Category: Economics

This week’s reading… Wow. The numbers and statistics can make the future look grim, but that’s why we are here, right? To improve the health of our communities-large and small.
We mentioned that as professionals in health careers, we will always be somewhat in a position to educate. We learned that not ALL of our clients will be just like us, and many will be NOTHING like us. Some of the issues we face will be the same as our neighbors, some will be entirely different.
Each of us have chosen a career path, or at least have an idea of where we would like to go. That’s why we are in this class. For this week’s discussion please read the Included resources carefully. Choose a population that is unfamiliar to you, something outside of you comfort zone.
How will you approach the issues discussed this week with your chosen population? What challenges do you expect, and what changes do you see in your outlook already?

Revenue at a major smartphone manufacturer was $2.5 billion for the nine months ending March 2 , up 80 percent over revenues for the same period last year. Management attributes the increase in revenues to a 142 percent increase in shipments, despite a 22 percent drop in the average blended selling price of its line of phones.Given this information, is it surprising that the company’s revenue increased when it decreased the average selling price of its phones?
No. Own price elasticity is -0.15 , which means demand is elastic and a decrease in price will raise revenues.
Yes. Own price elasticity is -6.45, which means demand is elastic and a decrease in price will decrease revenues.
Yes. Own price elasticity is -0.15 , which means demand is inelastic and a decrease in price will decrease revenues.
No. Own price elasticity is -6.45 , which means demand is elastic and a decrease in price will raise revenues.

When a U.S. domestic producer begins selling exports, they typically need to worry about the foreign exchange market, since often the revenues an exporter earns are foreign currencies that then need to be traded into dollars. Because the foreign exchange value of the dollar tends to fluctuate, this adds an additional level of risk to the exporter’s business. What are some skills needed and factors that would make a domestic producer willing to take on this extra and new type of risk?
RubricCriteriaWeightWhat additional expertise would a producer need to trade successfully in the export market and the foreign exchange market? To what extent is this different from the expertise necessary to sell domestically?30 How could a producer benefit from a larger market for its products?30What additional benefits might a producer obtain from exporting?30Write up your analysis using correct language, explaining all your work

➤ Will sellers lower price if they can sell unlimited quantity at a higher price?
If a seller could truly sell unlimited quantity at a higher price, there is no incentive to lower price because profit per unit would fall. In competitive markets that situation is unsustainable: entry and price-taking behavior push prices toward marginal cost, so persistent above-market sales disappear in the long run.

Consider the only electric company in a small town, which you can assume operates as a natural monopoly. The following graph shows the demand curve for electricity services per month, as well as the provider’s marginal revenue (MR) curve, marginal cost (MC) curve, and average total cost (ATC) curve.
Suppose the government has elected not to impose regulations on the industry, and so the firm faces no regulatory constraints in maximizing profits. Complete the first row of the following table.
Suppose now that the government decides to require the monopolist to set its price equal to marginal cost. Complete the second row of the previous table.
Suppose now that the government decides to require the monopolist to set its price equal to average total cost. Complete the third row of the previous table.
True or False: Under the average-cost pricing policy, the electric company has no incentive to cut costs. True False

Suppose that the tritezene industry is initially operating in long-run equilibrium at a price level of $6 per pound of tritezene and quantity of 324 million pounds per year.
Suppose a top medical journal publishes research that animal-alternative protein sources such as tritezene could increase your expected lifespan by 4 years. The publication is expected to cause consumers to demand tritezene at every price. In the short run, firms will respond by Shift the demand curve, the supply curve, or both on the following graph to illustrate these short-run effects of the publication. Shift the demand curve, the supply curve, or both on the following graph to illustrate both the short-run effects of the publication and the new longrun equilibrium after firms and consumers finish adjusting to the news. The new equilibrium price and quantity suggest that the shape of the long-run supply curve in this industry is run.