question
You're the manager of Caroline's Cookie Factory, what operation decisions do you need to make?
answer
Labor, capital, other inputs
question
goal of a firm
answer
maximize profit
-profit(loss)=total revenue - total cost
-profit(loss)=total revenue - total cost
question
total revenue
answer
the amount a firm receives for the sale of its output
question
Equation for total revenue
answer
Price x Quantity
question
total cost
answer
amount a firm spends to produce and sell its outputs
question
Explicit cost
answer
input costs that require an outlay of money by the firm
question
implicit cost
answer
input costs that do not require an outlay of money by the firm
question
how to find economic costs
answer
explicit cost + implicit cost
question
Economic profit
answer
total revenue - (explicit + implicit costs)
question
How much should a firm produce
answer
describe the factors that determine output
- output; the product the firm creates
-factors of production (inputs); resources used in the production process
-LAND, LABOR, CAPITAL
- output; the product the firm creates
-factors of production (inputs); resources used in the production process
-LAND, LABOR, CAPITAL
question
Production function
answer
describes the relationship between the inputs used and out-put created
Ex. production of Caroline's cookie factory: assume that the size of the factory, capital, and so on is fixed
Ex. production of Caroline's cookie factory: assume that the size of the factory, capital, and so on is fixed
question
Marginal product
answer
the change in output associated with one additional unit of input
question
Marginal product of labor (MPL)
answer
change in output that arises from an additional worker
question
Marginal product of labor equation
answer
MPL= change in output divided by change in labor
question
diminishing marginal product
answer
marginal product of an input declines as the quantity of the input increases
question
when does diminishing marginal product occur
answer
when successive increases in inputs are associated with a slower rise in outputs
- as the amount of labor increases, MPL falls
- as the amount of labor increases, MPL falls
question
short run
answer
period production in which at least one input is fixed
question
long run
answer
period of production in which all inputs are variable
question
Fixed costs
answer
Costs that do not vary with the quantity of output produced
question
variable cost (VC)
answer
costs that change with the quantity of output produced
-> TC=FC+Q
-> TC=FC+Q
question
average total cost (ATC)
answer
total cost divided by the quantity of output; ATC=TC/Q
question
Average fixed cost (AFC)
answer
Fixed cost divided quantity of output
->AFC=FC/Q
->AFC=FC/Q
question
Average variable cost (AVC)
answer
variable cost divided by the quantity of output
->AVC=VC/Q
->AVC=VC/Q
question
Marginal cost (MC)
answer
change in total cost arising from producing one or more unit of output
->MC=2TC/Q
->MC=2TC/Q
question
What does average total cost tell us
answer
the cost of a typical unit of output if total cost is divided evenly over all the units produced
question
What does marginal cost tell us
answer
the increase in total cost from producing an additional unit of output
question
Are costs both fixed and variables in short and long run?
answer
some costs are fixed in the short run, but all costs are variable in the long run
question
scale
answer
size of production process
question
after determining size of production
answer
firm must deal with the short run costs associated with that factory size
question
Efficient scale
answer
the level of output in which average total cost is minimized
question
what do long run costs reflect
answer
scale and the cost of providing additional output
question
can long run costs rise, fall, and stay the same
answer
yes
question
economies of scale
answer
long run average total cost FALLS as the quantity of output INCREASES
-GOAL
-GOAL
question
Constant returns to scale
answer
long run average total cost STAYS THE SAME as the quantity output changes
question
Diseconomies of scale
answer
long run average total cost RISES as the quantity of output INCREASES
-NOT GOAL
-NOT GOAL