When a firm undertakes the task of production and purchases inputs it incurs cost. Having produced the output, on selling it the firm earns some income. The income receipt by way of sale proceeds is the revenue of the firm. We can study the concept of revenue by distinguishing between total revenue, average revenue and marginal revenue. Total Revenue (TR) Total revenue is the sale-proceeds or the aggregate receipts obtained by the firm for selling its product. Each unit of output sold in the market fetches a price and when this price is multiplied by the number of units sold we obtain the total revenue. Thus the total revenue depends on two factors: The price of the product (P) The units of output sold (Q) Thus, Total Revenue = Price x Quantity sold or, TR = P x Q For example, if the price of one Continue reading
Economics Basics
Effects of Inflation on Different Groups of Society
It is true that in times of general rise in the price level, if all groups of prices, such as agricultural prices, industrial prices, prices of minerals, wages, rent and profit rise in the same direction and by the same extent, there will be no net effect on any section of people in the community. For example, if the prices of goods and services, which a worker buys rises by 50 per cent and if the wage of the worker also rises by 50 per cent then there is no change in the real income of the worker, ie., his standard of living will remain constant. However, in practice, all prices do not move in same direction and by same percentage. Hence, some classes of people in the community are affected by inflation more favorably than others. This is explained as follows: Producing Classes: All producers, traders and speculators gain Continue reading
Economic Systems – Planned Economy, Free Market Economy and Mixed Economy
System of Planned Economy Under the conditions of the planned economy, all decisions concerning what to manufacture, how to manufacture and to whom to manufacture are approved by the sole center or group. This economy is based on collective ownership. Fixed production assets are owned by the government, and resources, production and the quantities of future products are distributed according to a plan. The type of the system of the command economy was prevailing in the USSR, Cuba, and North Korea. The plans of the system of the centralized economy are drawn up and implemented by the authorities and governmental political leaders after consulting with highly ranked professionals: engineers, economists, industrialists, and other experts. These planners decide which products to manufacture and which services to render. Their vote is decisive in approving decisions whether new undertakings are to be constructed, how many employees are to be employed at undertakings, whether Continue reading
Laws of Returns in Economics
The relationship between the inputs and the output in the process of production is clearly explained by the Laws of Returns or the Law of Variable Proportions. This law examines the production function with only one factor variable, keeping the quantities of other factors constant. The laws of returns comprise of three phases: The Law of Increasing Returns. The Law of Constant Returns. The Law of Diminishing Returns. The Laws of Returns in Economics may be stated as follows: “If in any process of production, the factors of production are so combined that if the varying quantity of one factor is combined with the fixed quantity of other factor (or factors), then there will be three tendencies about the additional output or marginal returns: Firstly, in the beginning, as more and more units of a variable factor are added to the units of a fixed factor, the additional Continue reading
Role of Supply Side Policies in Balanced Economic Growth
The government has a responsibility for delivering public goods optimally for the collective development of all individuals. In the quest to achieve this noble course, supply side policies, which form part of macroeconomic strategies, are developed to ensure that markets and industries function in an efficient way to increase the rate of economic growth as reflected in the real national yield. Many governments support the assertion that they can achieve a sustained economic growth by improving supply side operations without causing an increase in inflation. However, reforms on the supply side policies do not facilitate the achievement of adequate growth. Definition and Explanation of Balanced Economic Growth Although the growth rate does not reflect people’s living standards entirely, economic growth has been one of the critical areas of consideration for every nation that is in the process of developing its economic policies. Indeed, economic growth is the most common approach Continue reading
Concept of Demand in Managerial Economics
In Economics, use of the word ‘demand’ is made to show the relationship between the prices of a commodity and the amounts of the commodity which consumers want to purchase at those price. Definition of Demand: Hibdon defines, “Demand means the various quantities of goods that would be purchased per time period at different prices in a given market.” Bober defines, “By demand we mean the various quantities of given commodity or service which consumers would buy in one market in a given period of time at various prices, or at various incomes, or at various prices of related goods.” Demand for product implies: a) desires to acquire it, b) willingness to pay for it, and c) Ability to pay for it. All three must be checked to identify and establish demand. For example : A poor man’s desires to stay in a five-star hotel room and his willingness to Continue reading