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There are three principal cost functions (or 'curves') used in microeconomic analysis: Long-run total cost (LRTC) is the cost function that represents the total cost of production for all goods produced. Long-run average cost (LRAC) is the cost function that represents the average cost per unit of producing some good.
The total cost curve, if non-linear, can represent increasing and diminishing marginal returns.. The short-run total cost (SRTC) and long-run total cost (LRTC) curves are increasing in the quantity of output produced because producing more output requires more labor usage in both the short and long runs, and because in the long run producing more output involves using more of the physical ...
A long-run average cost curve is typically downward sloping at relatively low levels of output, and upward or downward sloping at relatively high levels of output. Most commonly, the long-run average cost curve is U-shaped, by definition reflecting economies of scale where negatively sloped and diseconomies of scale where positively sloped.
The Long Run Average Cost (LRAC) curve plots the average cost of producing the lowest cost method. The Long Run Marginal Cost (LRMC) is the change in total cost attributable to a change in the output of one unit after the plant size has been adjusted to produce that rate of output at minimum LRAC.
Each of these factors reduces the long run average costs (LRAC) of production by shifting the short-run average total cost (SRATC) curve down and to the right. Economies of scale is a concept that may explain patterns in international trade or in the number of firms in a given market.
In long-run equilibrium of an industry in which perfect competition prevails, the LRMC = LRAC at the minimum LRAC and associated output. The shape of the long-run marginal and average costs curves is influenced by the type of returns to scale. The long-run is a planning and implementation stage.
A firm making profits in the short run will nonetheless only break even in the long run because demand will decrease and average total cost will increase, meaning that in the long run, a monopolistically competitive company will make zero economic profit. This illustrates the amount of influence the company has over the market; because of brand ...
This long-run average cost diagram shows that as more is produced, so long as output does not exceed OQ 2, economies of scale are obtained. Beyond OQ 2, additional production will increase per-unit costs, reflecting diseconomies of scale. Consequently, the societally optimal firm size is OQ 2, where long-run average cost is at its lowest level.