Questions tagged [marginal]
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73
questions
-2
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1answer
31 views
Utility Function Challenge
A utility function is given for two goods
Good 1 and Good 2
U = f(G1,G2) = 45G1^0.7, G2^0.3
^
Did I get this right, the marginal utility functions with respect to G1 and G2?
Solution
dU/dG1 - MU of ...
0
votes
1answer
38 views
Relationship between capital and decreasing marginal prodcutivity
In Capital by Thomas Piketty ( chapter The capital - labor spit in the twenty first century - page 271) we have below quote
The evolution of the rate of return on capita, r, significantly reduces the ...
2
votes
2answers
102 views
Is addiction a case of increasing marginal utility?
I got to know that alcohol addiction is a case of increasing marginal utility. My professor refutes me bluntly stating that once a person starts consuming he no longer remains to be a 'rational ...
0
votes
2answers
53 views
Is it possible to absorb the cost of advertising into the production cost for information goods in situations where attention is scarce?
This is a question about the economics of information goods on the Web.
Let's say that there is an information good that is sold on the Web, that can be produced at some cost of production D, using ...
1
vote
1answer
69 views
I don't know why these two method yield different solutions for marginal product of labour
Given a homogeneous of degree one function
$$Y=F(K,N) \\
y=\frac{Y}{N}
=F(\frac{K}{N},1):=f(k)$$
I am looking for the partial derivative for $N$
Method 1
$$F_N=\frac{\partial F(K,N)}{\partial N}=\frac{...
1
vote
2answers
296 views
Fundamental question on marginal utility
I was just thinking back to some introductory economics courses, but now I'm extremely confused on a fundamental concept. How is marginal utility interpreted as the additional "happiness" ...
1
vote
0answers
38 views
Unsolveable Demand/Utility Problem?
A consume has a preference relation on $\mathbb{R}^4_+$ with a utility function defined as
$$ U(x_1,x_2,x_3)=(\ln(3x_1+2x_2+x_3))^3$$
Find the demand at prices $p=(1,1,1)$ and wage $4$.
Attempt
I ...
3
votes
3answers
558 views
Demand curve is same as Marginal Benefit curve?
Demand curve is same as Marginal Benefit curve [Source: Microeconomics by Pindyck & Rubinfeld, Chapter 10, Section 5 - Monopsony]. I have only seen intuitive explanations for this statement. Can ...
1
vote
1answer
53 views
Equivalence of producer surplus areas
I really can't understand how the sum of the rectangles leads to the sum of the triangle.
My book's(Chapter 12, page 430) explanation is:
Equivalence of these areas can be shown by recognizing that ...
-2
votes
1answer
350 views
Determine marginal revenue given demand curve and marginal cost
a)Determine marginal revenue curve if firm can only charge 1 price,List demand curve,marginal revenue curve,,marginal cost,average total cost equations.
b)What is optimal price and quantity?
c)If firm ...
0
votes
1answer
61 views
Relation between marginal cost and output elasticities
Does anyone know of any results that show the link between marginal cost and the output elasticities analytically? I am looking at production and cost theory books but can't find any results that ...
-1
votes
2answers
79 views
Competitive wages under imperfect information
Do competitive wages always have to be defined by marginal productivity? Can we have competitive wages which are not based on productivity, when the information is not perfect?
To put it in context, ...
0
votes
1answer
204 views
Why marginal benefit is decreasing as more and more pizzas are being produced?
I'm taking one of my initial courses in Economics on my own and currently reading Economics by McConnel, Brue and Flynn. On the page 13, the book is trying to explain about Optimal Allocation. They ...
0
votes
0answers
17 views
About marginal cost setting on Jordi Gali's work
I'm studying Gali's work with the paper(or book?) which is
"Jordi Gali, Monetary policy inflation and the business cycle_An introduction to the new keynesian framework(2015)" and wonder one ...
0
votes
0answers
52 views
Maximize marginal products
Say a firm is facing a budget line as stated below:($K$ stands for capital and $L$ stands for labor)
$$200K + 100L = 1000$$
Under this circumstance, a rational firm will look for ways to maximize its ...
0
votes
1answer
246 views
Marginal cost given (Cobb-Douglas) production
My function is $y=x_1^\alpha x_2^\beta$ with $\beta={1-\alpha}$.
I found: the minimization problem for demand to be
$x_1^{*}(w_1,w_2,y)=\left ( \frac{w_2}{w_1}\frac{\alpha}{\beta} \right )^{\frac{\...
26
votes
8answers
6k views
What's wrong with the "airline marginal cost pricing" argument?
This is a very common argument found in introductory classes and texts. Here's Mankiw's version:
Thinking at the margin works for business decisions as well. Consider an airline deciding how much to ...
1
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0answers
12 views
How to calculate and interpret a marginal treatment effect (local instrumental variable)? (Intuition through simple example.)
I am working on the intuition behind local instrumental variables (LIV), also known as the marginal treatment effect (MTE). I have worked some time on this and would benefit from solving a simple. I ...
2
votes
1answer
90 views
Monopoly: Demand Curve and Marginal Revenue Curve Intercepts
I'm doing an introductory economics course, having never done economics before. In our topics, we covered monopoly and the principle that the marginal revenue slope is twice that of the demand slope. ...
4
votes
1answer
2k views
Is it true that if marginal cost is constant, then average variable cost is also constant and equals marginal cost?
I'm inclined to think yes because marginal cost only depends on variable cost (fixed costs don't matter), but I'm not 100% certain.
Basically, my thought process is that marginal cost of producing one ...
2
votes
1answer
67 views
Question about an interpretation of the MRS
Given the marginal rate of substitution of $x$ for $y$ : $\frac{u'(x)}{u'(y)} $
I know one can interpret this as the amount of $y$ one is willing to give up for an additional unit of $x$, or the ...
1
vote
1answer
77 views
Returns to Scale Microeconomics
Are there any production function $f(x_1,\ldots,x_n)$ that is having decreasing returns to scale, given that the marginal product in every input $i$ in the function $f$ is constant?
1
vote
0answers
24 views
Explaining negative "cyclic" unemployment with a production function
First of all, here is a related post. Unfortunately, it does not answer my question.
I have heard that there is an understanding of negative unemployment in economic theory. Obviously, absolute ...
2
votes
1answer
61 views
Piketty's explanation of elasticity of substitution (from his book Capital in the 21st century)
I have some trouble following the explanation of the elasticity of substitution between capital and labor and its implications on p189.
Take this part:
The relevant question is whether the elasticity ...
2
votes
2answers
76 views
Is it considered acceptable or unacceptable to use currency as a measure of utility?
There will always exist at least one economist who condones measuring utility in US dollars and another who does not. However, I am wondering which way the majority of contemporary economists lean.
...
0
votes
1answer
40 views
Profit maximization, when $MC = P$, in a simple supply table and curve
Our economics school book states that the profits of a company are maximized when MC = P.
However, I am having some trouble wrapping my head around that.
For example, I have the following exercise:
...
1
vote
1answer
47 views
Understanding Rabin's Diminishing Marginal Utility of Wealth Cannot Explain Risk Aversion
I am trying to understand Rabin's Diminishing Marginal Utility of Wealth Cannot Explain Risk Aversion.
I am struggling to completely understand the following:
Suppose you have initial wealth of $W$...
0
votes
1answer
25 views
Endogenous Growth in the case of externalities (Learning by doing)
so for the Learning by doing model productivity is defined as $$A_t=BK_t$$.
Inserting this into the optimum conditions leads us to the following:$$r_t=\alpha BL^{1-\alpha}$$ and $$w_t=(1-\alpha)B^{1-\...
0
votes
0answers
15 views
Does a depreciation in the Dollar lead to a reduction in the US' marginal propensity to import?
Does a depreciation in the Dollar lead to a reduction in the US' marginal propensity to import? I thought it would because a weaker dollar makes imports more expensive, so consumers spend less of ...
1
vote
3answers
77 views
What would be the income tax rate be if it were 'flattened'?
In some recent conversations/speeches (It's voting season), I have noticed many people do not understand how a marginal income tax system works.
Not understanding how they are only taxed at the ...
1
vote
2answers
58 views
Is marginal cost different from extra cost?
I have been reading this resource which talks about why derivatives can be used to find the marginal cost.
https://www.dummies.com/education/math/calculus/how-to-determine-marginal-cost-marginal-...
1
vote
1answer
102 views
Why can utility functions be continuous, and what does this imply for marginal utility?
I am studying microeconomics at the introductory undergraduate level and two related but distinct questions are puzzling me.
First, my textbooks express utility functions as continuous functions by ...
0
votes
1answer
160 views
Why does marginal cost slope upwards after the minimum point?
My textbook writes this on marginal cost:
"The law of diminishing returns refers to the idea that as more of a factor (input) is used, with at least one fixed factor, there is some point at which the ...
2
votes
1answer
748 views
Why is the marginal utility of money assumed to be constant in Marshallian Theory of Consumer Behaviour
While studying the Marshallian Theory of Consumer Behaviour, I came across the assumption that the marginal utility of money is assumed to be constant. Can someone please explain why is this so?
0
votes
2answers
87 views
Why are marginal rates of substitution are identical at equilibrium consumption levels?
According to wikipedia, "At equilibrium consumption levels (assuming no externalities), marginal rates of substitution are identical". Why is it so?
What does "equilibrium consumption levels" here ...
1
vote
1answer
221 views
A question about the property of quasi-linear preference
In case of quasi-linear preference, why would one unit more of the numeraire good (good 1) give the same additional utility as spending an additional amount of wealth equal to the cost of one unit of ...
0
votes
1answer
43 views
Production function involving profit maximisation
Hi, I don't get how the answer of d is deduced in this question because I don't think I made any mistakes in my calculation and have also used all the information given. After knowing L is 800, I ...
-1
votes
1answer
275 views
MRTS question involving production function [closed]
My work out shows constant MRTS and also increasing returns to scale. I thought the answer was C as I only found increasing marginal products of labour and capital. I really don't see how the answer ...
1
vote
2answers
350 views
In the real world, how does a firm know their marginal costs and revenue? How do they mathematically calculate MC=MR?
I understand the theory behind it but in practice how is this done?
0
votes
1answer
59 views
Marginal Cost Calculation issue
I calculated the Marginal cost for the below question. But it seems the results are wrong
After coming up with an innovative idea for a new product, you paid 4000 to an industrial designer to draw ...
0
votes
1answer
67 views
fixed an marginal cost calculation issue
I'm trying to solve a question that is quite difficult for me. I did part of the question but, bit difficult to decide the exact answer for the below question.
After coming up with an innovative ...
2
votes
1answer
24 views
Calculating marginal tax rates when near a cliff
When using tax and transfer microsimulation models, a common approach for calculating marginal tax rates is to recalculate the tax liability when adding $1 to earnings. This will take into account ...
-1
votes
1answer
808 views
Marginal rate of substitution(yx) question
For utility function U= ln(x)+Y
How do I determine if MRS(yx) is diminishing or not for this question?
I got Mu(x)=1/x and Mu(y)= 1
MRS(yx)=Mu(y)/Mu(x)= 1/1/x = x
Does this mean that MRS(yx) is ...
2
votes
2answers
2k views
When can I say that a utility function has constant marginal utility?
Does this utility function have increasing/decreasing or constant marginal utility?
$ U(x,y) = x^2 y^2 $
Now, $ f_x = 2xy^2 $, $ f_{xx} = 2y^2 $, $ f_y = 2yx^2 $, $f_{yy} = 2x^2 $
$ f_{xx} $ has no ...
1
vote
1answer
5k views
How to calculate marginal utility with two goods?
I'm just getting started as an amateur into microeconomics and I really can't understand this thing about marginal utility when more than one good is involved:
Let's say I have the utility function U ...
3
votes
0answers
3k views
Derive the cost function and supply function from production function
I didn't study economics, but am quite interested in the topic. I came to the question whether I could derive the supply curve / marginal cost function from the production function and I actually ...
1
vote
0answers
157 views
Vertical Marginal Cost curves
When would a marginal cost curve be vertical? I understand this happens when the marginal cost jumps, from say 0 to 100, but in such a case, I think there should be a discontinuity rather than a ...
2
votes
1answer
3k views
Supply curve when the marginal cost is zero
The supply curve is built as the average marginal cost (MC), when the MC is equal or higher than the average cost (AC)
The marginal cost increases, as a result of the opposite effect of marginal ...
4
votes
1answer
202 views
Can marginal revenue be increasing?
As per my calculations, the derivative of the MR curve is given by:
$MR'(q)=2p'(q)+qp''(q)$, where $p(q)$ is the inverse demand curve. Therefore,for a downward sloping demand curve, if the second ...
3
votes
0answers
122 views
How should I calculate bulk selling price for a small business?
Some friends of mine run a small business, in a small garage-like space, with a few employees, making and selling "plumbuses". The typical customer orders about 5 plumbuses at a time. When I heard ...
