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In economics, a cost curve is a graph of the costs of production as a function of total quantity produced. In a free market economy, productively efficient firms optimize their production process by minimizing cost consistent with each possible level of production, and the result is a cost curve. Profit-maximizing firms use cost curves to ...
Note that the profit and loss for any given number of unit sales is the same, and in particular the break-even point is the same, whether one computes by sales = total costs or as contribution = fixed costs. Mathematically, the contribution graph is obtained from the sales graph by a shear, to be precise (), where V are unit variable costs.
To determine the optimum time spent on a behavior, one can make a graph showing how benefits and costs change with behavior. Optimality is defined as the point where the difference between benefits and costs for a behavior is maximized, which can be done by graphing the benefits and costs on the y-axis and a measure of the behavior on the x-axis.
Optimal foraging theory has been used to predict animal behaviour when searching for food, but can also be used for humans (specifically hunter-gatherers). Food provides energy but costs energy to obtain. Foraging strategy must provide the most benefit for the lowest cost – it is a balance between nutritional value and energy required.
Cournot competition. Cournot competition is an economic model used to describe an industry structure in which companies compete on the amount of output they will produce, which they decide on independently of each other and at the same time. It is named after Antoine Augustin Cournot (1801–1877) who was inspired by observing competition in a ...
The marginal cost can also be calculated by finding the derivative of total cost or variable cost. Either of these derivatives work because the total cost includes variable cost and fixed cost, but fixed cost is a constant with a derivative of 0. The total cost of producing a specific level of output is the cost of all the factors of production.
Long-run cost curve. In economics, a cost function represents the minimum cost of producing a quantity of some good. The long-run cost curve is a cost function that models this minimum cost over time, meaning inputs are not fixed. Using the long-run cost curve, firms can scale their means of production to reduce the costs of producing the good.
The cost breakdown analysis is a popular cost reduction strategy and a viable opportunity for businesses. [1][2][3] The price of a product or service is defined as cost plus profit, whereas cost can be broken down further into direct cost and indirect cost. [1] As a business has virtually no influence on indirect cost, a cost reduction oriented ...