QUOTA: A limit on the quantity of some sort of activity. Two of the more noted quotas are for employment and imports. Employment quotas have been used as a means of providing increased opportunities to blacks, hispanics, women, and other groups that have been historically subject to discrimination. Such quotas, however, tend to anger other groups, especially white males, who don't get favorable treatment. While employment or similar anti-discrimination quota systems might help address historical problems, they are not without cost. In particular, our economy's efficiency is likely to suffer if a less qualified member of an ethnic group is selected over someone who is more qualified. Import quotas have similar problems. They are one form of trade barriers that's usually intended to reduce the competition faced by a domestic producer.

     See also | employment | import | discrimination | opportunity cost | efficiency | nontariff barrier | competition | market control | price |

QUOTA, AmosWEB GLOSS*arama, http://www.AmosWEB.com, AmosWEB LLC, 2000-2025. [Accessed: July 10, 2025].

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A curve that graphically illustrates the relation between marginal product and the quantity of the variable input, holding all other inputs fixed. This curve indicates the incremental change in output at each level of a variable input. The marginal product curve is one of three related curves used in the analysis of the short-run production of a firm. The other two are total product curve and average product curve. The marginal product curve plays in key role in the economic analysis of short-run production by a firm.

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