Howard Bowen is a large-scale cotton farmer. The land and machinery he owns has a current market value of $4M. Bowen owes his local bank $3M. Last year Bowen sold $5M worth of cotton. His variable operating costs were $4.5M; accounting depreciation was $40,000, although the actual decline in value of Bowen's machinery was $60,000 last year. Bowen paid himself a salary of $50,000, which is not considered part of his variable operating costs. Interest on his bank loan was $400,000. If Bowen worked for another farmer or a local manufacturer, his annual income would be about $30,000. Bowen can invest any funds that would be derived, if the farm were sold to earn 10% annually.
a. Compare Bowen's accounting profits.
b. Compare Bowen's economic profits.