QUESTION 1.
After 35 years working as a practicing economist, you decide to retire. To stay somewhat productive during retirement, you agree to teach an economics course at the University of Freedmania. Remarkably, Freemania continues to produce and consume only two goods: tequila and medicine.
To produce one bottle of tequila per day, one worker and one machine must be used. That is, there is no substitutability between inputs. But, to produce one bottle of medicine per day, there is perfect substitutability between inputs. That is, there are three ways to produce a bottle of medicine:
1. One worker and one machine
2. Two workers and no machines
3. Two machines and no workers
All markets in Freedmania are perfectly competitive. Furthermore, all workers and all machines are capable of working in either industry. Workers and machines are both paid $10 per bottle produced.
Regardless of price, Freedmania always consumes 10 bottles of tequila per day. But, regardless of how many bottles of medicine Freedmanian consumes, marginal value (marginal benefit) is always $20 per bottle. (Assume initially that Freedmania consumes 10 bottles of medicine per day.)
Task 1: You decide that for your first lecture you will explain to your students what the shape of the isoquant and isocost curve looks like in each industry. For each industry provide a graph. Place machines on the vertical axis and labor on the horizontal axis. Label how many machines and workers are employed in each industry (For tequila this is straight forward, but for medicine there are different ways to produce. Pick one).
QUESTION 2.
Task 2: Students fascinated with your explanation and eager to learn more, ask about the shape of the demand and supply curve in each industry. Provide a demand and supply graph for each industry to explain. Label equilibrium price and quantity.
QUESTION 3.
The semester progresses smoothly. You are preparing a lecture on the impact of a per unit tax on efficiency and on consumer and producer surplus.
Task 4: Discuss using a supply and demand graph.
QUESTION 4.
Freedmania is a small society that produces and consumes just two goods: tequila and medicine. The price of tequila and medicine are both $1 per unit, but the marginal utility of medicine is less than the marginal utility of tequila. All consumers have identical Cobb-Douglass preferences.
Task 1:Your job is to explain how equilibrium is achieved. Provide a graph with your explanation. Place medicine on the horizontal axis and tequila on the vertical axis. Clearly label the budget line and the indifference curves before and after equilibrium.