Escrito por estudiantes que aprobaron Inmediatamente disponible después del pago Leer en línea o como PDF ¿Documento equivocado? Cámbialo gratis 4,6 TrustPilot
logo-home
Document preview thumbnail
Vista previa 4 fuera de 466 páginas
Examen

Solution Manual for Microeconomics 6th Edition by Besanko & Braeutigam – Complete Answers & Explanations

Document preview thumbnail
Vista previa 4 fuera de 466 páginas

Download the full solution manual for Microeconomics, 6th Edition by David Besanko and Ronald Braeutigam. Contains step-by-step answers to textbook problems, ideal for study, homework help, and exam preparation. Covers key microeconomic concepts, practice exercises, and detailed explanations.

Vista previa del contenido

Besankoj&jBraeutigamj–jMicroeconomics,j5thjedition SolutionsjManual



Chapter 1 j


Analyzing Economic Problems
j j




SolutionsjtojReviewjQuestions
1. Whatjisjthejdifferencejbetweenjmicroeconomicsjandjmacroeconomics?

Microeconomicsjstudiesjthejeconomicjbehaviorjofjindividualjeconomicjdecisionjmakers,jsuchjasjajc
onsumer,jajworker,jajfirm,jorjajmanager.j Macroeconomicsjstudiesjhowjanjentirejnationaljeconomyj
performs,jexaminingjsuchjtopicsjasjthejaggregatejlevelsjofjincomejandjemployment,jthejlevelsjofjin
terestjratesjandjprices,jthejratejofjinflation,jandjthejnaturejofjbusinessjcycles.

2. Whyjisjeconomicsjoftenjdescribedjasjthejsciencejofjconstrainedjchoice?

Whilejourjwantsjforjgoodsjandjservicesjarejunlimited,jthejresourcesjnecessaryjtojproducejthosejgoo
dsjandjservices,jsuchjasjlabor,jmanagerialjtalent,jcapital,jandjrawjmaterials,jarej“scarce”jbecausejth
eirjsupplyjisjlimited.j Thisjscarcityjimpliesjthatjwejarejconstrainedjinjthejchoicesjwejcanjmakejaboutj
whichjgoodsjandjservicesjtojproduce.j Thus,jeconomicsjisjoftenjdescribedjasjthejsciencejofjconstrain
edjchoice.

3. Howjdoesjthejtooljofjconstrainedjoptimizationjhelpjdecisionjmakersjmakejchoices?j
Whatjrolesjdojthejobjectivejfunctionjandjconstraintsjplayjinjajmodeljofjconstrainedjoptimiz
ation?

Constrainedjoptimizationjallowsjthejdecisionjmakerjtojselectjthejbestj(optimal)jalternativejwhilejac
countingjforjanyjpossiblejlimitationsjorjrestrictionsjonjthejchoices.j Thejobjectivejfunctionjrepresen
tsjthejrelationshipjtojbejmaximizedjorjminimized.j Forjexample,jajfirm’sjprofitjmightjbejthejobjectiv
ejfunctionjandjalljchoicesjwilljbejevaluatedjinjthejprofitjfunctionjtojdeterminejwhichjyieldsjthejhighe
stjprofit.j Thejconstraintsjplacejlimitationsjonjthejchoicejthejdecisionjmakerjcanjselectjandjdefinesjth
ejsetjofjalternativesjfromjwhichjthejbestjwilljbejchosen.

4. Supposejthejmarketjforjwheatjisjcompetitive,jwithjanjupward-
slopingjsupplyjcurve,jajdownward-
slopingjdemandjcurve,jandjanjequilibriumjpricejofj$4.00jperjbushel.jWhyjwouldjajhigherjpr
icej(e.g.,j$5.00jperjbushel)jnotjbejanjequilibriumjprice?jWhyjwouldjajlowerjpricej(e.g.,j$2.50j
perjbushel)jnotjbejanjequilibriumjprice?

Ifjthejpricejinjthejmarketjwasjabovejthejequilibriumjprice,jconsumersjwouldjbejwillingjtojpurchasejf
ewerjunitsjthanjsuppliersjwouldjbejwillingjtojsell,jcreatingjanjexcessjsupply.j Asjsuppliersjrealizejth
eyjarejnotjsellingjthejunitsjtheyjhavejmadejavailable,jsellersjwilljbidjdownjthe

Copyrightj©j2014jJohnjWileyj&jSons,jInc. Chapterj1j-j1

,Besankoj&jBraeutigamj–jMicroeconomics,j5thjedition SolutionsjManual


pricejtojenticejmorejconsumersjtojpurchasejtheirjgoodsjorjservices.j Byjdefinition,jequilibriumjisjajst
atejthatjwilljremainjunchangedjasjlongjasjexogenousjfactorsjremainjunchanged.j Sincejinjthisjcasejs
uppliersjwilljlowerjtheirjprice,jthisjhighjpricejcannotjbejanjequilibrium.

Whenjthejpricejisjbelowjthejequilibriumjprice,jconsumersjwilljdemandjmorejunitsjthanjsuppliersjha
vejmadejavailable.j Thisjexcessjdemandjwilljenticejconsumersjtojbidjupjthejpricesjtojpurchasejthejli
mitedjunitsjavailable.j Sincejthejpricejwilljchange,jitjcannotjbejanjequilibrium.

5. Whatjisjthejdifferencejbetweenjanjexogenousjvariablejandjanjendogenousjvariableji
njanjeconomicjmodel?jWouldjitjeverjbejusefuljtojconstructjajmodeljthatjcontainedjonlyjexo
genousjvariablesj(andjnojendogenousjvariables)?

Exogenousjvariablesjarejtakenjasjgivenjinjanjeconomicjmodel,ji.e.,jtheyjarejdeterminedjbyjsomejpro
cessjoutsidejthejmodel,jwhilejendogenousjvariablesjarejdeterminedjwithinjthejeconomicjmodeljbein
gjstudied.
Anjeconomicjmodeljthatjcontainedjnojendogenousjvariablesjwouldjnotjbejveryjinteresting.j Withjnoj
endogenousjvariables,jnothingjwouldjbejdeterminedjbyjthejmodeljsojitjwouldjnotjservejmuchjpurpo
se.

6. Whyjdojeconomistsjdojcomparativejstaticsjanalysis?jWhatjrolejdojendogenousjv
ariablesjandjexogenousjvariablesjplayjinjcomparativejstaticsjanalysis?

Comparativejstaticsjanalysesjarejperformedjtojdeterminejhowjthejlevelsjofjendogenousjvariablesjch
angejasjsomejexogenousjvariablejisjchanged.j Thisjtypejofjanalysisjisjveryjimportantjsincejinjthejrea
ljworldjthejexogenousjvariables,jsuchjasjweather,jpolicyjtools,jetc.jarejalwaysjchangingjandjitjisjuse
fuljtojknowjhowjchangesjinjthesejvariablesjaffectjthejlevelsjofjother,jendogenous,jvariables.j Anjexa
mplejofjcomparativejstaticsjanalysisjwouldjbejaskingjthejquestion:jIfjextraordinarilyjlowjrainfallj(a
njexogenousjvariable)jcausesjaj30jpercentjreductionjinjcornjsupply,jbyjhowjmuchjwilljthejmarketjpri
cejforjcornj(anjendogenousjvariable)jincrease?

7. Whatjisjthejdifferencejbetweenjpositivejandjnormativejanalysis?jWhichjofjthejf
ollowingjquestionsjwouldjentailjpositivejanalysis,jandjwhichjnormativejanalysis?
a) WhatjeffectjwilljInternetjauctionjcompaniesjhavejonjthejprofitsjofjlocaljautomobilejd
ealerships?
b) ShouldjthejgovernmentjimposejspecialjtaxesjonjsalesjofjmerchandisejmadejoverjthejI
nternet?

Positivejanalysisjattemptsjtojexplainjhowjanjeconomicjsystemjworksjorjtojpredictjhowjitjwilljchang
ejoverjtimejbyjaskingjexplanatoryjorjpredictivejquestions.j Normativejanalysisjfocusesjonjwhatjshou
ldjbejdonejbyjaskingjprescriptivejquestions.



Copyrightj©j2014jJohnjWileyj&jSons,jInc. Chapterj1j-j2

,Besankoj&jBraeutigamj–jMicroeconomics,j5thjedition SolutionsjManual


a) Becausejthisjquestionjasksjwhetherjdealershipjprofitsjwilljgojupjorjdownj(andjbyjho
wjmuch)j–jbutjrefrainsjfromjinquiringjasjtojwhetherjthisjwouldjbejajgoodjthingj–
jitjisjanjexamplejofjpositivejanalysis.

b) Onjthejotherjhand,jthisjquestionjasksjwhetherjitjisjdesirablejtojimposejtaxesjonjInt
ernetjsales,jsojitjisjnormativejanalysis.j Notably,jthisjquestionjdoesjnotjaskjwhatjt
hejeffectjofjsuchjtaxesjwouldjbe.




SolutionsjtojProblems

1.1 Discussjthejfollowingjstatement:j“Sincejsupplyjandjdemandjcurvesjarejalwaysjs
hifting,jmarketsjneverjactuallyjreachjanjequilibrium.jTherefore,jthejconceptjofjequili
briumjisjuseless.”

Whilejthejclaimjthatjmarketsjneverjreachjanjequilibriumjisjprobablyjdebatable,jevenjifjmarketsjdojn
otjeverjreachjequilibrium,jthejconceptjisjstilljofjcentraljimportance.j Thejconceptjofjequilibriumjisji
mportantjbecausejitjprovidesjajsimplejwayjtojpredictjhowjmarketjpricesjandjquantitiesjwilljchangeja
sjexogenousjvariablesjchange.j Thus,jwhilejwejmayjneverjreachjajparticularjequilibriumjprice,jsayjb
ecausejajsupplyjorjdemandjschedulejshiftsjasjthejmarketjmovesjtowardjequilibrium,jwejcanjpredictj
withjrelativejease,jforjexample,jwhetherjpricesjwilljbejrisingjorjfallingjwhenjexogenousjmarketjfact
orsjchangejasjwejmovejtowardjequilibrium.j Asjexogenousjvariablesjcontinuejtojchange,jwejcanjco
ntinuejtojpredictjthejdirectionjofjchangejforjthejendogenousjvariables,jandjthisjisjnotj“useless.”

1.2 Injanjarticlejentitled,j“CornjPricesjSurgejonjExportjDemand,jCropjData,”jThejWalljS
treetjJournaljidentifiedjseveraljexogenousjshocksjthatjpushedjU.S.jcornjpricesjsharplyjhigher
.(SeejthejarticlejbyjAaronjLucchetti,jAugustj22,j1997,jp.jC17.jonjnationaljincome.)jSupposejthejU.S.jmarketjf
orjcornjisjcompetitive,jwithjanjupward-slopingjsupplyjcurvejandjajdownward-
jslopingjdemandjcurve.jForjeachjofjthejfollowingjscenarios,jillustratejgraphicallyjhowjthejex

ogenousjeventjdescribedjwilljcontributejtojajhigherjpricejofjcornjinjthejU.S.jmarket.
a) ThejU.S.jDepartmentjofjAgriculturejannouncesjthatjexportsjofjcornjtojTaiwanjandjJ
apanjwerej“surprisinglyjbullish,”jaroundj30jpercentjhigherjthanjhadjbeenjexpected.
b) SomejanalystsjprojectjthatjthejsizejofjthejU.S.jcornjcropjwilljhitjajsix-
yearjlowjbecausejofjdryjweather.
c) ThejstrengtheningjofjEljNiño,jthejmeteorologicaljtrendjthatjbringsjwarmerjweatherjtojt
hejwesternjcoastjofjSouthjAmerica,jreducesjcornjproductionjoutsidejthejUnitedjStates,jthe
rebyjincreasingjforeignjcountries’jdependencejonjthejU.S.jcornjcrop.




Copyrightj©j2014jJohnjWileyj&jSons,jInc. Chapterj1j-j3

, Besankoj&jBraeutigamj–jMicroeconomics,j5thjedition SolutionsjManual


a) Surprisinglyjhighjexportjsalesjmeanjthatjthejdemandjforjcornjwasjhigherjthanjex
pected,jatjD2j ratherjthanjD1.


P
S

P2

j P
1


D2
D1



Q

b) Dryjweatherjwouldjreducejthejsupplyjofjcorn,jtojS2j ratherjthanjS1.


S2

P
S1
P2

P1



D


Q

c) AssumingjthejU.S.jdoesjnotjimportjcorn,jreducedjproductionjoutsidejthejU.S.jwou
ldjnotjimpactjU.S.jcornjmarketjsupply.j EljNinojwould,jhowever,jcausejdemandjfo
rjU.S.jcornjtojshiftjout,jthejfigurejbeingjthejsamejasjinjpartj(a)jabove.

1.3 Injearlyj2008,jthejpricejofjoiljonjthejworldjmarketjincreased,jhittingjajpeakjofjabout
$140jperjbarreljinjJuly,j2008.jInjthejsecondjhalfjofj2008,jthejpricejofjoiljdeclined,jendingjthejy
earjatjjustjoverj$40jperjbarrel.jSupposejthatjthejglobaljmarketjforjoiljcanjbejdescribedjbyjanj
upward-slopingjsupplyjcurvejandjajdownward-
slopingjdemandjcurve.jForjeachjofjthejfollowingjscenarios,jillustratejgraphicallyjhowjthejexo
genousjeventjcontributedjtojajrisejorjajdeclinejinjthejpricejofjoiljinj2008:
Copyrightj©j2014jJohnjWileyj&jSons,jInc. Chapterj1j-j4

Libro relacionado
 image
Editorial: 2009 ISBN: 9780321641243 Edición: Desconocido

Información del documento

Subido en
10 de febrero de 2026
Número de páginas
466
Escrito en
2025/2026
Tipo
Examen
Contiene
Preguntas y respuestas
$21.49

¿Documento equivocado? Cámbialo gratis Dentro de los 14 días posteriores a la compra y antes de descargarlo, puedes elegir otro documento. Puedes gastar el importe de nuevo.
Escrito por estudiantes que aprobaron
Inmediatamente disponible después del pago
Leer en línea o como PDF

Vendido
2
Seguidores
0
Artículos
453
Última venta
1 día hace



Por qué los estudiantes eligen Stuvia

Creado por compañeros estudiantes, verificado por reseñas

Calidad en la que puedes confiar: escrito por estudiantes que aprobaron y evaluado por otros que han usado estos resúmenes.

¿No estás satisfecho? Elige otro documento

¡No te preocupes! Puedes elegir directamente otro documento que se ajuste mejor a lo que buscas.

Paga como quieras, empieza a estudiar al instante

Sin suscripción, sin compromisos. Paga como estés acostumbrado con tarjeta de crédito y descarga tu documento PDF inmediatamente.

Student with book image

“Comprado, descargado y aprobado. Así de fácil puede ser.”

Alisha Student

Preguntas frecuentes