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CHAPTER 7
PRODUCTION AND COST IN THE FIRM
INTRODUCTION
This chapter describes key characteristics governing how firms operate in the short run and the long run.
Perhaps the most important concepts in the chapter are the shapes and the logic of the short-run and long-run
cost curves. These cost curves will be utilized throughout the microeconomics section to explain the firm’s
supply behavior. The appendix develops the use of input combinations using isocost lines and isoquants.
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I. Cost and Profit
We assume that producers try to maximize profit. Firms try to earn profit by transforming resources
into salable products.
© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
78 Chapter 7 Production and Cost in the Firm
© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Chapter 7 Production and Cost in the Firm 79
C. Relationship Between Marginal Cost and Average Cost: Marginal cost pulls down average
cost where marginal cost is below average cost and pulls up average cost where marginal cost
is above average cost. The marginal cost curve is U-shaped; it intersects the ATC and AVC
curves at their minimums.
The law of diminishing marginal returns determines the shape of short-run cost curves:
• When the marginal product of labor increases, the marginal cost of output falls. When the
marginal product of labor decreases, the marginal cost of output increases. This gives the
MC curve its U-shape.
• When marginal cost is less than average cost, average cost falls.
• When marginal cost is above average cost, average cost rises.
IV. Costs in the Long Run: Long run is best thought of as a planning horizon. Firms plan for the long
run, but they produce in the short run.
A. Economies of Scale
• Long-run average cost curves are U-shaped because of economies and diseconomies of
scale.
• Forces that reduce a firm’s long run average cost as the scale of operation increases.
• A larger firm size allows for larger, more specialized machines and greater specialization
of labor. As the scale of a firm increases, capital substitutes for labor and complex
machines substitute for simples machines.
B. Diseconomies of Scale
• Forces that increase a firm’s long run average cost as the scale of operation increases.
• As the amount and variety of resources employed increase, so does the task of
coordinating all these inputs. Additional layers of management are needed to monitor
production; information gets distorted, reducing efficiency and increasing average cost.
C. Long-Run Average Cost Curve, LRAC: The curve indicating the lowest average cost of
production at each rate of output as the firm size is varied; the planning curve.
• Each short-run average cost curve is tangent to the long-run average cost curve: the least-
cost way of producing that particular rate of output.
• Constant Long-Run Average Cost: Long-run average cost neither increases nor
decreases with changes in firm size.
• Minimum Efficient Scale: The lowest rate of output at which a firm takes full advantage
of economies of scale; where long-run average cost is at a minimum.
V. Conclusion
Only two relationships between resources and output underlie all the curves discussed in this chapter.
In the short run, it’s increasing and diminishing returns from the variable resource. In the long run, it’s
economies and diseconomies of scale
© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
80 Chapter 7 Production and Cost in the Firm
Isoquants: Curves that show all the technologically efficient combinations of two resources that produce a
certain rate of output.
• Greater rates of output are represented by isoquants farther from the origin.
• Have negative slopes.
• Do not intersect.
• Are usually convex to the origin.
• Have a slope that is the marginal rate of technical substitution (MRTS), which is the rate at which
labor can be substituted for capital without affecting output. MRTS = MPL / MPC.
Isocost Lines: Identify all combinations of capital and labor the firm can hire for a given total cost.
• Slope = -(TC/r) / (TC/w) = -w/r = the negative of the ratio of the input prices.
• Parallel because each reflects the same relative resource prices.
The Choice of Input Combinations: For a given rate of output, the firm minimizes its total cost by choosing
the lowest isocost line that is tangent to the isoquant.
The Expansion Path: Indicates the lowest long-run total cost for each rate of output.
CHAPTER SUMMARY
Explicit costs are opportunity costs of resources employed by a firm that take the form of cash payments.
Implicit costs are the opportunity costs of using resources owned by the firm. A firm earns a normal profit
when total revenue covers all implicit and explicit costs. Economic profit equals total revenue minus both
explicit and implicit costs.
Variable resources can be varied quickly to increase or decrease output. In the short run, at least one resource
is fixed. In the long run, all resources under the firm’s control are variable.
A firm may initially experience increased marginal returns as it takes advantage of greater specialization of the
variable resource. But the law of diminishing marginal returns indicates that the firm eventually reaches a point
where adding more units of the variable resource yields a decreasing marginal product.
The law of diminishing marginal returns from the variable resource is the most important feature of production
in the short run and explains why marginal cost and average cost eventually increase as output expands.
In the long run, all inputs under the firm’s control are variable, so there is no fixed cost. The firm’s long-run
average cost curve, also called its planning curve, is an envelope formed by a series of short-run average total
cost curves. The long run is best thought of as a planning horizon.
A firm’s long-run average cost curve, like its short-run average cost curve, is U-shaped. As output expands in
the long run, average cost at first declines because of economies of scale—a larger size allows for bigger and
more specialized machinery and a more extensive division of labor. Eventually, average cost stops falling.
Average cost may then be constant over some range. If output expands still further, the plant may experience
diseconomies of scale as the cost of coordinating resources grows. Economies and diseconomies of scale can
occur at the plant level-that is, at a particular location-and at the firm level with many plants and locations.
© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Chapter 7 Production and Cost in the Firm 81
In the long run, a firm selects the most efficient size for the desired rate of output. Once that size is
constructed, some resources become fixed, so the firm is operating in the short run. Thus, the firm plans for the
long run but produces in the short run.
A firm’s production function specifies the relationship between resource use and the rate of output, given
prevailing technology and know-how. An isoquant is a curve that illustrates the possible combinations of
resources that produce a particular rate of output. An isocost line presents the combinations of resources the
firm can employ, given resource prices and the firm’s total budget. For a given rate of output—that is, for a
given isoquant—the firm minimizes total cost by choosing the lowest isocost line that just touches, or is
tangent to, the isoquant. The least-cost combination of resources depends on the productivity of resources and
their relative cost. Economists believe that although firm owners may not understand the material in this
appendix, they must act as if they do to maximize profit or minimize losses.
TEACHING POINTS
1. This chapter presents the construction of cost curves for the individual firm. Students who master this
material should have no problem understanding the sections of the text dealing with market structure.
The cost curves discussed in this chapter are inherently quantitative, and those students with weaker math
backgrounds need exercises that force them to derive average cost and marginal cost from the basics.
2. The chapter begins with a discussion of the meaning of the total and marginal products of labor, which is
the only variable resource considered in the short run. Exhibit 2 shows the relationship between labor
employed and output generated. Note that both increasing and diminishing returns are discussed. Point
out that marginal product can be negative while total product is still positive. Ask the students to explain
how this can happen.
3. It should not be hard to explain the concept of diminishing marginal returns. It is important to emphasize
that the additional units of the variable resource are not less capable than earlier units. As an example,
you might have students think about how total output at a fast food restaurant will change as additional
workers are added.
4. Exhibit 4 is particularly useful for class discussion. Some students find the numerical examples
particularly illuminating. An interesting way to approach this material is to leave certain parts of the
table blank and ask students to use the filled-in parts to guide them in completing the table. You need
delete only one table entry per line to make this an interesting exercise.
5. Exhibit 5 shows the relationship between the total cost curve and the marginal cost curve. Because
marginal cost is the slope of the total cost curve, it is natural to use the word slope in the classroom.
Another word that might prove illuminating for students is steepness. As the total cost curve becomes
steeper, marginal cost increases.
6. Exhibits 6 and 7 are crucial to understanding cost in the short run and must be covered with great care.
Because the marginal cost curve ultimately drives the variable and total cost curves, understanding why
diminishing marginal productivity leads to increasing marginal costs is absolutely essential. Once this is
understood relating marginal to average results in the characteristic U-shaped average variable and
average total cost curves. A clear way to depict the relationship between marginal and average is to use
the impact on the average class height when a tall or short student joins the class.
7. The long-run average cost curve should be presented as an envelope curve based on selection of the best
scale of production from the many possible scales for each output level on the basis of cost. The shape of
the long-run curve then does not depend on diminishing marginal product but on the existence of
economies and diseconomies of scale.
© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
82 Chapter 7 Production and Cost in the Firm
Amos McCoy is not currently making an economic profit, despite the fact that he is making an
accounting profit. This is so because the accounting profit calculation does not take into account an
important implicit cost—the opportunity cost of not raising soybeans. Actually, McCoy is experiencing
an economic loss. According to our theory, he should get out of the corn business and begin growing
soybeans. This question highlights the important distinction between accounting profit and economic
profit.
2. (Explicit and Implicit Costs) Determine whether each of the following is an explicit cost or an implicit
cost:
a. Payments for labor purchased in the labor market
b. A firm’s use of a warehouse that it owns and could rent to another firm
c. Rent paid for the use of a warehouse not owned by the firm
d. The wages that owners could earn if they did not work for themselves
3. (Alternative Measures of Profit) Calculate the accounting profit or loss as well as the economic profit or
loss in each of the following situations:
a. A firm with total revenues of $150 million, explicit costs of $90 million, and implicit costs of $40
million
b. A firm with total revenues of $125 million, explicit costs of $100 million, and implicit costs of $30
million
c. A firm with total revenues of $100 million, explicit costs of $90 million, and implicit costs of $20
million
d. A firm with total revenues of $250,000, explicit costs of $275,000, and implicit costs of $50,000
4. (Alternative Measures of Profit) Why is it reasonable to think of normal profit as a type of cost to the
firm?
Recall that firms produce output using four kinds of resources: natural resources, labor, capital, and
entrepreneurial ability. The owner of the firm supplies some of the resources that the firm employs.
Normal profit is the return to the entrepreneurial ability and other resources supplied by the firm’s
owners. If this profit is not as large as those individuals could earn in their best alternative situation,
they will switch the resources to that alternative. So, we can think of normal profit as being the minimum
return, or cost that is necessary to keep the firm running.
5. (Short Run Versus Long Run) What distinguishes a firm’s short-run period from its long-run period?
In the short run, at least one of the firm’s resources is fixed, usually the size of the firm. In the long run,
all the resources are variable. That is, the quantities of all resources can change to alter the firm’s level
of output, including the size of the firm.
© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Chapter 7 Production and Cost in the Firm 83
6. (Law of Diminishing Marginal Returns) As a farmer, you must decide how many times during the year to
plant a new crop. Also, you must decide how far apart to space the plants. Will diminishing returns be a
factor in your decision making? If so, how will it affect your decisions?
The law of diminishing marginal returns says that, the more of a variable resource that is combined with
a given amount of a fixed resource (land in this case), marginal product (crop) will eventually decline.
Diminishing returns will result from growing crops too close together or planting too many times in one
year. Placing crops too close together deprives them of sufficient nutrients to grow. More plants grow,
but each produces smaller and fewer fruits or vegetables. If crops are not rotated and sufficient time is
not allowed for the soil to regain its nutrients, subsequent harvests will be smaller. For this reason,
farmers often allow a field to go fallow, planting it with grass or nitrogen-rich plants.
7. (Marginal Cost) What is the difference between fixed cost and variable cost? Does each type of cost
affect short-run marginal cost? If yes, explain how each affects marginal cost. If no, explain why each
does or does not affect marginal cost.
Fixed cost is a short-run phenomenon. It does not vary as output varies, and the firm must pay fixed costs
in the short run even if output is zero. Variable cost is associated with the firm’s variable resources. As
output varies, usage of the variable resources varies. Thus, variable cost rises as output rises and falls as
output falls. If output is zero, variable cost is zero. Because marginal cost measures the change in total
cost as output changes by one unit, it is affected by variable cost only. By definition, fixed cost does not
change in the short run and thus has no impact on short-run marginal cost.
8. (Marginal Cost) Explain why the marginal cost of production must increase if the marginal product of
the variable resource is decreasing.
A decrease in the marginal productivity of a variable resource means that the additional output from
each additional unit of the variable resource is getting smaller. Because each additional unit of the
variable resource adds the same amount to the total cost of production (i.e., this added cost equals the
unit price of the variable resource), the marginal cost of each additional unit of output must be
increasing.
9. (Costs in the Short Run) What effect would each of the following have on a firm’s short-run marginal
cost curve and its total fixed cost curve?
a. An increase in the wage rate
b. A decrease in property taxes
c. A rise in the purchase price of new capital
d. A rise in energy prices
a. This shifts the marginal cost curve upward and to the left. It would have no effect on fixed cost.
b. This shifts the fixed cost curve downward but has no effect on marginal cost.
c. This shifts the fixed cost curve upward but has no effect on marginal cost.
d. This shifts the marginal cost curve upward. It would have no effect on fixed cost.
© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
84 Chapter 7 Production and Cost in the Firm
10. (Costs in the Short Run) Identify each of the curves in the following graph:
11. (Marginal Cost and Average Cost) Explain why the marginal cost curve must intersect the average total
cost curve and the average variable cost curve at their minimum points. Why do the average total cost
and average variable cost curves get closer to one another as output increases?
When the marginal cost is below the average cost, the marginal pulls the average down, and the average
cost is decreasing. When the marginal cost is above the average cost, the marginal pulls the average up,
and the average cost is increasing. It follows that the marginal cost equals the average cost when the
average is at its minimum. Average total cost (ATC) and average variable cost (AVC) differ only by
average fixed cost (AFC), which is the fixed cost divided by quantity. As quantity increases, fixed cost
divided by quantity must fall, and ATC and AVC approach each other.
12. (Marginal Cost and Average Cost) In Exhibit 7 in this chapter, the output level where average total cost
is at a minimum is greater than the output level where average variable cost is at a minimum. Why?
As output increases, the average fixed cost (AFC) must fall. Therefore average total cost (ATC) is pulled
down by the AFC falling, with the increase in Q, because ATC = AVC + AFC. After AVC begins to
increase, ATC will still fall to the extent that AFC falls faster than AVC rises. Eventually AVC rises
faster than AFC falls, leading to an increase in ATC, but at a quantity larger than that associated with
minimum AVC.
13. (Long-Run Average Cost Curve) What types of changes could shift the long-run average cost curve?
How would these changes also affect the short-run average total cost curve?
The long-run average cost curve is determined by the technology of production and by resource prices.
For example, if there is a change in technology that increases the degree of returns to scale to the firm,
the long-run average cost curve shifts downward. Similarly, if the entry of firms into an industry causes
resource prices to rise, the long-run average cost curve shifts upward. In the first case, some of the
short-run average total cost curves shift downward (because of increasing returns to scale). In the
second case, all short-run average total cost curves shift upward.
© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Chapter 7 Production and Cost in the Firm 85
14. (Long-Run Average Cost Curve) Explain the shape of the long-run average cost curve. What does
“minimum efficient scale” mean?
The shape of the long-run average cost curve is related to economies and diseconomies of scale.
Economies of scale are factors that cause long-run average cost to fall as output expands. Diseconomies
of scale are factors that cause long-run average cost to rise as output expands. The minimum efficient
scale is the lowest rate of output at which long-run average cost is at a minimum. Constant long-run
average cost may occur at some plant sizes above the minimum efficient scale. Eventually, diseconomies
of scale become powerful enough to cause rising long-run average cost.
15. (CaseStudy: Scale Economies and Diseconomies at the Movies) Concession stands account for well over
half the profits at most theaters. Given this, what are the benefits of the staggered movie times allowed
by multiple screens?
A benefit of staggered movie times in a multiple-screen operation is that the concession stand can
operate for longer periods of time than it could when only one feature film was shown.
16. (Scale Economies and Diseconomies) In analyzing scale economies and diseconomies, what's the
difference between the plant level and the firm level?
The plant level is a single location or business, but the firm level is a group of plants or businesses. For
example, one movie theatre versus a chain of movie theatres illustrates the plant versus firm levels.
Large firms do whatever possible to reduce diseconomies of scale.
Units of the
Variable Resource Total Product Marginal Product
0 0 —
1 10 10
2 22 12
3 31 9
4 35 4
5 34 –1
The law of diminishing returns states that, as units of a variable resource are added to fixed
quantities of other resources, the resulting increases in total output eventually become smaller and
smaller. Diminishing marginal returns occur after the second unit of the variable resource is
employed.
© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
86 Chapter 7 Production and Cost in the Firm
18. (Total Cost and Marginal Cost) Complete the following table, assuming that each unit of labor costs $75
per day.
Quantity
of Labor Output Fixed Variable Total Marginal
per Day per Day Cost Cost Cost Cost
0 $___ $300 $____ $____ $___
1 5 ___ 75 ___ 15
2 11 ___ 150 450 12.50
3 15 ___ ___ 525 ___
4 18 ___ 300 600 25
5 20 ___ ___ ___ 37.50
a. Graph the fixed cost, variable cost, and total cost curves for these data.
b. What is the marginal product of the third unit of labor?
c. What is average total cost when output is 18 units per day?
Quantity
of Labor Output Fixed Variable Total Marginal
per Day per Day Cost Cost Cost Cost
0 0 $300 $0 $300 —
1 5 300 75 375 15
2 11 300 150 450 12.50
3 15 300 225 525 18.75
4 18 300 300 600 25
5 20 300 375 675 37.50
a.
© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Chapter 7 Production and Cost in the Firm 87
19. (Total Cost and Marginal Cost) Complete the following table, where L is units of labor, Q is the rate of
output, and MP is the marginal product of labor.
L Q MP VC TC MC ATC
0 0 ____ $ 0 $120 $__ $__
1 6 ____ 30 150 ___ ___
2 15 ____ 60 ___ ___ ___
3 21 ____ 90 ___ ___ ___
4 24 ____ 120 ___ ___ ___
5 26 ____ 150 ___ ___ ___
a. At what quantity of labor input do the marginal returns from labor begin to diminish?
b. What is the average variable cost when Q = 24?
c. What is this firm’s fixed cost?
d. What is the wage rate per day?
This question demonstrates the relationships between marginal product and marginal costs as well as
between marginal and average total costs. The student should supply the missing numbers for MP, TC,
MC, and ATC as shown in italics in the following table:
L Q MP VC TC MC ATC
0 0 — $ 0 $120 — —
1 6 6 30 150 $5.00 $25.00
2 15 9 60 180 3.33 12.00
3 21 6 90 210 5.00 12.00
4 24 3 120 240 10.00 10.00
5 26 2 150 270 15.00 10.38
20. (Relationship Between Marginal Cost and Average Cost) Assume that labor and capital are the only
inputs used by a firm. Capital is fixed at 5 units, which cost $100 each per day. Each worker can be hired
for $200 each per day. Complete the following table to show average variable cost (AVC), average total
cost (ATC), and marginal cost (MC).
Quantity of
Labor Total Output AVC ATC MC
0 0 $___ $___ $___
1 100 ____ ____ ____
2 250 ____ ____ ____
3 350 ____ ____ ____
4 400 ____ ____ ____
5 425 ____ ____ ____
© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
88 Chapter 7 Production and Cost in the Firm
Quantity of
Labor Total Output AVC (VC/Q) ATC(TC/Q) MC(∆TC/∆Q)
0 0 — — —
1 100 $2.00 $7.00 $2.00
2 250 1.60 3.60 1.33
3 350 1.70 3.14 2.00
4 400 2.00 3.25 4.00
5 425 1.18 3.53 8.00
Students must calculate variable cost, which is $200 per worker, and fixed cost, which is given as 5
units at a cost of $100 each.
21. (Long-Run Costs) Suppose the firm has only three possible scales of production as shown below:
a. ATC2
b. ATC2
c. The long-run average cost curve (the thicker curve) shows the lowest cost for each output level (i.e.,
it coincides with ATC1 up to 40 units, with ATC2 from 40 to 120 units, and with ATC3 for output
above 120 units).
© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Chapter 7 Production and Cost in the Firm 89
a.
b. The MRTS is the slope of an isoquant. In equilibrium, it equals the slope of the isocost line, which in
this example is –1/4.
c.
In this diagram, all other points on isoquant Q involves a higher isocost. Isoquant Q is tangent to the
cost line at point e. Thus, its slope matches the slope of the isocost line. That is, the marginal rate of
technical substitution is –1/4, and this is the maximum output possible at a cost of $2,000.
© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
90 Chapter 7 Production and Cost in the Firm
2. (The Expansion Path) How are the expansion path and the long-run average cost curve related?
The expansion path indicates the lowest long-run total cost for each level of output. The long-run
average cost curve indicates the lowest long-run average cost for each level of output. Thus, both
devices indicate how the firm’s costs vary with long-run changes in plant size, given resource prices
and the level of technology.
© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
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Thyrza looked up, and said, "I suppose any one living
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I could not but remember the first time I had seen Sir
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CHAPTER XXXV.
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* * * * * * *
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CHAPTER XXXVI.
AND HE—!
THE SAME—continued.
Had Thyrza reached the top, and there been taken ill
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lost her footing, and rolled downward?
Still, it was out of the question that I should go: and the
thought now occurred that I ought at once to return to my
seat on the road. If the dog-cart came to meet us, as it
might do later, I had no business to be out of its direct path.
Besides, Thyrza would know where to find me, or to send a
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"Thyrza!" I cried.
I cannot think now why I was not more afraid. I did not
feel afraid, sitting there with clasped hands, gazing upward.
I could follow every movement of the descending figure. He
seemed to be a good climber. That was speedily apparent.
Down and down he came, steadily. Once he leaped a wall,
perhaps to find an easier slope on the other side.
And I forgot all about Miss Millington, all about the news
of Arthur's engagement.
The very next thing we heard was that he had seen Miss
Con, and that they are engaged. And he has given up all
idea of exchanging into a regiment abroad. Oh it is so good!