An article in BusinessWeek warned of the dangers of deflation as the collapse of numerous Asian economies was creating worries that Asia might try to "export its way out of trouble" by oversupplying everything from automobiles to semiconductors. Evidence that deflation had become a genuine concern for managers was provided by a statement in the article by John Smith, chairman and CEO of General Motors Corporation: "Fundamentally, something has changed in the economy. In today's age, you can get price increases." The article offers the follow advice to managers: "Productivity growth lets companies boost profits even as prices fall." Using short-run production and cost theory, comment on this advice.

An airline transportation consultant offers the CEO of BlueStar, a struggling commercial airline company, the following advice concerning the airline's high operating costs in the current quarter: "You don't have enough aircraft to operate efficiently. However, at some point in the long run, you will have the opportunity to add aircraft to your fleet in order to reduce your total costs and still carry the same passenger load." Does this advice make any sense? In the long run, how can BlueStar's total costs fall by adding more aircraft to its fleet? Must BlueStar experience economies of scale for the consultant's advice to be correct?