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 indicates how much total cost changes for a give change in the quantity of output. Because changes in total cost are matched by changes in total variable cost in the short run (remember total fixed cost is fixed), marginal cost is the change in either total cost or total variable cost. Marginal cost, usually abbreviated MC, is found by dividing the change in total cost (or total variable cost) by the change in output.

     See also | total cost | total variable cost | marginal cost curve | quantity | law of diminishing marginal returns | technology | resource prices | increasing marginal returns | decreasing marginal returns | U-shaped cost curves | average total cost | average variable cost | average fixed cost | total cost |

MARGINAL COST, AmosWEB GLOSS*arama, http://www.AmosWEB.com, AmosWEB LLC, 2000-2024. [Accessed: July 26, 2024].

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Perfect competition is an idealized market structure that achieves an efficient allocation of resources. This efficiency is achieved because the profit-maximizing quantity of output produced by a perfectly competitive firm results in the equality between price and marginal cost. In the short run, this involves the equality between price and short-run marginal cost. In the long run, this is seen with the equality between price and long-run marginal cost at the minimum efficient scale of production.

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