Sole trader
– owned by an individual entitled to income and
responsible for losses
Partnership
– jointly owned by two or more people
– unlimited liability
Company
– ownership divided among shareholders
– legal entitlement to produce and trade
– limited liability
– shares of public companies resold on the
stock exchange
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Chapter 7
Business organization and behaviour
David Begg, Stanley Fischer and Rudiger Dornbusch, Economics,
6th Edition, McGraw-Hill, 2000
Power Point presentation by Peter Smith
7.1
The theory of supply
Costs of
production
Revenues
Firms‟ decisions about how much output to supply
depend upon the costs of production and the revenue
they receive from selling the output.
Firm chooses
level of
output
7.2
Forms of business organization
Sole trader
– owned by an individual entitled to income and
responsible for losses
Partnership
– jointly owned by two or more people
– unlimited liability
Company
– ownership divided among shareholders
– legal entitlement to produce and trade
– limited liability
– shares of public companies resold on the
stock exchange
7.3
Some key terms
Revenues
– the amount a firm earns by selling
goods and services in a given period
Costs
– the expenses incurred in producing
goods and services during the period
Profits
– the excess of revenues over costs
7.4
A firm‟s balance sheet
Assets
– what the firm owns
Liabilities
– what the firm owes
Balance sheet
– lists a firm‟s assets and liabilities at a
point in time
7.5
Snark International balance sheet
31 December 2000
ASSETS LIABILITIES
Cash
Accounts receivable
Inventories
Factory building
(original value £250,000)
Other equipment
(original value £300,000)
£ 40,000
70,000
100,000
200,000
180,000
£ 590,000
========
Accounts payable
Salaries payable
Mortgage from insurance
company
Bank loan
Net worth
£ 90,000
50,000
150,000
60,000
_______
350,000
240,000
£ 590,000
=======
7.6
Costs and the economist
Accounting cost
– actual payments made by a firm in a
period
Opportunity cost
– amount lost by not using a resource in
its best alternative use
Supernormal profit
– profit over and above the return earned
at the market rate of interest
Economists include opportunity cost
in a firm‟s total costs
7.7
The production decision
For any output level, the firm attempts to
mimimize costs
Assume the firm aims to maximize profits
Profits depend on both COSTS and
REVENUE
– each of which varies with the level of output
Marginal cost (MC) is the rise in total cost
if output increases by 1 unit.
Marginal revenue (MR) is the rise in total
revenue if output increases by 1 unit
7.8
Maximizing profits
OutputQ1
E
M
C
,
M
R
MC
MR
0
If MR > MC, an increase
in output will increase
profits.
If MR < MC, a decrease
in output will increase
profits.
So profits are maximized
when MR = MC at Q1
(so long as the firm
covers variable costs)
7.9
Will firms try to maximize profits?
Large firms are not run by their owners
– there is separation of ownership and control
Managers may pursue different objectives
– e.g. size, growth
But firms not maximizing profits may be
vulnerable to takeover
– or managers may be given share options to
influence their incentive to maximize profits
7.10
Chapter 8
Developing the theory of supply:
Costs and production
David Begg, Stanley Fischer and Rudiger Dornbusch, Economics,
6th Edition, McGraw-Hill, 2000
Power Point presentation by Peter Smith
8.12
Choosing output
COSTS REVENUES
Technology
& costs of
hiring
factors of production
TC curves
(short &
long run)
AC
(short &
long run)
MC
Demand
curve
AR
MR
CHECK: produce in SR?
close down in LR?
Choose output level
8.13
The production function
The amount of output produced depends
upon the inputs used in the production
process
A factor of production (“input”) is any
good or service used to produce output
The production function specifies the
maximum output which can be produced
given inputs
8.14
Short run vs. long run
The short run is the period in which a firm
can make only partial adjustment of inputs
e.g. the firm may be able to vary the amount of
labour, but cannot change capital.
The long run is the period in which a firm
can adjust all inputs to changed
conditions.
The long-run total cost curve describes
the minimum cost of producing each
output level when the firm is free to vary
all input levels.
8.15
Average cost
The average cost of production is total cost
divided by the level of output.
Long-run average cost (LAC) is often assumed
to be U-shaped:
LAC
Output
8.16
Economies of scale
Economies of scale – or increasing returns to
scale – occur when long-run average costs
decline as output rises:
LAC
Output
8.17
Decreasing returns to scale
– occur when long-run average costs rise
as output rises:
LAC
Output
8.18
Constant returns to scale
– occur when long-run average costs are
constant as output rises:
LAC
Output
8.19
The firm‟s long-run output decision
The decision:
– If the price is at or
above LAC1, the
firm produces Q1.
– If the price is below
LAC1
– the firm goes out of
business
NB: LMC always
passes through
the minimum point
of LAC.
AC1
£
Output
(goods per week)
MR
LAC
LMC
Q1
LMC = MR
8.20
The short run
Fixed factor of production
– a factor whose input level cannot be
varied
Fixed costs
– costs that do not vary with output levels
Variable costs
– costs that do vary with output levels
STC = SFC + SVC
8.21
The marginal product of labour
The marginal product of labour is the
increase in output obtained by
adding 1 unit of the variable factor
but holding constant the inputs of all
other factors.
Labour is often assumed to be the
variable factor
– with capital fixed.
8.22
The law of diminishing returns
Holding all factors constant except one,
the law of diminishing returns says that:
beyond some value of the variable input,
further increases in the variable input lead
to steadily decreasing marginal product of
that input.
e.g. trying to increase labour input without
also increasing capital will bring diminishing
returns.
8.23
The firm‟s short-run output decision
Firm sets output at Q1,
where SMC=MR
subject to checking
the average condition:
– if price is above SATC1
firm produces Q1 at a
profit
– if price is between
SATC1 and SAVC1 firm
produces Q1 at a loss
– if price is below SAVC1,
firm produces zero
output.
SAVC1
£
Output
MR
SAVC
SMC
Q1
SATC
SATC1
SMC = MR
8.24
The long-run average cost curve LAC
Output
A
v
e
ra
g
e
c
o
s
t SATC1
Each plant size
is designed for
a given output
level
SATC2
SATC3
SATC4
So there is a
sequence of SATC
curves, each
corresponding to
a different optimal
output level.
LAC
In the long-run, plant size itself is variable,
and the long-run average cost curve LAC is
found to be the „envelope‟ of the SATCs
8.25
The firm‟s output decisions – a summary
Marginal
condition
Check whether
to produce
Short-run
decision
Long-run
decision
Choose the
output level at
which MR = SMC
Choose the
output level at
which MR = LMC
Produce this
output unless
price lower than
SAVC. If it is,
produce zero
Produce this
output unless
price is lower
than LAC. If it
is, produce zero.