Read the case on Pricing and Production Decisions at PoolVac. Inc and answer the questions given below the case. Use the appropriate techniques given in the text book on Pricing and Production Decision and then make your judgments based on the  results. Also refer to the chapter on estimation of demand and elasticity to determine the effect of price elasticity on demand. Show the results, calculations and your comments clearly in a legible manner or in typing. Annex the excel data sheets for reference.

CONSULTING PROJECT

Pricing and Production Decisions at PoolVac, Inc.

PoolVac, Inc. manufactures and sells a single product called the "Sting Ray," which is a patent-protected automatic cleaning device for swimming pools. PoolVac's Sting Ray accounts for 65 percent of total industry sales of automatic pool cleaners. Its closest competitor, Howard Industries, sells a competing pool cleaner that has captured about 18 percent of the market. Six other very small firms share the rest of the industry's sales. Using the last 26 months of production and cost data, PoolVac wishes to estimate its unit variable costs using the following quadratic specification:

AVC=a+bQ+cQ²

The monthly data on average variable cost (AVC), and the quantity of Sting Rays produced and sold each month (Q) are presented in the table below.

PoolVac also wishes to use its sales data for the last 26 months to estimate demand for its Sting Ray. Demand for Sting Rays is specified to be a linear function of its price (P), average income for households in the U.S. that have swimming pools (M_avg), and the price of the competing pool cleaner sold by Howard Industries (P_H):

Q_d = d + eP + fMavg + gP_H

The table below presents the last 26 months of data on the price charged for a Sting Ray (P), average income of households with pools (MAVG), and the price Howard Industries charged for its pool cleaner

PoolVac, Inc. incurs total fixed costs of $45,000 per month.

1. a. Run the appropriate regression to estimate the average variable cost function (AVC) for Sting Rays. Evaluate the statistical significance of the three estimated parameters using a significance level of 5 percent. Be sure to comment on the algebraic signs of the three parameter estimates.

b. Using the regression results from part 1 a, write the estimated total variable cost, average variable cost, and marginal cost functions (TVC, AVC, and MC) for PoolVac.

TVC = __________________________________________

AVC = __________________________________________

MC = ___________________________________________

c. Compute minimum average variable cost.

Q_min = ___________ AVC_min = ______________

2. a. Run the appropriate regression to estimate the demand function for Sting Rays. Evaluate the statistical significance of the three estimated slope parameters using a significance level of 5 percent. Discuss the appropriateness of the algebraic signs of each of the three slope parameter estimates.

b. The manager at PoolVac, Inc. believes Howard Industries is going to price its automatic pool cleaner at $250, and average household income in the U.S. is expected to be $65,000. Using the regression results from part 2 a, write the estimated demand function, inverse demand function, and marginal revenue function.

Demand: ____________________________

Inverse Demand: ____________________________

Marginal Revenue: ____________________________

3. Using your estimated cost and demand functions from parts 1 and 2, what price would you recommend the manager of PoolVac, Inc. charge for its Sting Ray? Given your recommended price, estimate the number of units PoolVac can expect to sell, as well as its monthly total revenue, total cost, and profit.

P: ___________

Q: ___________

TR: ___________

TC: ___________

Profit: ___________

4. For the profit-maximizing solution in question 3, compute the point elasticity of demand for Sting Rays.

E = ______________

In the profit-maximizing situation in question 3, a 5 percent price cut would be predicted to _______________ (increase, decrease) quantity demanded of Sting Rays by ___________ percent, which would cause total revenue to _____________ (rise, fall, stay the same) and profit to _____________ (rise, fall, stay the same).

5. For the profit-maximizing solution in question 3, compute the income elasticity of demand for Sting Rays.

E_M = ______________

a. Is the algebraic sign of the income elasticity as you expected? Explain.

b. A 10 percent increase in M_avgwould be predicted to _______________ (increase, decrease) quantity demanded of Sting Rays by ___________ percent.

6. For the profit-maximizing solution in question 3, compute the cross-price elasticity of demand for Sting Rays.

E_XR = ______________

a. Is the algebraic sign of the income elasticity as you expected? Explain.

b. A 3 percent decrease in P_H would be predicted to _______________ (increase, decrease) quantity demanded of Sting Rays by ___________ percent.

7. If total fixed costs increase from $45,000 to $55,000, what price would you now recommend in order to maximize profits at PoolVac? Compute the number of units sold at this price, total revenue, total cost and profit:

P: ___________

Q: ___________

TR: ___________

TC: ___________

Profit: ___________

8. If the manager of PoolVac wanted to maximize total revenue instead of profit (a bad idea), the manager would charge a price of $_____________. At this price, PoolVac's profit would be $_______________, which is _______________ (higher than, lower than, the same as) the profit in question 3.