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MARGINAL COST CURVE: A curve that graphically represents the relation between marginal cost incurred by a firm in the short-run product of a good or service and the quantity of output produced. This curve is constructed to capture the relation between marginal cost and the level of output, holding other variables, like technology and resource prices, constant. The marginal cost curve is U-shaped. Marginal cost is relatively high at small quantities of output, then as production increases, declines, reaches a minimum value, then rises. This shape of the marginal cost curve is directly attributable to increasing, then decreasing marginal returns (and the law of diminishing marginal returns).
Visit the GLOSS*arama
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State of the ECONOMY
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| Production/Income |
| Real average weekly earnings |
November 2016 |
$367.50 Bureau of Labor Statistics |
Constant 1982-84 dollars |
| Median weekly earnings |
Third Quarter 2016 |
$827 / week |
Up $24 from 3rd Qtr. 2015 |
| GDP: Real |
Third Quarter 2016 |
$18,675.3 Billion (Annual Rate) Source: BEA |
Up 5.0% |
| U.S. Exports |
November 2016 |
$185.8 billion |
Down 0.2% from Oct. 2016: Econ. Stat. Admin. |
| e-commerce sales |
3rd Quarter 2016 |
$101.3 billion |
Up 4.0% from 2nd Quarter 2016 US Census Bureau |
| Personal Income |
November 2016 |
$16,233.8 billion |
Up 0.1% from Oct. 2016 |
| U.S. Imports |
November 2016 |
$231.1 billion |
Up 1.1% from Oct. 2016: Econ. & Stat. Admin. |
| Private Employer Cost for Employee Compensation |
September 2016 |
$32.27 per hour |
Benefits are $10.73 / hour Source: BLS |
| Sales of New Single-Family Homes |
November 2016 |
592,000 (seasonal adjusted annual rate) |
Up % from October 2016 Source: Econ Stats Adm. |
| Productivity |
3rd Quarter 2016 |
Unchanged from a year ago |
Source: BLS |
| Real Average Hourly Earnings |
November 2016 |
$10.68 |
Up $.07 from November 2015 |
| Employment |
| U 3 Unemployment |
December 2016 |
4.7% Up from November |
Bureau of Labor Statistics |
| U.S. Job Openings |
October 2016 |
5.5 million Steady |
Bureau of Labor Statistics |
| U 6 Unemployment |
November 2016 |
9.3% Down a little |
Includes those who have given up looking. BLS |
| Prices |
| Consumer Price Index W |
November 2016 |
235.215 |
Down slightly from Oct. 2016 Source: B L S |
| Money/Interest |
| U.S. National Debt |
January 3, 2017 |
$19,951,017,689,395.11 |
Up over $1 trillion in 2016: U.S. Debt Clock |
| Federal Discount Rate |
January 3, 2017 |
1.25% |
Up 0.25% |
| Prime Rate |
January 3, 2017 |
3.75% |
Up .25% from a year ago |
| Federal Funds Rate |
January 3, 2017 |
.75% |
Up 0.25% from a year ago |
| Cyclical Indicators |
| Consumer Price Index Urban |
November 2016 |
241.353 |
Up 0.2% from Oct. 2016 Source: BLS |
| New Orders for Manufactured Goods |
November 2016 |
$458.3 billion |
Down 2.4% from Nov. 2016 Econ & Statistics Adm |
| New Orders for Manufactured Durable Goods |
November 2016 |
$228.2 billion U.S. Commerce Dept. |
Down 4.6% from Oct. 2016 |
| Business Inventories |
October 2016 |
$1,814.5 billion |
Up 2% from Oct. 2015: Econ. Stat. Admin. |
| Retail Sales |
November 2016 |
$468.05 billion |
U.S Census Bureau |
| Producer Price Index Final Demand |
November 2016 |
110.8 |
Up 0.4% from Oct. 2016 Soure: BLS.gov |
| Wholesale Inventories |
November 2016 |
$594.5 billion |
U.S. Dept. of Commerce |
| Housing Starts |
November 2016 |
1,090,000 |
Down 18.7% from Oct. 2016: U.S. Census Bureau |
| Construction Spending |
October 2016 |
$1,172.6.4 billion |
Up 0.5% from Sept. 2016 Source: Econ Stats Adm. |
| Building Permits |
November 2016 |
1,201,000 |
Do 4.7% from October 2016: U.S. Census Bureau |
| Other |
| World Population |
January 3, 2017 |
7,362,851,059 |
Higher: U.S. Census Bureau |
| U.S. Population |
January 3, 2017 |
324,321,654 |
Up again...U.S. Census Bureau |
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MARGINAL COST The change in total cost (or total variable cost) resulting from a change in the quantity of output produced by a firm in the short run. Marginal cost (MC) indicates how much total cost changes for a given change in the quantity of output. Because changes in total cost are matched by changes in total variable cost in the short run (total fixed cost is fixed), marginal cost is the change in either total cost or total variable cost. It is found by dividing the change in total cost (or total variable cost) by the change in output. Marginal cost is one of four cost concepts used in short-run production analysis. The other three are average total cost, average fixed cost, and average variable cost.
Complete Entry | Visit the WEB*pedia |
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The Business About INVESTMENTI had fun that last time we wandered into Shady Valley's very own Happy-Time Gala-World Fun-Land Amusement Park, didn't you? Let's stroll through it again, just to see what adventures we might find. Okay, I admit to an ulterior motive. The Happy-Time Gala-World Fun-Land Amusement Park recently added a new ride -- the Cap'n Space Fright Whirl. If you thought the Monster Loop Death Plunge roller coaster was exciting, then you're in for a real treat with this one. My interest in the Cap'n Space Fright Whirl, however, is NOT from the standpoint of risking a recently eaten meal. On the contrary, I'm going to don my pointy-headed economist disguise and check out this mass of twisted metal and high-flying cages as a prime example of capital. In the process we might be able to gain some insight into the whys and wherefors of the thing we call investment.
Tell me more...
Visit the PEDestrian's Guide
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A lump of pure gold the size of a matchbox can be flattened into a sheet the size of a tennis court!
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"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new. " -- Albert Einstein, physicist
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JEL
Journal of Economic Literature
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