11

OUTPUT AND
COSTS
© 2012 Pearson Addison-Wesley
 What do General Motors, PennPower, and Campus
Sweaters, have in common?

Like every firm,

 They must decide how much to produce.
 How many people to employ.
 How much and what type of capital equipment to
use.

How do firms make these decisions?

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 Decision Time Frames

The firm makes many decisions to achieve its main

objective: profit maximization.
Some decisions are critical to the survival of the firm.
Some decisions are irreversible (or very costly to reverse).
Other decisions are easily reversed and are less critical to
the survival of the firm, but still influence profit.
All decisions can be placed in two time frames:
 The short run
 The long run

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 Decision Time Frames

The Short Run

The short run is a time frame in which the quantity of one
or more resources used in production is fixed.
For most firms, the capital, called the firm’s plant, is fixed
in the short run.
Other resources used by the firm (such as labor, raw
materials, and energy) can be changed in the short run.
Short-run decisions are easily reversed.

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 Decision Time Frames

The Long Run

The long run is a time frame in which the quantities of all
resources—including the plant size—can be varied.
Long-run decisions are not easily reversed.
A sunk cost is a cost incurred by the firm and cannot be
changed.
If a firm’s plant has no resale value, the amount paid for it
is a sunk cost.
Sunk costs are irrelevant to a firm’s current decisions.

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 Short-Run Technology Constraint

To increase output in the short run, a firm must increase

the amount of labor employed.
Three concepts describe the relationship between output
and the quantity of labor employed:
1. Total product
2. Marginal product
3. Average product

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 Short-Run Technology Constraint

Product Schedules
Total product is the total output produced in a given
period.
The marginal product of labor is the change in total
product that results from a one-unit increase in the
quantity of labor employed, with all other inputs remaining
the same.
The average product of labor is equal to total product
divided by the quantity of labor employed.

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 Short-Run Technology Constraint

Table 11.1 shows a firm’s product

schedules.
As the quantity of labor employed
increases:
Total product increases.
 Marginal product increases but
eventually decreases.
 Average product increases but
eventually decreases.

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 Short-Run Technology Constraint

Product Curves
Product curves show how the firm’s total product, marginal
product, and average product change as the firm varies
the quantity of labor employed.

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 Short-Run Technology Constraint

Total Product Curve

Figure 11.1 shows a total
product curve.
The total product curve
shows how total product
changes with the quantity
of labor employed.

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 Short-Run Technology Constraint

The total product curve

separates attainable
output levels from
unattainable output levels
in the short run.

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 Short-Run Technology Constraint

Marginal Product Curve

Figure 11.2 shows the
marginal product of labor
curve and how the
marginal product curve
relates to the total product
curve.
The first worker hired
produces 4 units of output.

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 Short-Run Technology Constraint

The second worker hired

produces 6 units of output
and total product becomes
10 units.
The third worker hired
produces 3 units of output
and total product becomes
13 units.
And so on.

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 Short-Run Technology Constraint

The height of each bar

measures the marginal
product of labor.
For example, when labor
increases from 2 to 3, total
product increases from 10
to 13,
so the marginal product of
the third worker is 3 units
of output.

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 Short-Run Technology Constraint

To make a graph of the

marginal product of labor,
we can stack the bars in
the previous graph side by
side.

The marginal product of

labor curve passes
through the mid-points of
these bars.

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 Short-Run Technology Constraint

Almost all production

processes are like the
one shown here and
have:
 Increasing marginal
returns initially
 Diminishing marginal
returns eventually

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 Short-Run Technology Constraint

Increasing Marginal
Returns
Initially, the marginal
product of a worker
exceeds the marginal
product of the previous
worker.
The firm experiences
increasing marginal returns.

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 Short-Run Technology Constraint

Diminishing Marginal
Returns
Eventually, the marginal
product of a worker is less
than the marginal product
of the previous worker.
The firm experiences
diminishing marginal
returns.

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 Short-Run Technology Constraint

Increasing marginal returns arise from increased

specialization and division of labor.
Diminishing marginal returns arises because each
additional worker has less access to capital and less space
in which to work.
Diminishing marginal returns are so pervasive that they are
elevated to the status of a “law.”
The law of diminishing returns states that:
As a firm uses more of a variable input with a given
quantity of fixed inputs, the marginal product of the variable
input eventually diminishes.

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 Short-Run Technology Constraint

Average Product Curve

Figure 11.3 shows the
average product curve
and its relationship with
the marginal product
curve.

When marginal product

exceeds average product,
average product
increases.

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 Short-Run Technology Constraint

When marginal product is

below average product,
average product
decreases.
When marginal product
equals average product,
average product is at its
maximum.

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 Short-Run Cost

To produce more output in the short run, the firm must

employ more labor, which means that it must increase its
costs.
Three cost concepts and three types of cost curves are
 Total cost
 Marginal cost
 Average cost

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 Short-Run Cost

Total Cost
A firm’s total cost (TC) is the cost of all resources used.
Total fixed cost (TFC) is the cost of the firm’s fixed
inputs. Fixed costs do not change with output.
Total variable cost (TVC) is the cost of the firm’s variable
inputs. Variable costs do change with output.
Total cost equals total fixed cost plus total variable cost.
That is:

TC = TFC + TVC

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 Short-Run Cost

Figure 11.4 shows a firm’s

total cost curves.
Total fixed cost is the
same at each output level.
Total variable cost
increases as output
increases.
Total cost, which is the sum
of TFC and TVC also
increases as output
increases.
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 Short-Run Cost

The AVC curve gets its

shape from the TP curve.

Notice that the TP curve

becomes steeper at low
output levels and then less
steep at high output levels.
In contrast, the TVC curve
becomes less steep at low
output levels and steeper
at high output levels.

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 Short-Run Cost

To see the relationship

between the TVC curve
and the TP curve, lets look
again at the TP curve.
But let us add a second
x-axis to measure total
variable cost.

1 worker costs $25;

2 workers cost $50: and so
on, so the two x-axes line
up.

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 Short-Run Cost

We can replace the

quantity of labor on the
x-axis with total variable
cost.
When we do that, we must
change the name of the
curve. It is now the TVC
curve.
But it is graphed with cost
on the x-axis and output
on the y-axis.

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 Short-Run Cost

Redraw the graph with

cost on the y-axis and
output on the x-axis, and
you’ve got the TVC curve
drawn the usual way.
Put the TFC curve back in
the figure,
and add TFC to TVC, and
you’ve got the TC curve.

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 Short-Run Cost

Marginal Cost
Marginal cost (MC) is the increase in total cost that
results from a one-unit increase in total product.
Over the output range with increasing marginal returns,
marginal cost falls as output increases.
Over the output range with diminishing marginal returns,
marginal cost rises as output increases.

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 Short-Run Cost

Average Cost
Average cost measures can be derived from each of the
total cost measures:
Average fixed cost (AFC) is total fixed cost per unit of
output.
Average variable cost (AVC) is total variable cost per unit
of output.
Average total cost (ATC) is total cost per unit of output.

ATC = AFC + AVC.

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 Short-Run Cost

Figure 11.5 shows the MC,

AFC, AVC, and ATC curves.
The AFC curve shows that
average fixed cost falls as
output increases.
The AVC curve is U-shaped.
As output increases,
average variable cost falls to
a minimum and then
increases.

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 Short-Run Cost

The ATC curve is also

U-shaped.
The MC curve is very
special.
The outputs over which AVC
is falling, MC is below AVC.
The outputs over which AVC
is rising, MC is above AVC.
The output at which AVC is at
the minimum, MC equals AVC.

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 Short-Run Cost

Similarly, the outputs over

which ATC is falling, MC is
below ATC.
The outputs over which
ATC is rising, MC is above
ATC.
At the minimum ATC,
MC equals ATC.

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 Short-Run Cost

The AVC curve is U-shaped because:

Initially, MP exceeds AP, which brings rising AP and falling
AVC.
Eventually, MP falls below AP, which brings falling AP and
rising AVC.
The ATC curve is U-shaped for the same reasons.
In addition, ATC falls at low output levels because AFC is
falling quickly.

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 Short-Run Cost

Why the Average Total Cost Curve Is U-Shaped

The ATC curve is the vertical sum of the AFC curve and
the AVC curve.
The U-shape of the ATC curve arises from the influence of
two opposing forces:
1.Spreading total fixed cost over a larger output—AFC
curve slopes downward as output increases.
2.Eventually diminishing returns—the AVC curve slopes
upward and AVC increases more quickly than AFC is
decreasing.

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 Short-Run Cost

Cost Curves and Product Curves

The shapes of a firm’s cost curves are determined by the
technology it uses:
 MC is at its minimum at the same output level at which
MP is at its maximum.
 When MP is rising, MC is falling.
 AVC is at its minimum at the same output level at which
AP is at its maximum.
 When AP is rising, AVC is falling.

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 Short-Run Cost

Figure 11.6 shows these

relationships.

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 Short-Run Cost

Shifts in the Cost Curves

The position of a firm’s cost curves depend on two factors:
 Technology
 Prices of factors of production

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 Short-Run Cost

Technology
Technological change influences both the product curves
and the cost curves.
An increase in productivity shifts the product curves
upward and the cost curves downward.
If a technological advance results in the firm using more
capital and less labor, fixed costs increase and variable
costs decrease.
In this case, average total cost increases at low output
levels and decreases at high output levels.

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 Short-Run Cost

Prices of Factors of Production

An increase in the price of a factor of production increases
costs and shifts the cost curves.
An increase in a fixed cost shifts the total cost (TC ) and
average total cost (ATC ) curves upward but does not shift
the marginal cost (MC ) curve.
An increase in a variable cost shifts the total cost (TC ),
average total cost (ATC ), and marginal cost (MC ) curves
upward.

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 Long-Run Cost

In the long run, all inputs are variable and all costs are
variable.
The Production Function
The behavior of long-run cost depends upon the firm’s
production function.
The firm’s production function is the relationship between
the maximum output attainable and the quantities of both
capital and labor.

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 Long-Run Cost

Short-Run Cost and Long-Run Cost

The average cost of producing a given output varies and

depends on the firm’s plant.

The larger the plant, the greater is the output at which ATC
is at a minimum.

The firm has 4 different plants: 1, 2, 3, or 4 knitting

machines.

Each plant has a short-run ATC curve.

The firm can compare the ATC for each output at different
plants.
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 Long-Run Cost

ATC1 is the ATC curve for a plant with 1 knitting machine.

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 Long-Run Cost

ATC2 is the ATC curve for a plant with 2 knitting machines.

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 Long-Run Cost

ATC3 is the ATC curve for a plant with 3 knitting machines.

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 Long-Run Cost

ATC4 is the ATC curve for a plant with 4 knitting machines.

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 Long-Run Cost

The long-run average cost curve is made up from the

lowest ATC for each output level.

So, we want to decide which plant has the lowest cost for
producing each output level.

Let’s find the least-cost way of producing a given output

level.

Suppose that the firm wants to produce 13 sweaters a

day.

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 Long-Run Cost

13 sweaters a day cost $7.69 each on ATC1.

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 Long-Run Cost

13 sweaters a day cost $6.80 each on ATC2.

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 Long-Run Cost

13 sweaters a day cost $7.69 each on ATC3.

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 Long-Run Cost

13 sweaters a day cost $9.50 each on ATC4.

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 Long-Run Cost
The least-cost way of producing 13 sweaters a day is to use
2 knitting machines.

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 Long-Run Cost

Long-Run Average Cost Curve

The long-run average cost curve is the relationship

between the lowest attainable average total cost and
output when both the plant and labor are varied.

The long-run average cost curve is a planning curve that

tells the firm the plant that minimizes the cost of producing
a given output range.

Once the firm has chosen its plant, the firm incurs the
costs that correspond to the ATC curve for that plant.

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 Long-Run Cost

Figure 11.8 illustrates the long-run average cost (LRAC) curve.

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 Long-Run Cost

Economies and Diseconomies of Scale

Economies of scale are features of a firm’s technology

that lead to falling long-run average cost as output
increases.

Diseconomies of scale are features of a firm’s

technology that lead to rising long-run average cost as
output increases.

Constant returns to scale are features of a firm’s

technology that lead to constant long-run average cost as
output increases.

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 Long-Run Cost

Figure 11.8 illustrates economies and diseconomies of scale.

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 Long-Run Cost

Minimum Efficient Scale

A firm experiences economies of scale up to some output
level.
Beyond that output level, it moves into constant returns to
scale or diseconomies of scale.
Minimum efficient scale is the quantity of output at which
the long-run average cost reaches its lowest level.
If the long-run average cost curve is U-shaped, the
minimum point identifies the minimum efficient scale
output level.

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