[ePH Econ] Why Have Employees?

Day 1,203, 07:58 • Published in Philippines USA • by PigInZen

My last article covered the productivity challenges that smaller economies face due to resource scarcity and the subesquent impact that has on production bonuses. This article is going to cover the profitability of working as a mini-commune (i.e., employing no one and working as owner in your companies).

First, however, let's cover some economic differences between the eUSA and ePH as of 6:06 Server Time for Day 1,203:


Current Exchange Rates

1 gold = 105 PHP = 0.009523 gold/PHP
1 gold = 109 USD = 0.009174 gold/USD


Current Market Offers Table



A few things to note from this table: iron is still obnoxiously expensive in the ePH when compared to prices in the eUS in relative gold terms. Also, Q1 food is drastically overpriced in the ePH as well. The good news? Grain, Q1 weapons, Q5 food and Q5 weapons are pretty much in line with what eUSA consumers pay in absolute gold terms. So we're making progress. In order for the ePH to be more efficient in dealing damage, however, we've gotta get these prices lower and convert more of our economic output to damage. This is done through maximizing purchasing power and increasing mini-commune activity.


ePH Producers Making Efficiency Gains



When comparing prices between the ePH and eUSA it is convenient to account for the ePH's current resource deficit. As I covered in the last article in this newspaper, the eUSA receive an approximate 15%-20% bonus to production due to the availability of more resources. I have acounted for that effect in the previous table and the news is actually quite good for the ePhilippines. Not only are we cheaper in absolute terms for Q5 food and Q5 weapons, we are also well below our expected price. Note that Q1 weapons and grain are also below their expected price threshold. This means that ePH producers are operating more efficiently as compared to their counterparts in the eUSA.




The Ultimate in Production Efficiency

A funny thing happened about eight weeks ago. The eRep admins decided to allow company owners to work for themselves for the low, low cost of 10 health for each shift. The implications of this have yet to make themeselves completely felt throughout eRepublik but many savvy company owners have already realized the advantages of subsidizing or entirely supplanting their operations with this model.

It is now possible for an eRepublik citizen to feed himself once he can produce a raw production level of 300 (before bonuses). My calculations could be off but that's right around Level 7. In order to produce 300 health units a day a Level 7 citizen would need four grain companies and two food companies. Level isn't important but for the sake of this analysis we'll use Q1. If you own no companies and start from scratch you will have to purchase six companies plus three plots of land (you get three plots for free). That's an up-front investment of 60 gold plus 3000 PHP. A the current exchange rate of 1 gold = 105 PHP the cost of the land in gold comes to 28.6 for a total of 88.6 gold.

What do we get for 88.6 gold? A citizen that can now fight a maximum of 30 times daily without further economic input. Of course on average days this citizen will be both working and fighting, so really it's six food works and 24 food fights but there will be important battles where all 30 food fights will be needed.

Here's the current profitability for working as owner, for grain, iron, Q1 food and weapons and Q5 food and weapons companies:



The reason why weapons companies suck right now is 100% due to the high cost of iron in the ePH. Once we bring iron prices in line with grain the profitability of weapons increases. It's important to note that the raw materials cost remains relatively the same across all Q levels as while there is an increased need per higher Q level produced the production is reduced. The end result is net zero difference (usually, if it is different it's due to rounding but averages out over time).

Working as an owner has important impact on prices, one which I will discuss in my next article. Until then, a little motivational for all of us in the ePH...




Maka-Diyos, Maka-Tao, Makakalikasan at Makabansa

For the Love of God, People, Nature and Country!

The ePH can have the most efficiently run economy but only if we work on building it together. I have a big-picture goal and hope that these series of articles will help explain my reasoning. For those wondering, no, I haven't reached my conclusion yet but it should be getting more and more clear as each article is released. Like I said last time, the goal for the ePhilippines can never to match the total damage of a large country like the eUSA but rather to exceed her in per capita damage. Small but mighty...