16.5 Carl the clothier owns a large garment factory on an isolated island. Carl’s factory is the only source of employment for most of the islanders, and thus Carl acts as a monopsonist. The supply curve for garment workers is given by l ¼ 80w, where l is the number of workers hired and w is their hourly wage. Assume also that Carl’s labor demand (marginal revenue product) curve is given by l ¼ 400 % 40MRPl:

a. How many workers will Carl hire to maximize his profits, and what wage will he pay?

b. Assume now that the government implements a minimum wage law covering all garment workers. How many workers will Carl now hire, and how much unemployment will there be if the minimum wage is set at $4 per hour?