Product market comparisons that focus on labor costs are likely to deserve greater weight when:

• A. the market is dominated by a single firm
• B. capital costs are significantly higher than labor costs
• C. labor costs make up a large proportion of total production costs
• D. product differentiation is the primary source of competition

Answer: (C)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Step 1: Understand the context of the problem, which is about when labor costs should be given greater weight in product market comparisons. This involves analyzing the role of labor costs relative to other factors in production and competition.
2. Step 2: Identify the key factors that influence the importance of labor costs in production. These include the proportion of labor costs in total production costs, the presence of a dominant firm, the relative size of capital costs, and the role of product differentiation.
3. Step 3: Recognize that if labor costs constitute a large proportion of total production costs, then changes in labor costs will have a significant impact on overall production costs and thus on market competition.
4. Step 4: Contrast this with situations where capital costs are much higher than labor costs, or where product differentiation drives competition, as in these cases labor costs are less critical to market comparisons.
5. Step 5: Conclude that product market comparisons focusing on labor costs deserve greater weight primarily when labor costs make up a large proportion of total production costs, because this directly affects pricing and competitiveness.