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Explicit Cost
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opportunity cost of resources employed by a firm that takes the form of cash payments (wages, rent, insurance, taxes, etc.)
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Implicit Cost
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a firm's opportunity cost of using its own resources or those provided by its owners without a corresponding cash payment (use of company owned building, owner's time)
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Accounting Profit
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A firm's total revenue minus its explicit costs
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Economic Profit
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total revenue minus total cost, including both explicit and implicit costs
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Normal Profit
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a firm's accounting profit when all resources earn their opportunity cost; accounting profit equals implicit cost
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Variable Resources
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any resource that can be varied in the short run to increase or decrease production (labor)
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Fixed Resource
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any resource that cannot be varied in the short-run (size of building)
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Short Run
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a period during which at least one of the firm's resources is fixed
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Long Run
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a period during which all resources under the firm's control are variable
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Total Product
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a firm's total output per period
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Production Function
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the relationship between resources employed and a firm's total product
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Marginal Product
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the change in total product when a particular resource increases by 1 unit, all other resources constant
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Increasing Marginal Returns
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the marginal product of a variable resource increases as each additional unit of that resource is employed
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Law of Diminishing Marginal Returns
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as more of a variable resource is added to a given amount of other resources, marginal product eventually declines and could become negative
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Fixed Cost
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any production cost that is independent of the firm's rate of output- doesn't vary with output
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Variable Cost
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any production cost that changes as the rate of output changes
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Total Cost
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the sum of fixed cost and variable cost, or TC= FC + VC
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Marginal Cost
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the change in total cost resulting from a one-unit change in output; the change in total cost divided by the change in output
MC= change in TC/ change in q
MC= change in TC/ change in q
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When marginal returns increase...
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marginal cost of output falls
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When firm experiences diminishing marginal returns...
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marginal cost of output increases
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Total Cost Curve
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sums fixed and variable, variable cost curve shifted vertically by fixed cost
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Average Variable Cost
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variable cost divided by output
AVC= VC/q
AVC= VC/q
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Average Total Cost
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total cost divided by output, or sum of avg. fixed cost and avg. variable cost
ATC= TC/q
ATC= AFC + AVC
ATC= TC/q
ATC= AFC + AVC
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When marginal cost is above average cost...
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the average cost goes up
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Economies of Scale
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forces that reduce a firm's average cost as the scale of operation expands in the long run
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Diseconomies of scale
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forces that may eventually increase a firm's average cost as the scale of operation increases in the long run
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Long-run Average Cost Curve
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a curve that indicates the lowest average cost of production at each rate of output when the size, or scale, of the firm varies; also called the planning curve
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Constant Long-Run Average Cost
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a condition that occurs if, over some range of output, long-run avg. cost neither increases nor decreases with changes in firm size
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Minimum Efficient Scale
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The lowest rate of output at which a firm takes full advantage of economies of scale
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The slope of total product of labor is...
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the same as the marginal product of labor curve
MPl= change in output/change in labor
MPl= change in output/change in labor
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Output can only be changed...
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in the short run by adjusting variable resources