Question

In: Economics

1. Consider the following table that provides information for a firm’s short-run production function and its...

1. Consider the following table that provides information for a firm’s short-run production function and its product demand, given by the column labeled D1.


Labor

Output

Price (D1)

0

0

$10.00

1

16

  10.00

2

31

  10.00

3

45

  10.00

4

58

  10.00

5

69

  10.00

6

78

  10.00


Based on that information, calculate Total Revenue (TR), Marginal Revenue Product (MRP), Marginal Product of Labor (MP) and Value of the Marginal Product (VMP), then answer the following questions:

  1. Assume that the labor market is perfectly competitive. If the wage rate is $100, how many workers should the firm hire in order to achieve maximum profit?

  2. Assume that the labor market is perfectly competitive. If the wage rate rises from $100 to $135, how many workers will the firm fire?

  3. Based on your previous answers, what is the wage elasticity of this firm’s labor demand when wage increases from $100 to $135?

  4. Assume that the labor market is perfectly competitive. Suppose the firm’s product demand is now given by the column labeled D2. Calculate Total Revenue (TR), Marginal Revenue Product (MRP), Marginal Product of Labor (MP) and Value of the Marginal Product (VMP). If the wage rate is $100, how many workers should the firm hire in order to achieve maximum profit?

Labor

Output

Price (D2)

0

0

$10.00

1

16

    9.50

2

31

    9.00

3

45

    8.50

4

58

    7.50

5

69

    6.50

6

78

    5.50

Solutions

Expert Solution

TR = price * quantity. For example, when output = 16, TR = 16 * 10 = 160.
MR = Change in TR/ change in output. Fr example, when TR = 160, MR = (160-0)/ (1-0) = 160
MP = change in output. For the second worker, MP = 31 - 16 = 15.
VMP = MP*price. For example, for the second worker, VMP = 15 * 10 = 150

a. If the wage = $100, 5 workers will be hired.
When 5 workers are hired, VMP is greater than wage (110 > 100). For the next worker, VMP (90) is lower than the wage.

b. If wage = $135, 3 workers will be hired.
When 3 workers are hired, VMP (140) is greater than wage (135). For the next worker, VMP (130) is lower than the wage.

c. Elasticity of firm's labor = -1.14
EL = %change in number of workers / % change in wage = 40% / -35% = -1.14

d. The new table:

If wage = $100, 3 workers will be hired.
When 3 workers are hired, VMP (119) is greater than wage. For the next worker, VMP (97.5) is lower than the wage.


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