FREC 834 -- intro theory review/skills assessment

1.    Sketch a 3x4 array of little demand curve diagrams for (1) coffee, (2) powdered creamer, a complement to coffee, and (3) tea, a substitute for coffee, with respect to (a) the price of coffee, (b) the price of creamer, (c) the price of tea, and (d) income, where coffee is normal, powdered creamer is inferior, and tea is a luxury.  Show the effects in all 12 graphs of an increase in the price of creamer.

2.    Suppose a competitive firm produces output Y with the following cost structure:

Output Y
AVC
ATC
MC
1  $ 5.00  $ 15.00  $ 4.00
3  $ 3.33  $ 6.67  $ 2.50
6  $ 2.50  $ 4.17  $ 1.67
10  $ 2.00  $ 3.00  $ 1.25
15  $ 1.67  $ 2.33  $ 1.00
19  $ 1.58  $ 2.15  $ 1.58
22  $ 1.65  $ 2.10  $ 2.10
24  $ 1.80  $ 2.22  $ 3.00
25  $ 2.00  $ 2.40  $ 5.00

  1. At a competitive market price of $3 per unit of Y, how much would the firm produce, and what would its profit be?
  2. At what market price of Y would the firm just break even, and how much would it produce at that price? 
  3. At what market price of Y would the firm shut down in the short run?
  4. Calculate the arc elasticity of the firm's supply schedule between 19 and 22 units of output.
3.    If the market supply and demand for widgets are Qs = -200 + P and Qd = 400 - 0.5P respectively,...
  1. Calculate the market equilibrium P and Q. 
  2. Calculate the point elasticities of supply and demand at equilibrium.
  3. Calculate the consumer and producer surpluses.
  4. If the government imposes a tax of $30 per unit on widgets, calculate the new equilibrium quantity, consumer and producer surpluses and deadweight loss.
4.   Basic applications of derivatives:
  1. If a competitive firm's average total cost = 1.5Q + 4 + 54/Q, what is its marginal cost function?  What is its break-even market price?
  2. If Profit = - Q3 - 6Q2 + 1440Q - 525, what is the profit-maximizing level of Q?  Prove this isn't the profit-minimizing point.
5.    If A = [ a  b ], calculate...
  1. A'
  2. A'A
  3. AA'
  4. |A'A|
  5. (A'A)-1
6.   A regression analysis yields the empirical demand model with coefficient standard errors in parentheses:

      Quantity = 16.25 - 0.463*Price + 0.00051*Income
              (2.05) (0.096)       (0.00040)             N = 126; R-square = 0.45

  
Give a brief interpretation of these results.