The market price of pizzas in a college town decreased recently, and the students in an economics class are debating the cause of the price decrease. some students suggest that the price decreased because a new type of pizza oven allows pizza shops to create a pizza in half the time. other students attribute the decrease in the price of pizzas to a recent increase in the price of beer. everyone agrees that the increase in the price of beer was caused by a recent increase in the price of grain, which is not generally used in making pizzas.

Uppose stanley's office supply purchases 50,000 boxes of pens every year. ordering costs are $100 per order and carrying costs are $0.40 per box. moreover, management has determined that the eoq is 5,000 boxes. the vendor now offers a quantity discount of $0.20 per box if the company buys pens in order sizes of 10,000 boxes. determine the before-tax benefit or loss of accepting the quantity discount. (assume the carrying cost remains at $0.40 per box whether or not the discount is taken.)

The treasurer for pittsburgh iron works wishes to use financial futures to hedge her interest rate exposure. she will sell five treasury futures contracts at $139,000 per contract. it is july and the contracts must be closed out in december of this year. long-term interest rates are currently 7.30 percent. if they increase to 9.50 percent, assume the value of the contracts will go down by 20 percent. also if interest rates do increase by 2.2 percent, assume the firm will have additional interest expense on its business loans and other commitments of $149,000. this expense, of course, will be separate from the futures contracts. a. what will be the profit or loss on the futures contract if interest rates increase to 9.50 percent by december when the contract is closed out

Suppose the marginal damage and marginal benefit curves in a polluted neighborhood are md = p/3 and mb = 4 – p. also, suppose that transactions costs are low, so that the consumers and the firm can bargain. we saw that in this case, the socially-optimal level of pollution is achieved. start by computing the socially-optimal p. then, for each of the following cases, compute the amount of money transferred through the bargaining process, and indicate who pays whom (i.e., whether consumers pay the firm, or vice versa). also, compute the gains to each party relative to the status quo (i.e., the starting point of the bargaining process).a)consumers have the right to clean air; firm is dominant in the bargaining process.b)consumers have the right to clean air; consumers are dominant in the bargaining process.c)firm has the right to pollute; firm is dominant in the bargaining process.d)firm has the right to pollute; consumers are dominant in the bargaining proces