1.      In the short run, what will be the impact of the introduction of the satellite tracking system on the profit maximizing strategy of a typical trucking firm and on the price and quantity traded for the industry as a whole? Explain and use diagrams to illustrate your analysis. Specify key assumptions (6 marks).

2.      In the long run, what will be the impact of the introduction of the satellite tracking system on the profit maximizing strategies of a typical trucking firm and on price and quantity traded outcomes for the industry as a whole? What will happen to the size of the industry? Explain and use diagrams to illustrate your analysis (6 marks).

3.      Who will be the main beneficiaries from the introduction of the satellite tracking system to the trucking industry in the short run and in the long run? Explain (3 marks).

根据以下的文章去回答上面的问题

Net’s king of the road – over and out(The Australian, 1 September 1998).

Atlanta: the long distance truck driver leads a lonely, tedious existence of rest stops, coffee and phone calls home, and CB radio. But times change. CB radios are giving way to Internet sites. Truckers now punch up e-mail rather than wait by the phone.

And global positioning systems are used to give advice in a matter of seconds. ‘As far as all these computers are concerned, I get directions to everywhere I go,’ Don Buchta says as he fuels his rig at a southeast Atlanta truck stop on his way to Massachusetts. ‘Anywhere – 48 states and Canada.’

Before his company installed a satellite tracking system to manage trucks and communicate with drivers, Buchta used to spend much of his time sitting by a pay phone, waiting for load orders, directions and ‘calling back, calling back, calling back’, he says. Now trucks are wired for e-mail, dispatchers send route changes to a personal video display and an engine diagnosis is likely to occur mid-route at 100km/h as it is in a maintenance shop.

One company, Park ‘N View, allows truckers to plug into cable, Internet, pay-per-view and telephone service at 125 truck stops across the United States with a $30 monthly subscription card.

Freight companies say the global-positioning satellites, which can pinpoint a truck’s location within 15 metres, have reduced the practice of drivers visiting girlfriends when they should be on the road. But most important to the industry, the technology reduces delays and cuts costs.

‘The pace of technology coming to this industry is just unbelievable,’ Trucking Technology Magazine editor Seth Skydel says. A truck’s maintenance schedule used to be posted on the chalkboard in the repair depot, Skydel says. Now, systems that monitor engine performance allow technicians to receive data as the truck lumbers down a far-off highway. Technicians can determine whether a quirky noise is cause for immediate repair or can be ignored until the driver returns.

Ten years ago, the country’s largest trucking company, Wisconsin-based Schneider National, became the first of the industry’s major players to adopt two-way satellite communications on its 14,000-truck fleet. ‘It paid for itself years ago,’ Schneider transportation division president John Lanigan says.

Georgia-based ready trucking operations manager Andy Dougherty’s company recently spent $300,000 to wire its 135 trucks. The satellite tracks the truck’s progress and location, with an up-date arrival time sent directly to the customer. Some haulers post the information on the web.

For a customer, when a shipment arrives is the bottom line. Many shipments won’t do business with haulers who can’t track their loads. ‘Instead of stockpiling supplies and products, the stuff is literally going from the back of the truck to the assembly line,’ Skydel says. New orders are sent directly to the truck, usually within 5 minutes. A beep on the terminal alerts a driver to the pickup and destination, expected arrival and departure times, contact people and directions.

For Joseph Swatzell, a Ready trucking driver from Atlanta, the system saves him about two hours each day. He doesn’t have to stop, find a spot to park his 24-metre rig, and locate a phone. ‘I hate computers, really, but I like the satellite,’ Swatzell says.


Guide for handing in Assignment:

The assignment should not have been submitted previously for assessment in another course.  Please keep within the word limit; marks will be deducted if the assignment is too long.

You must place the ORIGINAL of the assignment in the box near room 501 of the Economics and Commerce Building by the due date. An assignment cover sheet must be filled in, signed by yourself and attached to your assignment. You should keep a copy of the assignment. The assignment mark will be posted on the subject homepage after marking has been completed.

If you need an extension of time to complete the assignment due to health or other genuine personal reasons should complete an Application for Extension of Time to Complete Assignment which is available in Room 501 of the Economics and Commerce Building.

大家可以对比一下和国内的区别,这类行的题目在国外大学,还有私立高中让学生学习初级微观时候是经常使用的.
考试里面也会有这类型的题目,不过案例文章会相对短一点. 大家可以对比一下国内和国外经济学教育的区别.

有兴趣的人也可以去尝试回答一下他的问题.