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What do the owners of firms want to do?
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maximize profits/profit maximization
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Profit equals
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total revenue - total cost, that is, the sum of everything you earnedminus the sum of what it cost you.
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production technology
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turns inputs into outputs
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inputs have
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costs
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outputs can be
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sold for revenue
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Technology =
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the processes that the firm uses
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firms face two kinds of costs
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Fixed costs, Variable costs
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Fixed costs
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They don't change based on the firm's outputs. They remain constant as output increases.
Examples include machinery or the physical space of an office.
Examples include machinery or the physical space of an office.
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Variable costs
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those that do change as output changes, things like hiring more workers or buying more raw materials
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short run
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firms can't change fixed costs or technology, though they can make adjustments to their variable inputs, like workers or raw materials- competitors cannot change
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long run
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they can change their production technology or physical space. So everything is varied.
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The short and long run aren't really
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measured in terms of time because they depend on the type of business.
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explicit costs
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costs in which the firm spends money on buying things. This is the obvious stuff, wages for workers, a lease payment on a store, and so on.
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explicit costs are also called
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accounting costs
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why are explicit costs also called accounting costs
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because they're what show up on an accounting balance statement
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implicit costs
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These are nonmonetary opportunity costs
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If you could have earned $50,000 this year instead of running your business, then that $50,000 counts as part of your
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implicit costs
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The would be explicit, the money you actually spend, plus implicit, the opportunity cost of your time and funds equals
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economic costs
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accounting profit
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The total revenue a business receives, less its explicit financial costs; Accounting profit = Total revenue − Explicit financial costs.
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economic profit
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The total revenue a firm receives, less both explicit financial costs and the entrepreneur's implicit opportunity costs; Economic profit = Total revenue − Explicit financial costs − Entrepreneur's implicit opportunity costs.
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average revenue
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Revenue per unit, calculated as total revenue divided by the quantity supplied. Average revenue is equal to the price, if you charge everyone the same price.
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average cost
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Cost per unit, calculated as your firm's total costs (including fixed and variable costs) divided by the quantity produced.
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profit margin
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Profits per unit sold; Profit margin = Average revenue − Average cost.
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Economic profit is
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typically lower than accounting profit.
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Economic costs and accounting costs differ because accountants include
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only explicit costs.
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Economic costs and accounting costs differ because economists include
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both explicit and implicit costs.
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the average variable cost curve is always below the
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average total cost curve
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in the long run, there are no fixed costs. all costs are
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variable
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economies of scale
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when long-run average total cost declines/falls as output/quanity increases
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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 variable cost
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variable cost divided by the quantity of output
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Average Total Cost
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total cost divided by the quantity of output
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When marginal cost is below the average total cost,
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average cost will fall
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When marginal cost is above the average total cost,
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average cost will rise
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Average cost equals:
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total cost divided by output.
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Average fixed costs will
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fall as output rises.
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perfect competition
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a market structure in which a large number of firms all produce the same product. ex. agricultural products where no single consumer or producer makes up a large share of the crop, all of which are basically the same, and anyone can start up their own farm.
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A perfectly competitive market has three conditions.
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First, it has many buyers and sellers, all of which are small. Second, they sell identical products, And third, there are no barriers to entry.
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Firms in perfectly competitive market are
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price takers. They don't have any bargaining power, because they're not big enough to influence the market.
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in perfect competition
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P = MR
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total revenue
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Price x Quantity
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profit
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total revenue minus total cost
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optimal point
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price=mc or mr=mc
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Price takers
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charge the prevailing prices and do not have any effect on the market price.
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price is less than average variable cost
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firm should shut down right away
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price= average variable cost
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firm is at shutdown point
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price is greater than average variable cost
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stay in business in the short run
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Profit =
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(price) × (quantity) − (average cost ) × (quantity)
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economic profits lead to
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firm entry where supply curve shifts right
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economic losses lead to
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firm exit where supply curve shifts left
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if demand increases
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supply increases
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in a perfect competition, marginal revenue is
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constant, like fixed cost
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Total Revenue (TR)
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marginal revenue x quantity
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Rational Rule for Entry:
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You should enter a market if you expect to earn a positive economic profit, which occurs when the price exceeds your average cost.
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Rational Rule for Exit:
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Exit the market if you expect to earn a negative economic profit, which occurs if the price is less than your average costs.
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free entry
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When there are no factors making it particularly difficult or costly for a business to enter or exit an industry.
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efficient production
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producing a given quantity of output at the lowest possible cost, which requires producing each good at the lowest marginal cost
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Efficient Allocation
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allocating goods to create the largest economic surplus, which requires that each good goes to the person who'll get the highest marginal benefit from it