In: Economics
The White Noise Corporation has estimated the following Cobb-Douglas production function using monthly observations for the past two years:
ln Q = 1.386 + 0.20 ln K + 0.30 ln L + 0.25 ln N
where Q is the number of units of output, K is the number of units of capital, L is the number of units of labor, and N is the number of units of raw materials. With respect to the above results, answer the following questions when K = 400, L = 800 and N =200.
a) Determine whether the returns to scale are increasing, decreasing or constant.
b) Suppose the price of capital is $5.25 per unit, the price of labor is $7, and the price of raw materials is $17.50 per unit. This is an optimal combination of resources.
c) What price would the company have to charge for the product to maximize profit?