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1.You are a fleet manager for a metro-area company. You\'ve recently discovered

ID: 1110171 • Letter: 1

Question

1.You are a fleet manager for a metro-area company. You've recently discovered that ten of your company's vehicles require repairs which will cost an estimated $2,000 each. In considering whether to repair or replace your vehicles, your college roommate suddenly calls one day. After relaying your predicament, your roommate tells you that you need to consider all of the past repairs that those vehicles have cost the company, and pushes you to lean in favor of repair rather than replace. How would you assess your roommate's advice?

Select one:

a. The existence of past repairs is a sunk cost that does not affect the current cost-benefit decision, and so the cost of past repairs is irrelevant to your present decision whether to repair or replace.

b. Whenever the value of the repair exceeds the replacement cost, it is preferable to disinvest from the asset entirely. The appropriate choice is to neither repair nor replace, but to sell the vehicles as-is.

c. Past repairs represent an investment in an asset; your roommate is correct that recouping the value of the investment necessitates keeping the vehicles and repairing them, rather than replacing them.

d. Past repairs increase the current value of the vehicle, and so the cost of those past repairs should be considered a benefit that may partially or completely offset the cost of the repairs that are now required.

You have collected the following data on output and total variable costs:

Q TVC($)

1 60

2 107

3 145

4 178

5 213

6 253

7 304

8 370

9 455

10 566

2. Over what range of output does this firm exhibit increasing returns (increasing MP), and diminishing returns (decreasing MP)?

Select one:

a. Increasing returns for output levels at 6 and lower, and decreasing returns for output levels at 7 and higher.

b. Increasing returns for output levels at 4 and lower, and decreasing returns for output levels at 5 and higher.

c. Marginal costs are less than fixed costs up to Q = 8, so increasing returns is experienced until Q =8 and then decreasing returns from Q = 9 and higher.

d. Increasing returns for output levels at 6 and higher, and decreasing returns for output levels at 5

3.Current fixed costs for the company equal $75. Draw two graphs, both with Qon the horizontal axis: one graph shows TVCand TC, and the other shows AVC, AC, and MC. Suppose that the government imposes a $15 property tax hike on all businesses; how will that affect your two graphs; i.e., which cost curves will be affected and how?Select one:

a. TC and AC will both shift up by $15Q (i.e., $15 divided by Q).

b. The property tax will shift up TC by $15 and ACby $15Q (i.e., $15 divided by Q). c. TC will shift up by $15 while AC and MC will shift down by $15Q (i.e., $15 divided by Q). d.MC will shift up by the amount of the tax (i.e., by $15) 4.Suppose instead that the government considers your production process to be polluting, and imposes a $4 tax per unit produced. How does this tax increase compare to the property tax increase, in terms of the effect on your company’s cost curves?Select one: a. The per-unit tax will affect fixed costs, so it will shift up TCand AC, but not the TVC, AVC, or MC curves. b. Since the per-unit tax reduces profitability, it will shift all of the curves downward by $4×Q(i.e., $4 times Q).

c. The per-unit tax will only affect and shift up the marginal and average cost curves; the others will remain where they are.

d. A per-unit tax will shift up all the curves (TC, TVC, AVC, AC, and MC)

5. Your boss says “either of these taxes is going to force us to change our production levels.” Given what you know about optimization analysis, how would you respond?

Select one:

a. Since neither tax is a true "cost" of production (they are unlike paying salaries or buying raw materials), then it is impossible to say whether the optimal Qis affected.

b. Since both taxes alter the cost curves (in different ways), they both necessarily alter the optimal Q for the company.

c. Optimization depends partly on marginal cost but also on marginal benefit. The property tax does not affect MCbut does affect MB, so it could change the optimal Q. The per-unit tax affects MC and MB equally, so it would not change the optimal Q.

d. Optimization depends partly on marginal cost, which is not affected by the property tax, though it is by the per-unit tax. The property tax won't change the optimal Q but the per-unit tax may change the optimal Q

Explanation / Answer

Reason when repair cost is higher than replace cost than it would cost to company and company would not invest In repairing the vehicles, so and also replace will increase the dead stock of old vehicle where management has to pay the carrying cost so it would be better to sell the vehicles in the same condition.

Data related question and answer

uantity

fixed cost

TVC

TC

AVC

AC

MC

1

75

60

135

60

135

-

2

75

107

182

53.5

91

47

increasing MP up to 4 units

3

75

145

220

48.33333

73.33333

38

4

75

178

253

44.5

63.25

33

5

75

213

288

42.6

57.6

35

decreasing MP from 5 to 10 th units

6

75

253

328

42.16667

54.66667

40

7

75

304

379

43.42857

54.14286

51

8

75

370

445

46.25

55.625

66

9

75

455

530

50.55556

58.88889

85

10

75

566

641

56.6

64.1

111

2. b. Increasing returns for output levels at 4 and lower and decreasing returns for output levels at 5 and higher.

3) (B). The property tax will shift up TC by $15 and AC by $15Q (i.e., $15 divided by Q).

Reason property tax is considered as fixed cost as only tc and ac will be affected.

4) d. A per-unit tax will shift up all the curves (TC, TVC, AVC, AC, and MC)

Reason per unit tax affect the marginal cost, that would include in total variable cost , and affect the average variable cost, average cost and Total cost. .

5) ( C ) Optimization depends partly on marginal cost, which is not affected by the property tax, though it is by the per-unit tax. The property tax won't change the optimal Q but the per-unit tax may change the optimal Q

Reason property tax being a fixed expenses does not affect MC but affect the profitability and per unit tax affect marginal cost at most so it would change optimal Q

uantity

fixed cost

TVC

TC

AVC

AC

MC

1

75

60

135

60

135

-

2

75

107

182

53.5

91

47

increasing MP up to 4 units

3

75

145

220

48.33333

73.33333

38

4

75

178

253

44.5

63.25

33

5

75

213

288

42.6

57.6

35

decreasing MP from 5 to 10 th units

6

75

253

328

42.16667

54.66667

40

7

75

304

379

43.42857

54.14286

51

8

75

370

445

46.25

55.625

66

9

75

455

530

50.55556

58.88889

85

10

75

566

641

56.6

64.1

111