Chapter 7

If the firm's average cost curves are U-shaped, why does its average variable cost curve achieve its minimum at a lower level of output than the average total cost curve?

Average total cost is equal to average fixed cost plus average variable cost: ATC = AVC + AFC. When graphed, the difference between the U-shaped average total cost and U-shaped average variable cost curves is the average fixed cost, and AFC is downward sloping at all output levels. When AVC is falling, ATC will also fall because both AVC and AFC are declining as output increases. When AVC reaches its minimum (the bottom of its U), ATC will continue to fall because AFC is falling. Even as AVC gradually begins to rise, ATC will still fall because of AFC's decline. Eventually, however, as AVC rises more rapidly, the increases in AVC will outstrip the declines in AFC, and ATC will reach its minimum and then begin to rise.

What is the difference between economies of scale and returns to scale?

Economies of scale depend on the relationship between cost and output—i.e., how does cost change when output is doubled? Returns to scale depend on what happens to output when all inputs are doubled. The difference is that economies of scale reflect input proportions that change optimally as output is increased, while returns to scale are based on fixed input proportions (such as two units of labor for every unit of capital) as output increases.

Distinguish between economies of scale and economies of scope. Why can one be present without the other?

Economies of scale refer to the production of one good and occur when total cost increases by a smaller proportion than output. Economies of scope refer to the production of two or more goods and occur when joint production is less costly than the sum of the costs of producing each good separately. There is no direct relationship between economies of scale and economies of scope, so production can exhibit one without the other. For example, there are economies of scale producing computers and economies of scale producing carpeting, but if one company produced both, there would likely be no synergies associated with joint production and hence no economies of scope.

Is the firm's expansion path always a straight line?

No. If the firm always uses capital and labor in the same proportion, the long run expansion path is a straight line. But if the optimal capital-labor ratio changes as output is increased, the expansion path is not a straight line.

Assume that the marginal cost of production is increasing. Can you determine whether the average variable cost is increasing or decreasing? Explain.

No. When marginal cost is increasing, average variable cost can be either increasing or decreasing as shown in the diagram below. Marginal cost begins increasing at output level q1, but AVC is decreasing. This happens because MC is below AVC and is therefore pulling AVC down. AVC is decreasing for all output levels between q1 and q2. At q2, MC cuts through the minimum point of AVC, and AVC begins to rise because MC is above it. Thus for output levels greater than q2, AVC is increasing.

The owner of a small retail store does her own accounting work. How would you measure the opportunity cost of her work?

The economic, or opportunity, cost of doing accounting work is measured by computing the monetary amount that the owner's time would be worth in its next best use. For example, if she could do accounting work for some other company instead of her own, her opportunity cost is the amount she could have earned in that alternative employment. Or if she is a great stand-up comic, her opportunity cost is what she could have earned in that occupation instead of doing her own accounting work.

How does a change in the price of one input change the firm's long-run expansion path?

The expansion path describes the cost-minimizing combination of inputs that the firm chooses for every output level. This combination depends on the ratio of input prices, so if the price of one input changes, the price ratio also changes. For example, if the price of an input increases, the intercept of the isocost line on that input's axis moves closer to the origin, and the slope of the isocost line (the price ratio) changes. As the price ratio changes, the firm substitutes away from the now more expensive input toward the cheaper input. Thus the expansion path bends toward the axis of the now cheaper input.

Why are isocost lines straight lines?

The isocost line represents all possible combinations of two inputs that may be purchased for a given total cost. The slope of the isocost line is the negative of the ratio of the input prices. If the input prices are fixed, their ratio is constant and the isocost line is therefore straight. Only if the ratio of the input prices changes as the quantities of the inputs change is the isocost line not straight.

Suppose that labor is the only variable input to the production process. If the marginal cost of production is diminishing as more units of output are produced, what can you say about the marginal product of labor?

The marginal product of labor must be increasing. The marginal cost of production measures the extra cost of producing one more unit of output. If this cost is diminishing, then it must be taking fewer units of labor to produce the extra unit of output. If fewer units of labor are required to produce a unit of output, then the marginal product (extra output produced by an extra unit of labor) must be increasing. Note also, that MC = w/MPL, so that if MC is diminishing then MPL must be increasing for any given w.

Suppose a chair manufacturer finds that the marginal rate of technical substitution of capital for labor in her production process is substantially greater than the ratio of the rental rate on machinery to the wage rate for assembly-line labor. How should she alter her use of capital and labor to minimize the cost of production?

The question states that the MRTS of capital for labor is greater than r/w. Note that this is different from the MRTS of labor for capital, which is what is used in Chapters 6 and 7. The MRTS of labor for capital equals MPK/MPL. So it follows that MPK/MPL > r/w or, written another way, MPK/r > MPL/w. These two ratios should be equal to minimize cost. Since the manufacturer gets more marginal output per dollar from capital than from labor, she should use more capital and less labor to minimize the cost of production.

A firm pays its accountant an annual retainer of $10,000. Is this an economic cost?

This is an explicit cost of purchasing the services of the accountant, and it is both an economic and an accounting cost. When the firm pays an annual retainer of $10,000, there is a monetary transaction. The accountant trades his or her time in return for money. An annual retainer is an explicit cost and therefore an economic cost.

If a firm enjoys economies of scale up to a certain output level, and cost then increases proportionately with output, what can you say about the shape of the long-run average cost curve?

When the firm experiences economies of scale, its long-run average cost curve is downward sloping. When costs increase proportionately with output, the firm's long-run average cost curve is horizontal. So this firm's long-run average cost curve has a rounded L-shape; first it falls and then it becomes horizontal as output increases.

Assume that the marginal cost of production is greater than the average variable cost. Can you determine whether the average variable cost is increasing or decreasing? Explain.

Yes, the average variable cost is increasing. If marginal cost is above average variable cost, each additional unit costs more to produce than the average of the previous units, so the average variable cost is pulled upward. This is shown in the diagram above for output levels greater than q2.

Please explain whether the following statements are true or false. a. If the owner of a business pays himself no salary, then the accounting cost is zero, but the economic cost is positive. b. A firm that has positive accounting profit does not necessarily have positive economic profit. c. If a firm hires a currently unemployed worker, the opportunity cost of utilizing the worker's services is zero.

a. True. Since there is no monetary transaction, there is no accounting, or explicit, cost. However, since the owner of the business could be employed elsewhere, there is an economic cost. The economic cost is positive, reflecting the opportunity cost of the owner's time. The economic cost is the value of the owner's time in his next best alternative, or the amount that the owner would earn if he took the next best job. b. True. Accounting profit considers only the explicit, monetary costs. Since there may be some opportunity costs that were not fully realized as explicit monetary costs, it is possible that when the opportunity costs are added in, economic profit will become negative. This indicates that the firm's resources are not being put to their best use. c. False. From the firm's point of view, the wage paid to the worker is an explicit cost whether she was previously unemployed or not. The firm's opportunity cost is equal to the wage, because if it did not hire this worker, it would have had to hire someone else at the same wage. The opportunity cost from the worker's point of view is the value of her time, which is unlikely to be zero. By taking this job, she cannot work at another job or take care of a child or elderly person at home. If her best alternative is working at another job, she gives up the wage she would have earned. If her best alternative is unpaid, such as taking care of a loved one, she will now have to pay someone else to do that job, and the amount she has to pay is her opportunity cost.