Oceanic Pacific decided to conduct a series of experiments to determine the amount of tuna that could be caught with different crew sizes. The results of these experiments follow:

Number of Fisherman Daily Tuna Catch (lb)
0
50
110
300
450
590
665
700
725
710

a. determine the point at which diminishing returns occurs.

b. indicate the points that delineate the 3 stages of production.

c. suppose the market price of tuna is $3.50/pound. How many fishermen should the company use if the daily wage rate is $100?

d. suppose a glut in the market for tuna causes the price to fall to $2.75/pound. What effect would this have on the number of fishermen used per boat? Suppose the price rose to $5.00/pound? What effect would this have on its hiring decision?

e. suppose the firm realizes that to keep up with the demand for tuna caught by the more humane pole-and-line method of fishing, each of its boats must catch at least 1,000 pounds of fish per day. Given the preceding data, what should it consider doing? Explain.

A firm has the following short-run production function:
Q = 50L + 6LÐ? - 0.5LÑ?
Where Q = quantity of output per week
L = labor (number of workers)

a. when does the law of diminishing returns take effect?

b. calculate the range of values for labor over which stages I, II, and III occur.

c. assume each worker is paid $10 per hour and works a 40-hour week. How many workers should the firm hire if the price of the output is $10? Suppose the price of the output falls to $7.50. Illustrate what do you think would be the short-run impact on the firmâ??s production? The long-run impact?