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What is the Cost Function?
A cost function is a mathematical expression or equation that shows the cost of producing different levels of output.
What we observe is that the cost increases as the firm produces higher quantities of output. This is pretty intuitive, since producing more output requires greater quantities of inputs, which cost more dollars to acquire.
What is the origin of these cost figures? They come from the production function and the factor payments.
We can use the information from the production function to determine production costs. What we need to know is how many workers are required to produce any quantity of output. If we flip the order of the rows, we “invert” the production function so it shows L = f ⎛Q⎞ .
Now focus on the whole number quantities of output.
Relate Topics
- Theory of the Firm
- Capital Formation
- Rent Seeking
- Structure Conduct Performance Model
- Integration
- Co-Insurance Effect
- Conglomerates
- Cost vs Profit Center
- Accelerator Theory
- Market Structure
- Fixed Cost vs Variable Cost
- Actual vs Implicit Costs
- Explicit Costs
- True Cost Economics
- Accounting Profit
- Economic Profit
- What are Factors of Production?
- Factor Income
- Production Function
- Fixed and Variable Inputs
- Short-Run and Long-Run Production
- Short Run
- Total Product
- Marginal Product
- Value of Marginal Product
- Law of Marginal Diminishing Product
- Production Function
- Production Possibilities Frontier
- Capital
- Labor Theory of Value
- How the Production Function Estimates Inputs
- Factor Payment
- Economic Rent
- Cost Function
- Incremental Cost
- Marginal Input Cost
- Fixed and Variable Costs
- Diminishing Marginal Productivity
- Costs Relate to Diminishing Marginal Productivity
- Law of Diminishing Marginal Returns
- Average Total Cost
- Average Variable Cost
- Marginal Cost
- Average Profit or Profit Margin
- Accounting Profit
- Economic Profit
- Normal Profit
- Short and Long-Run Production
- Cost Curves
- Long-Run Average Cost (LRAC)
- Production Technologies
- Economies of Scope
- Economies of Scale
- Diseconomies of Scale
- Minimum Efficient Scale
- Increasing, Constant, and Decreasing Returns to Scale
- Shape of the Average Long-Run and Short-Run Cost Curves
- Returns to Scale
- Diseconomies of Scale
- Long-Run Average Cost Curve Affect Industry Competitors
- Technology Shifts the Long-Run Average Cost Curve
- Law of Diminishing Marginal Returns