Discuss some specific ways organizations can develop an innovative, entrepreneurial mindset in teams. What is the cost to an organization of implementing these approaches? How long do you think an organization should wait to see innovative results before abandoning these approaches?

What are 2 examples of non-tariff barriers that are considered to be the result of political policy and how can the WTO enforce regulations against non-tariff barriers?

For each condition listed below, indicate whether it will increase or decrease the likely success of a trade embargo. Briefly explain. (2 points each)

i. The group of countries imposing the embargo account for a small share of the targeted country’s trade.

ii. The targeted country is a major importer of goods from the imposing countries.

12. Suppose that a firm’s production function is given by Q = K0.75L0.25, the wage rate is w = $20 per unit of labor and the rental rate is r = $100 per unit of capital.

1. What is the marginal rate of technical substitution between labor and capital, ????'( (where labor is graphed on the x-axis and capital is on the y-axis)?

2. If the firm produces 1000 units of output by using 1000 units of labor and 1000 units of capital, how much is the firm spending in total? Is it minimizing its cost of producing 1000 units? If not, explain in general terms how the firm should adjust.

3. What is the cost-minimizing input combination for the firm to produce 1000 units? What is the cost of this input bundle? (Round your answer to two decimal places.)

4. Suppose the firm wants to produce 1000 units of output, and its capital level is fixed at K = 500 in the short run. How many units of L should the firm use? What is the firm’s total cost of producing the 1000 units of output?

1) The United States economy is growing at a faster rate than its trading partner United Kingdom. As a result, the rate of American inflation is increasing.

1A) Show and explain how the increase in inflation will affect the international value of the United States dollar and the value of the British pound. (Make sure you graph each, using the concepts of supply and demand and the cost of domestic goods in your explanation.)

1B) Explain how the changing value of the dollar will affect the United States' exports and imports. (Make sure you use the concepts of the cost of foreign and domestic goods in your explanation.)

2) The Federal Reserve decreases the money supply in the United States causing interest rates to increase.

2A) Explain how the change in interest rates will affect United States aggregate demand. (Make sure to include the determinant that causes the change in aggregate demand in your explanation.)

2B) Draw a correctly labeled graph of the foreign exchange market for the British pound, showing the effect of the increasing interest rate identified in the scenario on the value of the British pound relative to the U.S. dollar. (Make sure you use the concepts of supply and demand and financial capital in your explanation.)

A Company is planning to undertake a project requiring initial investment of $50 million and is expected to generate $10 million in Year 1, $13 million in Year 2, $16 million in year 3, $19 million in Year 4 and $22 million in Year 5.

1. Calculate the payback value of the project.
2. Calculate the discount payback value of the project (i=12%).

a. What is the level of productivity in this economy?

b. What is the per-unit cost of production if the price of each input unit is $4?

c. Assume that the input price increases from $4 to $5 with no accompanying change in productivity. What is the new per-unit cost of production?

c2. In what direction would the $1 increase in input price push the economy's aggregate supply curve? (right or left)

c3. What effect would this shift of aggregate supply have on the price level and the level of real output?

d. What would be the new per-unit cost of production?

d2. In what direction would this change in per-unit production cost push the economy's aggregate supply curve? (right or left)

d3. What effect would this shift of aggregate supply have on the price level and the level of real output?

Topic Essay:

How do we explain today’s unusually low unemployment rate, at a time when the labor participation rate is not especially low?

For many years, the U.S. unemployment rate has been the main measure of the employment picture in the economy. Since the 1960s, the labor participation rate dropped steadily, until about the last decade, when it started drifting up. So in a way, the current very low U.S. unemployment rate is somewhat misleading, because it from a base of fewer working-age Americans choosing to be in the workforce.

The following questions deal with domain name registration. a) What is ICANN b) what is ICANN’s UDRP

(a) For an interest rate of 6% per annum compounded quarterly, determine (i) the annual effective interest rate, (ii) the effective rate per quarter, and (iii) the effective rate per month.

(b) Using the interest rates (i), (ii), and (iii) calculated in part a), calculate the future value of $1,000 deposit after 5 years.

(c) Using the interest rates (i), (ii), and (iii) calculated in part a), calculate the present value of $1,000 allowance you receive 5 years from now.

Recreational marijuana was legalized in the state of Washington in July of 2014 creating a new source of revenue for the government. July 1, 2015, the state government raised excise taxes paid by marijuana retailers on final sales leading to the following effects on prices and quantity sold:

The above example is adapted from a recent study into the effects of an increase in taxes on the marijuana market in Washington (Hansen, Miller, & Weber, 2017). The authors can estimate the price elasticity of demand from these data points because the sudden tax change created a ceteris paribus situation, where all other supply and demand conditions were held fixed, similar to the way our models assume in the textbook.

In that spirit, interpret the excise tax increases as an increase in input costs for marijuana dispensaries holding all other supply and demand characteristics fixed.

1. What happened to supply and the supply curve after the tax?
2. What happened to demand and the demand curve after the tax?
3. What can you say about the equilibrium quantity supplied and demanded?
4. Comparing June 2015 to July 2015, using the arc formula for price elasticity of demand: What is the price elasticity of demand? If the business didn’t have to pay the sales tax to the government, what affect would the price increase have had on their revenue?

5. Comparing June 2015 to August 2015, using the arc formula for price elasticity of demand: What is the price elasticity of demand? If the business didn’t have to pay the sales tax to the government, what affect would the price increase have had on their revenue?
6. How are the elasticities in question 4 & 5 different? What are the economic reasons driving this difference?
7. All else equal, what would you expect to happen to the price elasticity of demand if there were an additional increase in taxes. Why?

8. Choose a product or company of interest to you. Imagine your boss asks you to calculate a numerical value for the price elasticity of demand. Explain at least three different confounding factors that might make your task difficult. How might you get around those issues?

2. Would the following transactions be part of U.S. GDP, U.S. GNP, both or neither?

a. You received dividends from a company based in Germany.

b. Colin Firth, a British citizen, earns money acting in a movie made in Hollywood.

c. You buy a Volkswagen automobile which was made in Germany.

d. An American citizen works at a Honda factory in South Carolina

What is the current state of the US Economy in the last 20 years?” Your report should include the following: GPD, unemployment, inflation and Labor Force Participation Rate. Include a general statement about the state of the economy and then brief commentaries on each of the measures. You can use FRED graph for your comparison

A manufacturer of microwaves has discovered that female shoppers have little value for microwaves and attribute almost no extra value to an auto-defrost feature. Male shoppers generally value microwaves more than women do and attribute greater value to the auto-defrost feature. There is little additional cost to incorporating an auto-defrost feature. Since men and women cannot be charged different prices for the same product, the manufacturer is considering introducing two different models. The manufacturer has determined that men value a simple microwave at $67 and one with auto-defrost at $124, while women value a simple microwave at $57 and one with auto-defrost at $67.

Suppose the manufacturer is considering three pricing strategies:

For simplicity, assume there is only 1 man and 1 woman and that if the price of a microwave is equal to an individual's willingness to pay, the individual will purchase the microwave.

Strategy

Revenue from Men

Revenue from Women

Total Revenue from Strategy

1. Auto-Defrost Microwave only at $67

2. Auto-Defrost Microwave only at $1243. Simple Microwave at $57, Auto-Defrost Microwave at $113

Suppose that, instead of one man and one woman, the market for this microwave consisted entirely of men. For simplicity, you can assume this means that there are two men, and no women.

Under these conditions, pricing strategy   would maximize revenue for the manufacturer.