You are the manager of a midsized company that assembles personal computers. You

purchase most componentssuch as random access memory (RAM)in a competitive

market. Based on your marketing research, consumers earning over $80,000 purchase

1.5 times more RAM than consumers with lower incomes. One morning, you pick up a

copy of The Wall Street Journal and read an article indicating that input components for

RAM are expected to rise in price, forcing manufacturers to produce RAM at a higher

unit cost. Based on this information, what can you expect to happen to the price you pay

for random access memory? Would your answer change if, in addition to this change in

RAM input prices, the article indicated that consumer incomes are expected to fall over

the next two years as the economy dips into recession?