour, which must be delivered by 5:00 am every Friday morning. How should the manager of DonutVil
> During the beginning of the twenty-first century, the growth in computer sales declined for the first time in almost two decades. As a result, PC makers dramatically reduced their orders of computer chips from Intel and other vendors. Explain why compute
> Suppose the marginal cost of writing a contract of length L is MC(L) = 40 + 3L. Find the optimal contract length when the marginal benefit of writing a contract is: a. MB(L) = 130. b. MB(L) = 170. c. What happens to the optimal contract length when the
> Suppose the marginal benefit of writing a contract is $100, independent of its length. Find the optimal contract length when the marginal cost of writing a contract of length L is: a. MC(L) = 30 + 4L. b. MC(L) = 40 + 5L. c. What happens to the optimal co
> Discuss the impact of the following factors on the optimal method of procuring an input. a. Benefits from specialization. b. Bureaucracy costs. c. Opportunism on either side of the transaction. d. Specialized investments. e. Unspecifiable events. f. Barg
> Compare the advantages and disadvantages of using spot checks/hidden video cameras in the workplace and pay-for-performance pay schemes as means to influence worker performance.
> A manager hires labor and rents capital equipment in a very competitive market. Currently the wage rate is $9 per hour and capital is rented at $10 per hour. If the marginal product of labor is 50 units of output per hour and the marginal product of capi
> An economist estimated that the cost function of a single-product firm is, Based on this information, determine: a. The fixed cost of producing 10 units of output. b. The variable cost of producing 10 units of output. c. The total cost of producing 10 u
> Explain the difference between the law of diminishing marginal returns and the law of diminishing marginal rate of technical substitution.
> A firm’s product sells for $4 per unit in a highly competitive market. The firm produces output using capital (which it rents at $25 per hour) and labor (which is paid a wage of $30 per hour under a contract for 20 hours of labor servic
> In January 2007, XM enjoyed about 58 percent of satellite radio subscribers, and Sirius had the remaining 42 percent. Both firms were suffering losses, despite their dominance in the satellite radio market. In 2008, the DOJ decided not to challenge a mer
> A firm’s analysts estimate that the firm can manufacture a product according to the production function: a. Calculate the average product of labor, APL, when the level of capital is fixed at 81 units and the firm uses 16 units of labor.
> As another matter with Analysts Inc., your team has carefully collected data on output and costs for a software servicing firm. The data are contained in the file called Q05-25.xls available online at www.mhhe.com/baye10e. You’ve decided to model the fir
> As a member of the Analysts Inc. consulting firm, you have carefully collected data on a manufacturing firm’s output, capital and labor. The data are contained in the file called Q05-24.xls available online at www.mhhe.com/baye10e. You believe the firm’s
> You are the manager of a large but privately held online retailer that currently uses 17 unskilled workers and 6 semiskilled workers at its warehouse to box and ship the products it sells online. Your company pays its unskilled workers the minimum wage b
> In the aftermath of a hurricane, an entrepreneur took a one-month leave of absence (without pay) from her $5,000-per-month job in order to operate a kiosk that sold fresh drinking water. During the month she operated this venture, the entrepreneur paid t
> Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. is one of Korea’s largest industrial producers. According to an article in Bloomberg BusinessWeek Online, the company not only is the world’s largest shipbuilder, but also manufactures other industrial goods ranging from cons
> According to The Wall Street Journal, Mitsubishi Motors announced a major restructuring plan in an attempt to reverse declining global sales. Suppose that as part of the restructuring plan Mitsubishi conducts an analysis of how labor and capital are used
> The A-1 Corporation supplies airplane manufacturers with preformed sheet metal panels that are used on the exterior of aircraft. Manufacturing these panels requires only five sheet metal–forming machines, which cost $500 each, and worke
> In the wake of the energy crisis in California in 2000 and 2001, many electricitygenerating facilities across the nation periodically reassess their projections of future demand and capacity for electricity in their respective markets. As a manager at Fl
> A local restaurateur who had been running a profitable business for many years recently purchased a three-way liquor license. This license gives the owner the legal right to sell beer, wine, and spirits in her restaurant. The cost of obtaining the three-
> Del Monte has a long and rich tradition in the American food processing industry. It is perhaps best known for packaging canned fruits and vegetables. Part of its success has involved acquiring other brands of canned fruits and vegetables. Suppose that D
> A Nike women’s-only store in California offers women’s running, training, and sportswear products and also contains an in-store fitness studio for group and personal fitness training sessions. The store consistently earns profits in excess of $500,000 pe
> You are a manager at Glass Inc.—a mirror and window supplier. Recently, you conducted a study of the production process for your single-side encapsulated window. The results from the study are summarized in the following table, and are
> Recently, the Boeing Commercial Airline Group (BCAG) recorded orders for more than 15,000 jetliners and delivered more than 13,000 airplanes. To maintain its output volume, this Boeing division combines efforts of capital and more than 90,000 workers. Su
> You are a manager for Herman Miller, a major manufacturer of office furniture. You recently hired an economist to work with engineering and operations experts to estimate the production function for a particular line of office chairs. The report from the
> You were recently hired to replace the manager of the Roller Division at a major conveyor- manufacturing firm, despite the manager’s strong external sales record. Roller manufacturing is relatively simple, requiring only labor and a machine that cuts and
> In an effort to stop the migration of many of the automobile manufacturing facilities from the Detroit area, Detroit’s city council is considering passing a statute that would give investment tax credits to auto manufacturers. Effectively, this would red
> A firm produces output according to the production function Q = F(K, L) = 4K + 8L. a. How much output is produced when K = 2 and L = 3? b. If the wage rate is $60 per hour and the rental rate on capital is $20 per hour, what is the cost-minimizing input
> A firm produces output according to a production function Q = F(K, L) = min {4K, 4L}. a. How much output is produced when K = 2 and L = 3? b. If the wage rate is $60 per hour and the rental rate on capital is $40 per hour, what is the cost-minimizing inp
> Explain the difference between fixed costs, sunk costs, and variable costs. Provide an example that illustrates that these costs are, in general, different.
> In 2006, the five leading suppliers of digital cameras in the United States were Canon, Sony, Kodak, Olympus, and Samsung. The combined market share of these five firms was 60.9 percent. The leading firm was Canon, with a market share of 18.7 percent. Th
> A firm’s fixed costs for 0 units of output and its average total cost of producing different output levels are summarized in the following table. Complete the table to find the fixed cost, variable cost, total cost, average fixed cost,
> In the answer to Demonstration Problem 4–2 in the text, we showed a situation in which a gift certificate leads a consumer to purchase a greater quantity of an inferior good than he or she would consume if given a cash gift of equal value. Is this always
> A consumer must divide $600 between the consumption of product X and product Y. The relevant market prices are Px = $10 and Py = $40. (LO2) a. Write the equation for the consumer’s budget line. b. Illustrate the consumer’s opportunity set in a carefully
> A consumer is in equilibrium at point A in the accompanying figure. The price of good X is $5. (LO2, LO3) a. What is the price of good Y? b. What is the consumer’s income? c. At point A, how many units of good X does the consumer purcha
> A consumer has $300 to spend on goods X and Y. The market prices of these two goods are Px = $15 and Py = $5. (LO2) a. What is the market rate of substitution between goods X and Y? b. Illustrate the consumer’s opportunity set in a carefully labeled diag
> When trying to assess differences in her customers, Claire—the owner of Claire’s Rose Boutique—noticed a difference between the typical demand of her female versus her male customers. In particular, she found her female customers to be more price sensiti
> A large Coca-Cola vendor recently hired some economic analysts to assess the effect of a price increase in its 16-ounce bottles from $1.00 to $2.00. The analysts determined that, on average, the vendor’s customers spend about $15.00 on
> Recently, an Internet service provider (ISP) in the United Kingdom implemented a “ no-strings U.S.-style flat-rate plan” whereby its commercial subscribers can send and receive unlimited volume (measured in gigabytes) up to a cap of 10,000 gigabytes (per
> Over the past decade, holiday gift cards have become increasingly popular at online retailers. Not long ago, online shoppers had to really hunt at most e-retailers’ sites to purchase a gift card, but today it is easier to purchase gift cards online than
> Suppose that the owner of Boyer Construction is feeling the pinch of increased premiums associated with worker’s compensation and has decided to cut the wages of its two employees (Albert and Sid) from $25 per hour to $22 per hour. Assume that Albert and
> Recently, Pfizer and Allergan—the makers of Viagra and Botox, respectively—initiated a $160 billion merger. Pharmaceutical companies tend to spend a greater percentage of sales on R&D activities than other industries. The government encourages these R&D
> Suppose that a CEO’s goal is to increase profitability and output from her company by bolstering its sales force, and data analysis has shown that the relationship between profits and output can be expressed as π = 40q − 2q2 (in millions of U.S. dollars)
> A common marketing tactic among many liquor stores is to offer their clientele quantity (or volume) discounts. For instance, the second-leading brand of wine exported from Chile sells in the United States for $15 per bottle if the consumer purchases up t
> The average 15-year-old purchases 100 song downloads from Apple Music and buys 20 cheese pizzas in a typical year. If cheese pizzas are inferior goods, would the average 15-year-old be indifferent between receiving a $50 gift card for Apple Music and $50
> The Einstein Bagel Corp. offers a frequent buyer program whereby a consumer receives a stamp each time she purchases one dozen bagels for $6. After a consumer accrues 10 stamps, she receives one dozen bagels free. This offer is an unlimited offer, valid
> An internal study at Mimeo Corporation—a manufacturer of low-end photocopiers—revealed that each of its workers assembles three photocopiers per hour and is paid $6 for each assembled copier. Although the company does not have the resources needed to sup
> Consider an employee who does not receive employer-based health insurance and must divide her $1,000 per week in after-tax income between health insurance and “other goods.” Draw this worker’s opportunity set if the price of health insurance is $200 per
> During the past major recession, upscale hotels in the United States recently cut their prices by 25 percent in an effort to bolster dwindling occupancy rates among business travelers. A survey performed by a major research organization indicated that bu
> A recent newspaper circular advertised the following special on tires: “Buy three, get the fourth tire for free—limit one free tire per customer.” If a consumer has $360 to spend on tires and other goods and each tire usually sells for $40, how does this
> The U.S. government spends over $74 billion on its Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to provide millions of Americans with the means to purchase food. Beneficiaries use an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card to transfer their governmen
> It is common for supermarkets to carry both generic (store-label) and brand-name (producer-label) varieties of sugar and other products. Many consumers view these products as perfect substitutes, meaning that consumers are always willing to substitute a
> Suppose your analytics team was able to estimate the own price elasticity of market demand, ET, and the own price elasticity of demand for a representative firm's product, EF, for two industries. For agriculture, your team estimates that ET = −1.8 and EF
> A worker views leisure and income as “goods” and has an opportunity to work at an hourly wage of $16 per hour. (LO7) a. Illustrate the worker’s opportunity set in a given 24-hour period. b. Suppose the worker is always willing to give up $10 of income fo
> A consumer’s budget set for two goods (X and Y) is 800 ≥ 4X + 2Y. (LO2) a. Illustrate the budget set in a diagram. b. Does the budget set change if the prices of both goods double and the consumer’s income also doubles? Explain. c. Given the equation for
> Determine which, if any, of Properties 4–1 through 4–4 are violated by the indifference curves shown in the following diagram.
> A consumer must spend all of her income on two goods (X and Y). In each of the following scenarios, indicate whether the equilibrium consumption of goods X and Y will increase or decrease. Assume good X is a normal good and good Y is an inferior good. a.
> In the following figure, a consumer is initially in equilibrium at point C. The consumer’s income is $600, and the budget line through point C is given by $600 = $100X + $200Y. When the consumer is given a $100 gift certificate that is
> Provide an intuitive explanation for why a “buy one, get one free” deal is not the same as a “half-price” sale.
> Suppose the own price elasticity of demand for good X is −5, its income elasticity is −1, its advertising elasticity is 4, and the cross-price elasticity of demand between it and good Y is 3. Determine how much the consumption of this good will change if
> Suppose a research report has estimated the demand for a firm’s product as, a. Determine the own price elasticity of demand, and state whether demand is elastic, inelastic, or unitary elastic. b. Determine the cross-price elasticity of
> Using regression analysis on data from a field experiment, the demand curve for a product is estimated to be Qx d = 1,200 − 3 Px − 0.1 Pz, where Pz = $300. a. What is the own price elasticity of demand when Px = $140? Is demand elastic or inelastic at th
> Answer the following questions based on the accompanying diagram. a. How much would the firm’s revenue change if it lowered the price from $12 to $10? Is demand elastic or inelastic in this range? b. How much would the firmâ€
> Suppose Fiat recently entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger with Case for $4.3 billion. Prior to the merger, the market for four-wheel-drive tractors consisted of five firms. The market was highly concentrated, with a Herfindahl-Hirschman index of
> The owner of a small chain of gasoline stations in a large Midwestern town read an article in a trade publication stating that the own price elasticity of demand for gasoline in the United States is −0.2. Because of this highly inelastic demand in the Un
> Recently, Verizon Wireless ran a pricing trial in order to estimate the elasticity of demand for its services. The manager selected three states that were representative of its entire service area and increased prices by 5 percent to customers in those a
> Suppose that News Corp., which controls the United States’ largest satellite-to-TV broadcaster, is contemplating launching a Spaceway satellite that could provide high-speed Internet service. Prior to launching the Spaceway satellite, suppose that News C
> With milk sales sagging of late, The Milk Processor Education Program (MPEP) decided to move on from the famous “Got Milk” ad slogan in favor of a new one, “Milk Life.” The new tagline emphasizes milk’s nutritional benefits, including its protein content
> Suppose the Kalamazoo Brewing Company (KBC) currently sells its microbrews in a seven-state area: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The company’s data analytics department has collected data from its distributors i
> As the owner of Barney’s Broilers—a fast-food chain—you see an increase in the demand for broiled chicken as consumers become more health conscious and reduce their consumption of beef and fried foods. As a result, you believe it is necessary to purchase
> As newly appointed “Energy Czar,” your goal is to reduce the total demand for residential heating fuel in your state. You must choose one of three legislative proposals designed to accomplish this goal: (a) a tax that
> You are a manager in charge of monitoring cash flow at a major publisher. Paper books comprise 40 percent of your revenues, which grow about 2 percent annually. You recently received a preliminary report that suggests the growth rate in ebook reading has
> You are a division manager at Toyota. If your data analytics department estimates that the semiannual demand for the Highlander is Q = 150,000 − 1.5P, what price should you charge in order to maximize revenues from sales of the Highlander?
> If Starbucks’s data analytics department estimates the income elasticity of demand for its coffee to be 1.6, how will the prospect of an economic boom (expected to increase consumers’ incomes by 3 percent over the next year) impact the quantity of coffee
> Nationwide Bank has approached Hometown Bank with a proposal to merge. The following table lists the sales of the banks in the area. Use this information to calculate the four-firm concentration ratio and the Herfindahl-Hirschman index. Based on the FTC
> For the first time in two years, Big G (the cereal division of General Mills) raised cereal prices by 4 percent. If, as a result of this price increase, the volume of all cereal sold by Big G dropped by 5 percent, what can you infer about the own price e
> You are the manager of a firm that sells a leading brand of alkaline batteries. A file named Q03-12.xls with data on the demand for your product is available online at www.mhhe.com/baye10e. Specifically, the file contains data on the natural logarithm of
> Revenue at a major smart phone manufacturer was $2.3 billion for the nine months ending March 2, up 77 percent over revenues for the same period last year. Management attributes the increase in revenues to a 122 percent increase in shipments, despite a 3
> The demand function for good X is ln Qx d = a + b ln Px + c ln M + e, where Px is the price of good X and M is income. Least squares regression reveals that â = 7.42, bˆ = −2.18, and ĉ = 0.34. (LO5, LO6) a. If M = 55,000 and Px = 4.39, compute the own pr
> The demand function for good X is Qx d = a + bPx + cM + e, where Px is the price of good X and M is income. Least squares regression reveals that â = 8.27, bˆ = −2.14, ĉ = 0.36, σâ = 5.32, σ bˆ = 0.41, and σĉ = 0.22. The R-squared is 0.35. (LO6) a. Compu
> Suppose the true inverse demand relation for good X is Qx d = a + bPx + cM + e, and you estimated the parameters to be â = 22, bˆ = −1.8, σâ = 2.5, and σ bˆ = 0.7. Find the approximate 95 percent confidence interval for the true values of a and b.
