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Production Possibilities and Price Effects
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How does the concept of diminishing returns affect producer surplus in a competitive market?

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Choose the Best Answer

A

It increases producer surplus by allowing more efficient production.

B

It decreases producer surplus as increasing input leads to lower additional output.

C

It has no effect on producer surplus as prices remain constant.

D

It only affects producer surplus in monopolistic markets.

Understanding the Answer

Let's break down why this is correct

Answer

Diminishing returns happen when adding more of one resource, like labor, leads to smaller increases in output. In a competitive market, as producers try to make more products, they may find that each additional worker produces less than the last one. This can affect producer surplus, which is the difference between what producers are willing to accept for a good and what they actually receive. For example, if a farmer hires more workers to increase crop yield, but each new worker contributes less to the harvest, the farmer might not be able to sell the extra crops for much more money. As a result, the overall producer surplus can decrease because the costs of production rise without a proportional increase in revenue.

Detailed Explanation

Diminishing returns means that adding more resources leads to smaller increases in output. Other options are incorrect because Some might think that more efficient production always increases surplus; It's a common mistake to think prices don't change with output.

Key Concepts

Producer surplus
Diminishing returns
Topic

Production Possibilities and Price Effects

Difficulty

medium level question

Cognitive Level

understand

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