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a firm
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is an institution that hires factors of production and organizes them to produce and sell good and services. goal is maximize profit
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technological efficiency
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occurs when a firm uses the least amount of inputs to produce a given quantity of output. different combinations of inputs to produce a good but only one is efficient.
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economic efficiency
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occurs when the firm produces a given quantity of output at the least cost.
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technical efficiency concerns the quantity of inputs used in production for a given quantity of output where economic is concerned about the cost of the input used.
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changes in the input price influence the value of the inputs, but not the technological process for using them in production.
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perfect competion
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many firms and buyers. no restrictions to enter and both buys and sellers know the price. markets for wheat, corn and grains
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monopolistic completion
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many firms, each firm is similar but has different products. own element of power and no restrictions
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oligopoly
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small number of firms, might produce identical products or different products . barrier to enter the market
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monopoly
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one firm produces the entire industry and no substitutes for the product. there are barriers to enter. can be local like gas and water suppliers
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the four firm concentration ratio
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% of the total industry sales accounted for by the 4 largest firms in the industry
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the herfindahl- index
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the square % market share of each firm summed over the largest 50 firms in the industry.
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the HHI index became a poplar measure of the degree of concentration to classify markets.
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when it is less than 1500 then it is highly competitive, when 1500-2500 it is moderate. when it is greater than 2500 highly concentrated
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four firm concentration
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0 is perfect competition and 100 for monopolies
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the short run
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is a time frame in which the quantity of one or more resources used in production is fixed. most firms capital is fixed. labor and materials can be changed. can be reversed
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long run
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is a time frame which the quantities of all resources can be varied. not reversed.
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to increase output in the short run, a firm must increase the amount of labor employed.
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total product
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is the total output produced in a given period. max output that can be produced.
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marginal product of labor
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is the change in total product that results from one-unit increase in the quantity of labor employed, with all other inputs remaining the same.
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the average product of labor
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is equal to total product divided by the quantity of labor employed.
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as the quantity of labor employed increases:
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total product increases, marginal product initially increases and eventually decrease. Average product decreases.
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product curves
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show how the firms total product, marginal product and average product change as the firm varies the quantity of labor employed.
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initially the marginal product of a worker exceeds the marginal product of the previous worker. happens when there is an increase in specialization and division of labor.
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increasing marginal returns
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marginal product of a worker is less than marginal product of the previous worker. arises when addtional worker has less access to capital and less space to work.
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diminishing marginal returns
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law of diminishing returns
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as firm uses more of a variable input with a given fixed quantity of fixed inputs the marginal product of inputs eventually diminishes.
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when marginal product exceeds average product, average product increases
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when marginal product is below average, average product decreases
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when Marginal product equals average product it is at its max.
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total cost
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cost of all resources. split into total fixed costs and variable costs.
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total fixed costs
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costs of the firms fixed inputs. cost doesn't change with output
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total variable cost
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is the cost of the firms variable inputs. costs do change with output
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tp curve gets steeper at low output levels and less steep at high output levels
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the TVC- becomes steep at low output and steeper at high output levels.
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marginal cost-
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is the increase in total cost that results from one unit
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over the output range with increasing marginal returns, marginal cost falls as output increases
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over the output range with diminishing marginal returns, marginal cost rises as output increases
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average total cost
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is the total cost per unit of output.
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average fixed cost
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is total cost per unit of ouput
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average variable cost
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is total variable cost per unit of output
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average total cost
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total cost per unit of output.
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Why the ATC curve is u-shaped?
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spreading total fixed costs over a larger output- AFC curve slopes downward as output increases.
2. eventually diminishing returns- the AVC curve slopes upward and AVC increases more quickly than AFC is decreasing
2. eventually diminishing returns- the AVC curve slopes upward and AVC increases more quickly than AFC is decreasing
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firms cost curves and product curves are linked
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mc is at its minimum at the same output level at which Mp is at its max
--when mp is rising mC is falling
--when mp is rising mC is falling
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AVC is at its mininum
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at the same output level at which AP is at its maximum
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when AP is rising AVC is falling
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technology changes the product curves and cost curves
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an increase shifts the product curve up and cost down
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with more technology and firm uses more capital and less labor
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fixed cost increases and variable decreases
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for tech: ATC increases at low output and decreases at high levels
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an increase in price increases costs and shifts the cost curves.
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increase in FC shifts total cost and ATC up but to the MC curve
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increase in variable cost shifts
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total cost, ATC and MC curves upward
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Long Run: Production function
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is the relationship between the max output attainable and the quantities of both capital and labor.
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marginal product of capital
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is the increase in output resulting from one unit increase in the amount of capital employed, holding labor employed constant.
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the long-run average cost
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is the relationship between the lowest attainable ATC and output when both the plant and labor are varied
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economic of scales
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the long run average cost curve slopes downward
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diseconomies scale
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long run average cost curve slopes upward
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minimum effect scale
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is the smallest quantity of output at which the long run average cost reaches its lowest level.
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law of dimishing returns
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output produced by each additional worker is successively smaller. to produce one more unit, more workers are required and cost of producing the addtiona unit increases.
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the larger the output, the larger is the plant that will minimize average total cost. long run
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