question
business firm
answer
an entity that employs factors of production (resources) to produce goods and services to be sold to consumers, other firms, or the government.
question
market coordinator
answer
The process in which individuals perform tasks, such as producing certain quantities of goods, on the basis of changes in market forces, such as supply, demand, and price.
question
managerial coordination
answer
The process in which managers direct employees to perform certain tasks.
question
shirking
answer
The behavior of a worker who is putting forth less than the agreed-to effort.
question
monitor
answer
A person in a business firm who coordinates team production and reduces shirking.
question
residual claimant
answer
person who share in the profits of a business firm
question
In the theory of the firm, the exchanges take place at two levels:
answer
1)at the level of individuals coming together to form a team
2)at the level of workers choosing a monitor.
2)at the level of workers choosing a monitor.
question
utility function
answer
subjective, not observable, no peak
question
production function
answer
objective, measurable, there is a peak
question
horizontal axis
answer
labor
question
line on graph
answer
capital
question
profit
answer
The difference between total revenue and total cost.
question
profit formula
answer
profit=total revenue-total cost
question
explicit cost
answer
A cost incurred when an actual (monetary) payment is made.
question
implicit cost
answer
A cost that represents the value of resources used in production for which no actual (monetary) payment is made.
question
accounting profit
answer
The difference between total revenue and explicit costs.
question
accounting profit formula
answer
Accounting profit=total revenue-total cost (explicit costs)
question
economic profit
answer
The difference between total revenue and total cost, including both explicit and implicit costs.
question
economic profit formula
answer
Economic profit=total revenue-total cost (explicit costs+implicit costs)
question
normal profit
answer
Zero economic profit, the level of profit necessary to keep resources employed in a firm. A firm that earns normal profit is earning revenue equal to its total costs (explicit plus implicit costs).
question
normal profit formula
answer
Normal profit=zero economic profit
question
fixed input
answer
An input whose quantity cannot be changed as output changes.
question
variable input
answer
An input whose quantity can be changed as output changes.
question
short run
answer
A period during which some inputs in the production process are fixed.
question
long run
answer
A period during which all inputs in the production process can be varied. (No inputs are fixed.)
question
fixed costs
answer
Costs that do not vary with output; the costs associated with fixed inputs.
question
variable costs
answer
Costs that vary with output; the costs associated with variable inputs.
question
total cost (TC)
answer
the sum of fixed costs and variable costs.
question
total cost formula
answer
TC=TFC+TVC (total cost, total fixed cost, total variable cost)
question
marginal cost (MC)
answer
The change in total cost that results from a change in quantity of output
question
marginal cost formula
answer
MC= ΔTC/ΔQ
question
average fixed cost (AFC)
answer
Total fixed cost divided by quantity of output: AFC=TFC/Q
question
average variable cost (AVC)
answer
Total variable cost divided by quantity of output: AFC=TVC/Q
question
average-marginal rule
answer
When the marginal magnitude is above the average magnitude, the average magnitude rises; when the marginal magnitude is below the average magnitude, the average magnitude falls.
question
sunk cost
answer
A cost incurred in the past that cannot be changed by current decisions and therefore cannot be recovered.
question
To an economist, the cost of the shoes is a sunk cost because it...
answer
1) was incurred in the past
2)cannot be changed by a current decision
3)cannot be recovered
2)cannot be changed by a current decision
3)cannot be recovered
question
long-run average total (LARATC) curve
answer
A curve that shows the lowest (unit) cost at which a firm can produce any given level of output.
question
economies of scale
answer
Economies that exist when inputs are increased by some percentage and output increases by a greater percentage, causing unit costs to fall.
question
constant returns to scale
answer
The condition when inputs are increased by some percentage and output increases by an equal percentage, causing unit costs to remain constant.
question
diseconomies of scale
answer
The condition when inputs are increased by some percentage and output increases by a smaller percentage, causing unit costs to rise.
question
minimum efficient scale
answer
The lowest output level at which average total costs are minimized.