(三)思考与实践 "It is all very well to talk about firms changing their proportions of capital,labor,and materials when the prices of those things change,in order to minimize costs,but that is not how things work in the real world.If fimms are going to be competitive,they have to buy the latest technology,and the technology is not flexible.Each machine requires a certain number of operators,and a certain amount of materials.Those inputs cannot be changed: factor proportions are fixed,no matter how their prices may change."Discuss. In the past half century,the U.S.labor force has more than doubled.We have learned in this chapter that as labor increases,its marginal product tends to fall,and furthermore that the price paid to a factor of production tends to be proportional to its marginal product One would think that the average wages of labor would have fallen.But in fact,real wages almost tripled over this period.Why? (四)教学方法与手段 本章教学主要采用课堂讲授、多媒体教学、分组讨论、课堂讨论等。 Chapter 8 Output,Price,And Profit:The Importance of Marginal Analysis (一)目的与要求 the goal here is to know Understanding how business firms seek to maximize total profit (二)教学内容 1.主要内容 Price And Quantity:One Decision.Not Two Total Profit:Keep Your Eye On the Goal Economic Profit And Optimal Decision Making Marginal Analysis And Maximization of Total Profit Generalization:The Logic Of Marginal Analysis And Maximization Conclusion:The Fundamental Role Of Marginal analysis The Theory and reality:a word Of Caution 2.基本概念和知识点 Optimal Decision:Total Profit:Economic Profit:Total Revenue:Average Revenue Marginal Revenue:Marginal Profit:Curve;Budget Line:Expansion Path 3.问题与应用（能力要求） Firms that are successful sometimes take their profitability as a signal that they should expand.Why does this expansion sometimes get them in serious trouble? The decision-making analysis presented in this chapter rests heavily on the proposition 10 10 （三）思考与实践 “It is all very well to talk about firms changing their proportions of capital, labor, and materials when the prices of those things change, in order to minimize costs, but that is not how things work in the real world. If firms are going to be competitive, they have to buy the latest technology, and the technology is not flexible. Each machine requires a certain number of operators, and a certain amount of materials. Those inputs cannot be changed; factor proportions are fixed, no matter how their prices may change.” Discuss. In the past half century, the U.S. labor force has more than doubled. We have learned in this chapter that as labor increases, its marginal product tends to fall, and furthermore that the price paid to a factor of production tends to be proportional to its marginal product. One would think that the average wages of labor would have fallen. But in fact, real wages almost tripled over this period. Why? （四）教学方法与手段 本章教学主要采用课堂讲授、多媒体教学、分组讨论、课堂讨论等。 Chapter 8 Output, Price, And Profit: The Importance of Marginal Analysis （一）目的与要求 the goal here is to know Understanding how business firms seek to maximize total profit (二）教学内容 1.主要内容 Price And Quantity: One Decision. Not Two Total Profit: Keep Your Eye On the Goal Economic Profit And Optimal Decision Making Marginal Analysis And Maximization of Total Profit Generalization: The Logic Of Marginal Analysis And Maximization Conclusion: The Fundamental Role Of Marginal analysis The Theory And Reality: A Word Of Caution 2.基本概念和知识点 Optimal Decision; Total Profit; Economic Profit; Total Revenue; Average Revenue; Marginal Revenue;Marginal Profit; Curve;Budget Line; Expansion Path 3.问题与应用（能力要求） Firms that are successful sometimes take their profitability as a signal that they should expand. Why does this expansion sometimes get them in serious trouble? The decision-making analysis presented in this chapter rests heavily on the proposition