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Profits and Losses with the Average Cost Curve. Does maximizing profit (producing where MR = MC) imply an actual economic profit? The answer depends on firm’s profit margin (or average profit), which is the relationship between price and average total cost.
If the price that a firm charges is higher than its average cost of production for that quantity produced, then the firm will earn profits. Conversely, if the price that a firm charges is lower than its average cost of production, the firm will suffer losses.
- Diagram of Marginal Cost
- Average Cost Curves
- Long Run Cost Curves
Because the short run marginal cost curve is sloped like this, mathematically the average cost curve will be U shaped. Initially, average costs fall. But, when marginal cost is above the average cost, then average cost starts to rise. Marginal cost always passes through the lowest point of the average cost curve.
ATC (Average Total Cost) = Total Cost / quantityAVC (Average Variable Cost) = Variable cost / QuantityAFC (Average Fixed Cost) = Fixed cost / QuantityThe long-run cost curves are u shaped for different reasons. It is due to economies of scale and diseconomies of scale. If a firm has high fixed costs, increasing output will lead to lower average costs. However, after a certain output, a firm may experience diseconomies of scale. This occurs where increased output leads to higher average costs. Fo...
While in the short run firms are limited to operating on a single average cost curve (corresponding to the level of fixed costs they have chosen), in the long run when all costs are variable, they can choose to operate on any average cost curve.
- Emma Hutchinson, Emma
- 2017
- Average and Marginal Costs. The cost of producing a firm’s output depends on how much labor and physical capital the firm uses. A list of the costs involved in producing cars will look very different from the costs involved in producing computer software or haircuts or fast-food meals.
- Fixed and Variable Costs. We can decompose costs into fixed and variable costs. Fixed costs are the costs of the fixed inputs (e.g., capital). Because fixed inputs do not change in the short run, fixed costs are expenditures that do not change regardless of the level of production.
- Average Total Cost, Average Variable Cost, Marginal Cost. The breakdown of total costs into fixed and variable costs can provide a basis for other insights as well.
- Lessons from Alternative Measures of Costs. Breaking down total costs into fixed cost, marginal cost, average total cost, and average variable cost is useful because each statistic offers its own insights for the firm.
For a perfectly competitive firm, the marginal cost curve is identical to the firm’s supply curve starting from the minimum point on the average variable cost curve. To understand why this perhaps surprising insight holds true, first think about what the supply curve means.
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Learning Objectives. By the end of this section, you will be able to: Analyze short-run costs as influenced by total cost, fixed cost, variable cost, marginal cost, and average cost. Calculate average profit. Evaluate patterns of costs to determine potential profit.
