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explicit costs
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require spending of money
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implicit costs
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do not require spending of money
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total costs=
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explicit costs + implicit costs
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accounting profit
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total revenue minus total explicit cost
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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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law of diminishing returns
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as additional increments of resources are added to producing a good or service, the marginal benefit from those additional increments will decline
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marginal product
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the increase in output that arises from an additional unit of input
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diminishing marginal product
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the marginal product of an input declines as the quantity of the input increases
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marginal cost
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the increase in total cost that arises from an extra unit of production
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fixed costs
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Costs that do not vary with the quantity of output produced
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variable costs
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costs that vary with the quantity of output produced
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marginal cost
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the cost of producing one more unit of a good
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average fixed cost
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fixed cost divided by the quantity of output produced
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average variable cost
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variable cost divided by the quantity of output produced
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short run
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fixed cost inputs (eg. factories, land)
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long run
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inputs are variable (eg. firms can build more factories or sell existing ones)
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economies of scale
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long-run average total cost falls as the quantity of output increases
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constant returns to scale
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Long-run average total cost stays the same as the quantity of output changes
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diseconomies of scale
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long-run average total cost rises as the quantity of output increases
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economies of scale
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(LR)ATC falls as output increases if inputs double, output more than doubles
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Constant returns to scale
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(LR)ATC does not change as output increases If inputs double, output doubles
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diseconomies of scale
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(LR) ATC increases as output increases If inputs double, output increases by less than double
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constant returns to scale
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Long-run average total cost stays the same as the quantity of output changes
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economies of scale- ATC_____ as quantity increases
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falls
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Constant returns to scale- ATC_____the same as Q increases.
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stays
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Diseconomies of scale: ATC_____as Q increases.
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rises
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average revenue
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total revenue/quantity
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marginal revenue
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change in total revenue/ change in quantity
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competitive firm
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can keep increasing its output without affecting the market price
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shutdown
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a short-run decision not to produce anything because of market conditions
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exit
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a long-run decision to leave the market
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cost of shutting down in short run
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revenue loss = TR
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benefit of shutting down in short run
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cost savings = VC
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sunk cost
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a cost that has already been committed and cannot be recovered
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3 possible levels of the price
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Price>ATC: All good, stay in profitable business
ATC>Price>AVC: Continue in business in short term, then exit in long term
AVC>Price: losing money on average for each sale, get out of business in short term
ATC>Price>AVC: Continue in business in short term, then exit in long term
AVC>Price: losing money on average for each sale, get out of business in short term
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If existing firms earn positive economic profit
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-new firms enter, SR market supply shifts right
-P falls, reducing profits and slowing entry
-P falls, reducing profits and slowing entry
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If existing firms incur losses
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-some firms exit, SR market supply shifts left
-P rises, reducing remaining firms' losses
-P rises, reducing remaining firms' losses
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long run equilibrium
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the process of entry or exit is complete - remaining firms earn zero economic profit
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Zero economic profit occurs when
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P = ATC
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long run supply curve is horizontal if
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all firms have identical costs and costs do not change as other firms enter or exit the market
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long run supply curve might slope upward if
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- Firms have different costs
- Or costs rise as firms enter the market
- Or costs rise as firms enter the market
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profit maximization
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MR=MC
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Monopoly
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A market in which there are many buyers but only one seller. MR=MC
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three barriers to entry
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1. monopoly resources
2. government regulation
3. the production process
2. government regulation
3. the production process
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Recall
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A procedure for submitting to popular vote the removal of officials from office before the end of their term.
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monopoly equilibrium
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P>MR=MC
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welfare cost of monopoly
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The monopoly quantity is too low you could increase total surplus with a larger quantity, the monopoly result in a deadweight loss which means people who want the good and would pay for it if it were a competitive market cannot afford it at the higher monopoly price
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price discrimination
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the business practice of selling the same good at different prices to different customers
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perfect price discrimination
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Occurs when a firm charges the maximum amount that buyers are willing to pay for each unit.
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single-price monopoly
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A monopoly that must sell each unit of its output for the same price to all its customers.
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market power
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the ability of a single economic actor (or small group of actors) to have a substantial influence on market prices
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Public Policy Toward Monopolies
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1. increasing competition with antitrust laws
2. regulation
3. public ownership
4. do nothing
2. regulation
3. public ownership
4. do nothing
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Two Extremes
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Perfect competition: many firms, identical products
Monopoly: one firm
Monopoly: one firm
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imperfect competition
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oligopoly and monopolistic competition
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long run equilibrium
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the process of entry or exit is complete - remaining firms earn zero economic profit
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monopolistic competition
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a market structure in which many companies sell products that are similar but not identical
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monopolistic competitive markets
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do not have all the desirable welfare properties of perfectly competitive markets
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Sources of inefficiency
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- markup of price over marginal cost
- too much or too little entry
- too much or too little entry
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product-variety externality
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surplus consumers get from the introduction of new products
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business-stealing externality
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losses incurred by existing firms when new firms enter market
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Incentive to advertise
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When firms sell differentiated products and charge prices above marginal cost
Advertise to attract more buyers
Advertise to attract more buyers
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advertising spending
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Highly differentiated goods: 10-20% of revenue
Industrial products: Little advertising
Homogenous products: No advertising
Industrial products: Little advertising
Homogenous products: No advertising
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critiques of advertising
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-firms advertise to manipulate peoples tastes
-Advertising impedes competition
-Advertising impedes competition
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defense of advertising
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-the defense of advertising
-case studies
-case studies