ECON 1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Farmer Jack, Average Cost, Monopolistic Competition

39 views8 pages
26 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
#12 Thursday 3/1 (Ch.13 Costs)
Industrial Organization
The study of how firms’ decisions about prices and quantities depend on the market conditions they face
Ch 13: Costs
Ch 14: Competitive Markets
Ch 15: Monopoly
Ch 16: Monopolistic Competition
We assume that the firm’s goal is to maximize profit.
Profit = Total revenue (the amount a firm receives from the sale of its output) - Total cost (the market value
of the inputs a firm uses in production)
Costs
Explicit costs require an outlay of money, e.g., paying wages to workers.
Implicit costs do not require a cash outlay, e.g., the opportunity cost of the owner’s time.
Both matter for firms’ decisions.
Total costs = Explicit costs + Implicit costs
An Example
You need $100,000 to start your business. The interest rate is 5%.
Case 1: borrow $100,000
Explicit cost = $5000 interest on loan
Case 2: use $40,000 of your savings, borrow the other $60,000
Explicit cost = $3000 (5%) interest on the loan
Implicit cost = $2000 (5%) foregone
interest you could have earned on your $40,000.
In both cases, total (explicit + implicit) costs are $5000.
Unlock document

This preview shows pages 1-3 of the document.
Unlock all 8 pages and 3 million more documents.

Already have an account? Log in
Economists versus Accountants
Economists include all opportunity costs when analyzing a firm, whereas accountants measure only
explicit costs. Therefore economic profit is smaller than accounting profit.
Clicker Question
You have a restaurant in SF and you own the space. Average retail rents in SF increases by 25%. The effects
on accounting profit is
a. Larger than the effect on economic profit
b. Smaller than the effect on economic profit
c. The same
- Explicit costs do not change, so accounting profit does not change.
- Implicit costs increase because the opportunity cost of using your space instead of renting it increases.
- So economic profit falls.
The Production Function
A production function: relationship between inputs and output
Example:
Farmer Jack grow wheat.
He has 5 acres of land.
He can hire as many workers as he wants.
Unlock document

This preview shows pages 1-3 of the document.
Unlock all 8 pages and 3 million more documents.

Already have an account? Log in
EXAMPLE: Farmer Jack’s Production Function
Marginal Product
If Jack hires one more worker, his output rises by the marginal product of labor
.
The marginal product: the increase in output arising from an additional unit of input, holding all other
inputs constant.
Q
= change in output, L
= change in laborΔ Δ
Marginal product of labor (MPL
) = ΔL
ΔQ
MPL = Slope of Production Function
Unlock document

This preview shows pages 1-3 of the document.
Unlock all 8 pages and 3 million more documents.

Already have an account? Log in

Document Summary

The study of how firms" decisions about prices and quantities depend on the market conditions they face. We assume that the firm"s goal is to maximize profit . Profit = total revenue (the amount a firm receives from the sale of its output) - total cost ( the market value of the inputs a firm uses in production) Explicit costs require an outlay of money, e. g. , paying wages to workers. Implicit costs do not require a cash outlay, e. g. , the opportunity cost of the owner"s time. Total costs = explicit costs + implicit costs. Explicit cost = interest on loan. Case 2: use ,000 of your savings, borrow the other ,000. Explicit cost = (5%) interest on the loan. Implicit cost = (5%) foregone interest you could have earned on your ,000. In both cases, total (explicit + implicit) costs are . Economists include all opportunity costs when analyzing a firm, whereas accountants measure only explicit costs.

Get access

Grade+
$40 USD/m
Billed monthly
Grade+
Homework Help
Study Guides
Textbook Solutions
Class Notes
Textbook Notes
Booster Class
10 Verified Answers
Class+
$30 USD/m
Billed monthly
Class+
Homework Help
Study Guides
Textbook Solutions
Class Notes
Textbook Notes
Booster Class
7 Verified Answers

Related Documents

Related Questions