The concept of consumer’s surplus is one of the most important idea in economic theory especially in demand and welfare economics. This law was first developed by French engineer A.J Dupuit in 1844 to measure the social benefits of public commodities like canals, bridges, national highways, etc. This concept was further refined and popularized by Dr. Alfred Marshall in 1890. The essence of the concept of consumer’s surplus is that people generally get more satisfaction or utility from the consumption of commodities than the actual price they pay for them. It has been found that people are willing to pay more price for the commodity than they actually pay for them. This extra satisfaction which the consumers obtain from buying a commodity has been called consumer’s surplus by Marshall. The amount of money which a person is prepared to pay for a commodity indicates the amount of utility he derives Continue reading
Economics Concepts
Principle of Time Perspective
The economic concepts of the long run and the short run have become part of everyday language. Managerial economists are also concerned with the short-run and long-run effects of decisions on revenues as well as on costs. The actual problem in decision-making is to maintain the right balance between the long-run and short-run considerations. A decision may be made on the basis of short-run considerations, but may in the course of time offer long-run repercussions, which make it more or less profitable than it appeared at first. An illustration will make this point clear. Suppose there is a firm with temporary idle capacity. An order for 5,000 units comes to management’s attention. The customer is willing to pay 4.00 $ per unit or 20,000 $ for the whole lot but not more. The short-run incremental cost (ignoring the fixed cost) is only 3.00 $. Therefore, the contribution to overhead and Continue reading
Pricing under Different Market Structures
Price-fixation is an important managerial function in all business enterprises. If the price set is quite high, the seller may not find enough number of consumers to buy his product. If the price fixed is too low, the seller may not be able to cover his cost. Thus, fixing appropriate price is a major decision-taking function of any enterprise. Price-decisions, no doubt, need to be reviewed from time to time. Market Structures and Pricing Decisions A firm operates in a market and not in isolation. Under Perfect Competition price is determined by the forces of demand and supply. The point of intersection between demand and supply curves is the point of equilibrium which determines the equilibrium price. Each firm under perfect competition is a price taker and not a price maker. The Average Revenue Curve of a firm under perfect competition is horizontal and that AR = MR. Further there Continue reading
Government Policy Instruments for Managing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
By their choice of policies, home countries can both encourage and restrict FDI by local firms. We look at policies designed to encourage outward FDI first. These include foreign risk insurance, tax incentives, and political pressure. Then we will look at policies designed to restrict outward FDI. Home Country Policies to Encourage Outward FDI Many investor nations now have government backed insurance programs to cover major types of foreign investment risks. The types of risks insurable through these programs include risks of expropriation (nationalization), war losses and the inability to transfer profit back home. Such programs are particularly useful in encouraging firms to undertake investments in politically unstable countries. Home Country Policies to Restrict Outward FDI Virtually all investor countries, including the US, have tried to exercise some control over outward FDI from time to time. One common policy has been to limit capital outflows out of certain concern for Continue reading
Elasticity of Demand – Factors, Types and Importance
Elasticity is a term that was initially developed by known economic scholar called Alfred Marshall, and has been since used in measuring the relationship that exists between product price and its quantity demanded. It typically followed the law of demand that states that the lower the price of goods and services, the higher the quantity that will be demanded of such goods and services i.e. it primarily explains only the actual directions of changes in the demand for the commodity, but not really explaining the extent of that change. A further development on these lapses led to the concept of elasticity of demands. In practical term, elasticity means the act of responsiveness. Meanwhile, elasticity of demand has been theoretically defined as the responsiveness of the actual quantity demanded of a product to the change in its actual price. Elasticity of demand could be defined as the measure of the degree Continue reading
Effect of Agglomeration in Urban Economies
In order for the economy to grow, an urban area has to be positioned in an area where development exists and where there is economic growth is running. As long as economic energy is in an urban area, also the activity of urban force, it is necessary to gain a contribution to the appearance of the role of urban areas in economic growth and development. Economists are concerned about how the economic growth of their cities is increased. Mostly populated urban areas, chances of an economic opportunity exist in those areas. The majority of ideas analyze the importance of growth opportunities in an urban area. Internal economies make the production of firms produce goods that are more cost-effective than single members. Agglomeration economies cause firms to cluster in the cities and clustering causes economic power and development in that city. Talking about people’s growth, it is the first time in Continue reading