Problem 1. Interferences such as rent controls and farm price supports reduce the efficiency of markets. In terms of the balance of Qd and Qs, how/why do they do this? Draw a supply & demand graph (or graphs) to illustrate your answer.
Problem 2. What is consumers surplus? Why does it exist? Why is consumers surplus at a maximum when the consumer purchases the quantity of a good at which P = MU.
Problem 3. Describe carefully what "input substitution" means in terms of different possible combinations of inputs capable of producing a given quantity of output. How does the rule MPPa/PRICEa = MPPb/PRICEb serve to guide a producer to the "correct" input combination?
Problem 4. In terms of the relationship between price and marginal revenue, what does it mean to say that the perfectly competitive firm is a "price taker"? Why is the profit-maximizing "price taking" perfectly competitive firm the ideal or standard of economic efficiency?