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PERFECT COMPETITION, REALISM: Perfect competition is an idealized market structure that does NOT exist in the real world. While some real world industries might come relatively close to one or two of the four key characteristics of perfect competition, none matches all four sufficiently that they can be declared PERFECTLY competitively. Some industries come close on the large number of small firms and the identical product characteristics. A few industries have relatively good, although not perfect, information about prices and technology. However, almost all industries fall far short of the perfect mobility characteristics.
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VARIABLE COST: In general, cost that changes with changes in the quantity of output produced. More specifically, variable cost is combined with the adjectives "total" and "average" to indicate the overall level of variable cost or the per unit variable cost. Variable cost depends on the amount produced. If there is no production, then there is no variable cost. Variable cost is cost that depends on the quantity produced. If production is greater, then variable cost is greater. Variable cost is affected by short-run production principles, especially the law of diminishing marginal returns.Variable InputsVariable cost usually includes the cost of using variable inputs, assorted resources that are variable in the short run, especially labor and material inputs. However, in practice, variable cost includes any and all cost that varies with the quantity of output.For example, Waldo's TexMex Taco World operates in the short run with labor (the workers) as a variable input and capital (the restaurant and equipment) as a fixed input. In this case, the cost associated with labor is a prime candidate to be a variable cost. This includes hourly wage payments to the workers and any fringe benefits paid on behalf of the workers. While labor is usually isolated as THE variable input in the short run, most short-run production has other variable inputs, too. Waldo's TexMex Taco World undoubtedly has an assortment of other variable inputs, all of which are part of variable cost--including meat, lettuce, sour cream, and jalapenos that make up the tacos; paper napkins, packaging material, and plastic utensils that customers use when consuming the tacos; and electricity and other energy sources needed to prepare the tacos. When Waldo's make more tacos, they incur a greater cost for these inputs. Total and AverageThe two most common manifestations of variable cost are total variable cost and average variable cost.- Total Variable Cost: This is the total amount of variable cost incurred in the production of a good. It combines all variable opportunity cost.
- Average Variable Cost: This is the per unit variable cost, which is calculated by dividing total variable cost by the quantity of output produced.
Recommended Citation:VARIABLE COST, AmosWEB Encyclonomic WEB*pedia, http://www.AmosWEB.com, AmosWEB LLC, 2000-2024. [Accessed: April 23, 2024]. Check Out These Related Terms... | | | | | | | | | | | | | Or For A Little Background... | | | | | | | | | | | | | And For Further Study... | | | | | | | | | | |
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PINK FADFLY [What's This?]
Today, you are likely to spend a great deal of time at an auction wanting to buy either a combination CD player, clock radio, and telephone (with answering machine) or a revolving spice rack. Be on the lookout for the last item on a shelf. Your Complete Scope
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The average bank teller loses about $250 every year.
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"You have to find something that you love enough to be able to take risks, jump over the hurdles and break through the brick walls that are always going to be placed in front of you. If you don't have that kind of feeling for what it is you're doing, you'll stop at the first giant hurdle. " -- George Lucas
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MRS Marginal Rate of Substitution
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