Corporation XYZ has the following data on labor input and production of commodity Z for each of the eight production periods.

Production 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Period

Labor input 5 4 7 8 2 3 6 1

Total output 280 250 300 288 110 200 290 40

of Z

1. Use the data on labor input and total output to calculate the marginal and average product of labor input rates from one to eight.

2. Identify the regions of:

a.increasing returns of labor input

b. decreasing returns of labor input

c. negative returns of labor input

3.Suppose that the firm wants to maximize profits. Do we have sufficient information to determine the required output level that maximizes profits? If not, what additional information is needed