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why mc is the supply curve

by Elmer Raynor Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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Under perfect competition, short run MC curve above the shut-down point is the supply curve which shows a unique relationship between price and quantity. At a particular price, a particular amount of the commodity will be supplied. Under monopoly, there is no such one-to-one correspondence between price and quantity supplied.

Marginal Cost as the Supply of Output
Accordingly, the marginal cost curve (MC) is that firm's supply curve for the output; as price of output rises, the firm is willing to produce and sell a greater quantity. Combining the MC curves for all the firms producing the product is the supply curve for the industry.

Full Answer

Why does Mc cut average cost curve?

When the MC is smaller the AC, the AC decreases. This is because when the extra unit of output is cheaper than the average cost then the AC is pulled down. Similarly, when the MC is greater than the AC, the AC is pulled up. The point of intersection between the MC and AC curves is also the minimum of the AC curve.

Why does a monopolist have no supply curve?

The monopolist tries to maximize profit by charging more than the market equilibrium price, but just like other market organizations, they are limited by the costs of producing goods and demand for their products. A monopolist has no well-defined supply curve as there is no one-to-one correspondence between the price and quantity supplied.

Why is Mr equal to MC?

The Right Formula. In economics, the profit maximization rule is represented as MC = MR, where MC stands for marginal costs, and MR stands for marginal revenue. Companies are best able to maximize their profits when marginal costs — the change in costs caused by making a new item — are equal to marginal revenues.

Why does the supply curve increase or decrease?

The supply of product changes due to an alteration in any of the following factors:

  • Prices of factors of production
  • Prices of other goods
  • State of technology
  • Taxation policy
  • An expectation of change in price in future
  • Goals of the firm
  • Number of firms

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Is marginal cost always the supply curve?

0:2710:57The Supply Curve is the Marginal Cost Curve - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipOkay what this one is called is supply is the marginal cost curve supply is the marginal cost curveMoreOkay what this one is called is supply is the marginal cost curve supply is the marginal cost curve the marginal cost curve gives us the supply curve that might even be a better name for this video

Why MC above AVC is supply curve?

Only rising portion (i.e., upward sloping) of MC is the supply curve. To be more specific, rising portion of the MC the that lies above the AVC curve is the supply curve of a competitive firm in the short run. Under perfect competition, a firm will produce that amount of output when P = MC.

Is MC the short run supply curve?

12:3313:38Deriving the Short-Run Supply Curve - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipUp individual to market demands when we discuss the concept of horizontal.MoreUp individual to market demands when we discuss the concept of horizontal.

Which part of MC curve is the supply curve?

'Supply curve is the rising portion of marginal cost curve over and above the minimum of Average Variable cost curve'.

What is the relationship between supply and marginal costs?

Analysis, Supply Curve Increasing marginal costs of production result in a positive relationship between the price of a good and the total quantity of that good supplied to the marketplace. Graphically, we call this relationship a supply curve.

What is the supply curve in the short run?

The short-run individual supply curve is the individual's marginal cost at all points greater than the minimum average variable cost. It holds true because a firm will not produce if the market price is lesser than the shut-down price.

Where is the short run supply curve?

The firm's short‐run supply curve is the portion of its marginal cost curve that lies above its average variable cost curve. As the market price rises, the firm will supply more of its product, in accordance with the law of supply.

Why is long run supply curve horizontal?

The existence of economic profits attracts entry, economic losses lead to exit, and in long-run equilibrium, firms in a perfectly competitive industry will earn zero economic profit. The long-run supply curve in an industry in which expansion does not change input prices (a constant-cost industry) is a horizontal line.

What is the relationship between AVC and MC?

When MC is equal to AVC, i.e. when MC and AVC curves intersect each other at point B, AVC is constant and at its minimum point. When MC is more than AVC, AVC rises with increase in output. Therefore, both AVC and MC rise, but MC increases at a faster rate as compared to AVC.

Why does the MC curve intersect the minimum points of ATC and AVC?

The marginal cost curve always intersects the average total cost curve at its lowest point because the marginal cost of making the next unit of output will always affect the average total cost. As a result, so long as marginal cost is less than average total cost, average total cost will fall. Was this answer helpful?

What is the relationship between ATC AVC and MC?

When AVC and ATC are falling, MC must be below the average cost curves. When AVC and ATC are rising, MC must be above the average cost curves. Therefore, MC intersects the average cost curves at the average cost curves' minimum points.

What happens when AVC equals MC?

When the marginal unit costs more than the average, the average has to increase. By definition, then, the MC curve intersects the AVC curve at the minimum point on the AVC curve. At the intersection, MC and AVC are equal. If you flip the AVC and MC curves over, they become APL and MP curves.

What is supply curve?

We know that a basic supply curve is the total amount of output a firm is willing to produce at a given price.

Why is MC=S?

MC=S because profit maximization occurs at P=MC, and we assume that all firms, unless told otherwise, are profit maximizers.

Why does MC cut AVC?

Have you learned about the law of diminishing returns yet? The reason MC cuts AVC at it's lowest point is because, if MC is below AVC, it will bring the average cost per unit down (eg. current AVC= £10, MC of next unit = £8, after next unit, level of AVC after next unit will be lower than £10), and if the MC is higher than the AVC , it will bring the average cost per unit up (eg. current AVC =£10, MC of next unit = £12, after next unit, level of AVC after next unit will be higher than £10).

When will marginal units be added?

A marginal unit will only be added/produced by the market if the resulting marginal cost equates with the Marginal Revenue.

Does MC>MR occur in a Perf.Comp market?

The same applies for producing MC>MR - i.e. loss-making, which doesn't occur in a Perf.Comp market.

Can ATC be above price?

Nor will they produce where ATC is above price (creating Loss) as the absence of barriers to exit (sunk costs) means the firm will simply exit the market when a loss is incurred. These occur only a very short-term basis and as such it can be said with a degree of certainty that Perfectly competitive firms can only produce at Normal Profit in the long-run.

What is the supply curve for short run?

For short run, the supply curve is sames short run marginal cost curve. More explaination here.

What is the vertical axis of the supply curve?

First, because of how the curves are interpreted. The vertical axis of the supply curve is the price of the product rather than the cost of making each unit. The supply curve is the quantity supplied for any given price; the marginal cost curve is the cost of producing each unit.

How does marginal cost affect profit?

Any firm that maximizes profits does so by producing up to the point where marginal cost equals marginal revenue. Under perfect competition, no firm has a large enough share of the market that its own production affects the market price, which means that from the standpoint of the individual firm, marginal revenue always equals the market-determined price. Put that fact together with the first proposition, and you conclude that firms in perfectly competitive markets set their output at a level where marginal cost equals the price of the good. That is, Qs = f (MC)=f (P), the result you were looki

How does the marginal revenue curve work in perfect competition?

It depends on the market structure. In perfect competition the marginal revenue curve and the demand curve are the same because the price to the seller is fixed, regardless of how many units they sell. In this case marginal revenue equals the price. In the other market structures (monopoly and imperfect competition) the price is inversely related to quantity. If sellers want to sell more, they have to lower price. If they can’t discriminate by charging different buyers different prices, the lower price must be offered to all buyers, including buyers willing to pay a higher price. The fact that the lower price must be offered to all buyers causes marginal revenue to be less than price and the marginal revenue curve is below the demand curve.

How does the marginal revenue curve and demand curve work?

In perfect competition the marginal revenue curve and the demand curve are the same because the price to the seller is fixed, regardless of how many units they sell. In this case marginal revenue equals the price. In the other market structures (monopoly and imperfect competition) the price is inversely related to quantity. If sellers want to sell more, they have to lower price. If they can’t discriminate by charging different buyers different prices, the lower price must be offered to all buy

What is marginal cost?

To understand this, one has to understand what “marginal” means. It refers to the next unit. Thus “marginal cost” is the cost of the next unit of something; “marginal benefit” is the benefit that you derive from the next unit of something. As it happens, the marginal benefit declines as the quantity increases. When you’re thirsty, the first cup of water affords the highest marginal benefit; the next cup affords a lower benefit than the first cup; the 9th cup of water is not as beneficial as the 8th cup because by then you have already had eight cups of water. That’s called “diminishing marginal benefit.” Each additional unit gives you less additional benefit because you have already consumed all those additional units.

Does increasing production make sense?

Does producing a bit more make sense? You really don’t care; you break even. So increasing production doesn’t make sense. Does cutting back make sense? No, you break even with that too. So this is the one case where we can say the level of production q makes sense.

What is supply curve?

The supply curve is the relationship between the market price and the number of units the firm will sell.

How does demand curve work?

We normally interpret a Demand curve as a way to see the quantity of a good demanded for any given price. It slopes downward from left to right so quantity demanded rises as the price goes down.

How is marginal utility included in the demand curve?

Short version: The demand curve is derived by taking the points where the budget line (how much you can spend) is tangent to the indifference curves (combinations of amounts of 2 goods that you are indifferent between). Your marginal utility is the change in utility relative to quantity, so by changing the quantity you skip between indifference curves (or move along an indi

What is the difference between demand and marginal benefit?

Thus, the demand function tells us how many cups (or what quantity) is purchased at what price, while the marginal benefit curve “goes the other way”: what is the consumer’s willingness to pay (or marginal benefit) for the additional quantity. Other than being “read in the opposite direction,” the two curves are exactly identical.

What is demand curve?

The demand curve is essentially the “inverse” of the marginal benefit curve.

What is marginal cost curve?

The marginal cost curve tells us, for a given level of production, how much it costs the firm to produce the last little bit of production. We assume this curve is upward sloping.

Why is marginal cost less than average cost?

So long as average cost declines with increase in production, marginal cost is less than average cost. This is due to the fact that fixed cost per unit of production goes down following increase in production. But this will not occur indefinitely as after some time machines will break down due to wear and tear and fixed cost will increase leading to rise in average total cost.

What is supply curve?

The supply curve is built as the average marginal cost (MC), when the MC is equal or higher than the average cost (AC) The marginal cost increases, as a result of the opposite effect of marginal production In this case, we get a supply curve that's rising from left to right: higher cost per rising quantity

What happens to the supply curve when the quantity increases?

In that case, we'll get a supply curve, though a very special one: It'll decrease price as a result of increasing quantity, and prices will aspire to zero. always

What is the supply curve of a single firm?

The single firm's supply curve is defined as it marginal cost, as long as MC is above it average cost A firm would not sell below its average cost, since it would loae money, Mathmatically we can define, for the single firm S = MAX (AC, MC)

Is the production function under the cost limit unaffected by quantity?

The other conculsion from the basic assumption is that the production function, under the costs limit, is completely unaffected by quantity Intuitively: its costs the same to produce 100 products and 1000 products.

Why does the supply curve shift?

For example, a lower price of key inputs or new technologies that reduce production costs cause supply to shift to the right; in contrast, bad weather or added government regulations can add to costs of certain goods in a way that causes supply to shift to the left. These shifts in the firm’s supply curve can also be interpreted as shifts of the marginal cost curve. A shift in costs of production that increases marginal costs at all levels of output—and shifts MC to the left—will cause a perfectly competitive firm to produce less at any given market price. Conversely, a shift in costs of production that decreases marginal costs at all levels of output will shift MC to the right and as a result, a competitive firm will choose to expand its level of output at any given price. The following Work It Out feature will walk you through an example.

Is $28 more than AVC?

In this example, the price of $28 is greater than the AVC ($16.40) of producing 5 units of output, so the firm continues producing.

What is the supply curve of a firm?

In the short run, the firm’s supply curve is its MC curve above AVC (at B). Below this point it will shut down. Hence the firm would be willing to supply at P, but not at P1.

Why does a firm need to cover variable costs?

This is largely because covering variable cost ensures than an output can be produced in the future. If variable costs cannot be covered then no further output can be made. In addition, fixed costs have already been paid for prior to any marginal decision to supply, so will not enter into the firm’s short run calculations.

What is the multiplier effect?

The multiplier effect - definition The multiplier effect indicates that an injection of new spending (exports, government spending or investment) can lead to a larger increase in final national income (GDP). This is because a ...

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1.Why is marginal cost the supply curve? - The Student Room

Url:https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1050800

34 hours ago Accordingly, the marginal cost curve (MC) is that firm’s supply curve for the output, as price of output rises, the firm is willing to produce and sell a greater quantity. Combining the MC curves for all the firms producing the product is the supply curve for the industry.

2.Why is a marginal cost curve called a supply curve in a …

Url:https://www.quora.com/Why-is-a-marginal-cost-curve-called-a-supply-curve-in-a-short-run-perfect-competition

1 hours ago  · This idea that a firm will produce and sell a different quantity of output based on the market price of the product is the same idea that the quantity of a product supplied will rise and fall as the market price rises and falls. Accordingly, the marginal cost curve (MC) is that firm's supply curve for the output; as price of output rises, the firm is willing to produce and sell a …

3.Why is the firm's marginal cost curve equal supply curve?

Url:https://www.quora.com/Why-is-the-firms-marginal-cost-curve-equal-supply-curve

20 hours ago We know that a basic supply curve is the total amount of output a firm is willing to produce at a given price. In a perfectly competitive market, we know that all firms (in the long-run) must produce at the profit-maximising level MC=MR, and given the nature of the market we also know that the Price will be the same as the Average Revenue and the Marginal Revenue.

4.Why is the MC curve the same as supply curve in perfect …

Url:https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5184006

12 hours ago The vertical axis of the supply curve is the price of the product rather than the cost of making each unit. The supply curve is the quantity supplied for any given price; the marginal cost curve is the cost of producing each unit. Second, the supply curve is for all the firms in the market; the marginal cost curve is for one firm.

5.Supply curve when the marginal cost is zero

Url:https://economics.stackexchange.com/questions/24895/supply-curve-when-the-marginal-cost-is-zero

9 hours ago The firm optimises its profit where MR=MC (if MR > MC it will benefit the firm to increase producton; if MR < MC it will reduce production) So at any price point the firm will produce at MC. Therefore the upwards sloping part of the MC curve becomes the supply curve of …

6.Marginal Cost and the Firm’s Supply Curve | Perfect …

Url:https://nigerianscholars.com/tutorials/perfect-competition/marginal-cost-and-the-firms-supply-curve/

31 hours ago Be careful in wording this as the firm's supply curve, and not the broader market supply curve. The reason is because of the P=MR condition of perfectly competitive markets (since they're price takers, firms get P per additional good sold no matter what they do). We know that firms that are profit maximising produce at MC=MR, therefore if P=MR, such firms will only produce when …

7.The supply curve of a firm - Economics Online

Url:https://www.economicsonline.co.uk/business_economics/the_supply_curve.html/

19 hours ago  · The supply curve is built as the average marginal cost (MC), when the MC is equal or higher than the average cost (AC) The marginal cost increases, as a result of the opposite effect of marginal production In this case, we get a supply curve that's rising from left to right: higher cost per rising quantity. In the case of marginal cost of zero, I can think of no other case …

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