Each scenario below illustrates a basic underlying principle of economics of how economies work through the interactions of individual choices. label each scenario accordingly.
* ( ) the owner of a snow cone trailer realizes that the demand for snow cones is low during the winter, and thus, closes shop until the temperature warms back up near summertime.
* ( ) the local river has so much pollution that three-eyed fish are forming. the government responds by regulating the amount of chemicals that can be dumped into the river.
* ( ) at a high end restaurant, the restaurant owner has one chef at a meat station, one chef at a vegetable station and one chef, who has an artistic eye, plate the food they are given. the result is increased speed, as more customers get serviced during an evening.
* ( ) during the summer, a bumper crop of oranges in florida causes a surplus in the supply of oranges nationwide. as a result, prices fall to compensate for the surplus and civilians enjoy the fruits of the farmers labor.
(governmment intervention ) (market efficiency) (specialization ) (equilibrium)

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.

Blue computers, a major pc manufacturer in the united states, currently has plants in kentucky and pennsylvania. the kentucky plant has a capacity of 1 million units a year and the pennsylvania plant has a capacity of 1.5 million units a year. the firm divides the united states into five markets: northeast, southeast, midwest, south, and west. each pc sells for $1,000. the firm anticipates a 50 perc~nt growth in demand (in each region) this year (after which demand will stabilize) and wants to build a plant with a capacity of 1.5 million units per year to accommodate the growth. potential sites being considered are in north carolina and california. currently the firm pays federal, state, and local taxes on the income from each plant. federal taxes are 20 percent of income, and all state and local taxes are 7 percent of income in each state. north carolina has offered to reduce taxes for the next 10 years from 7 percent to 2 percent. blue computers would like to take the tax break into consideration when planning its network. consider income over the next 10 years in your analysis. assume that all costs remain unchanged over the 10 years. use a discount factor of 0.1 for your analysis. annual fixed costs, production and shipping costs per unit, and current regional demand (before the 50 percent growth) are shown in table 5-13. (a) if blue computers sets an objective of minimizing total fixed and variable costs, where should they build the new plant? how should the network be structured? (b) if blue computers sets an objective of maximizing after-tax profits, where should they build the new plant? how should the network be structured? variable production and shipping cost ($/unit) annual fixed cost northeast southeast midwest south west (million$) kentucky 185 180 175 175 200 150 pennsylvania 170 190 180 200 220 200 n. carolina 180 180 185 185 215 150 california 220 220 195 195 175 150 demand ('000 units/month) 700 400 400 300 600

Which of the following results in an increase in the standard of living? a. an increase in unemployment pushes down the cost of production. b. wages go up to correct for the inflation of prices. c. income increases, enabling consumers to buy more goods and services. d. rising production costs drive up the price of goods and services.