Scenario 1-1 Suppose a cell phone manufacturer currently sells 20,000 cell phones per
week and makes a profit of $5,000 per week. A manager at the plant observes,
“Although the last 3,000 cell phones we produced and sold increased our revenue by
$6,000 and our costs by $6,700, we are still making an overall profit of $5,000 per
week so I think we’re on the right track. We are producing the optimal number of cell
phones.”
Using marginal analysis terminology, what is another economic term for the
incremental cost of producing the last 3,000 cell phones?
A) marginal cost
B) operating cost
C) explicit cost
D) Any of the above terms are correct.
In the short run, why does a production function eventually display diminishing returns
to labor?
A) As the number of workers increases it becomes difficult to monitor them.
B) As a firm hires more workers the skills and the work ethic of the additional workers
will eventually decline.
C) As the number of workers increases eventually the gains from the division of labor
and specialization are used up.
D) The opportunity cost of hiring additional workers must eventually rise.