Suppose the price of Good X is $4 and the price of Good Y is $3. If a consumer has a Marginal Rate of Substitution (MRSxy) of 1 for the bundle they are considering, then given their budget constraint, the consumer a. Cannot reach a higher level of utility given their budget constraint.
b. Would have a higher utility if they bought more of Good X.
c. Would have a higher utility if they bought less of Good X

Ajustification for job training programs is that they improve worker productivity. suppose that you are asked to evaluate whether more job training makes workers more productive. however, rather than having data on individual workers, you have access to data on manufacturing firms in ohio. in particu- lar, for each firm, you have information on hours of job training per worker (training) and number of nondefective items produced per worker hour (output). (i) carefully state the ceteris paribus thought experiment underlying this policy question. (ii) does it seem likely that a firm’s decision to train its workers will be independent of worker characteristics? what are some of those measurable and unmeasurable worker characteristics? (iii) name a factor other than worker characteristics that can affect worker productivity. (iv) if you find a positive correlation between output and training, would you have convincingly established that job training makes workers more productive? explain.

The production manager of rordan corporation has submitted the following quarterly production forecast for the upcoming fiscal year: 1st quarter 2nd quarter 3rd quarter 4th quarter units to be produced 10,800 8,500 7,100 11,200 each unit requires 0.25 direct labor-hours, and direct laborers are paid $20.00 per hour. required: 1. prepare the company’s direct labor budget for the upcoming fiscal year. assume that the direct labor workforce is adjusted each quarter to match the number of hours required to produce the forecasted number of units produced. 2. prepare the company’s direct labor budget for the upcoming fiscal year, assuming that the direct labor workforce is not adjusted each quarter. instead, assume that the company’s direct labor workforce consists of permanent employees who are guaranteed to be paid for at least 2,500 hours of work each quarter. if the number of required direct labor-hours is less than this number, the workers are paid for 2,500 hours anyway. any hours worked in excess of 2,500 hours in a quarter are paid at the rate of 1.5 times the normal hourly rate for direct labor.

Exercise 18-15 sheffield appliance center is an experienced home appliance dealer. sheffield appliance center also offers a number of services for the home appliances that it sells. assume that sheffield appliance center sells ovens on a standalone basis. sheffield appliance center also sells installation services and maintenance services for ovens. however, sheffield appliance center does not offer installation or maintenance services to customers who buy ovens from other vendors. pricing for ovens is as follows. oven only $790 oven with installation service 850 oven with maintenance services 970 oven with installation and maintenance services 990 in each instance in which maintenance services are provided, the maintenance service is separately priced within the arrangement at $180. additionally, the incremental amount charged by sheffield appliance center for installation approximates the amount charged by independent third parties. ovens are sold subject to a general right of return. if a customer purchases an oven with installation and/or maintenance services, in the event sheffield appliance center does not complete the service satisfactorily, the customer is only entitled to a refund of the portion of the fee that exceeds $790. assume that a customer purchases an oven with both installation and maintenance services for $990. (b) indicate the amount of revenue that should be allocated to the oven, the installation, and to the maintenance contract.