preview

Marginal Costs And Its Effect On Market Efficiency

Decent Essays

Marginal costs and benefits are utilized as a form of measurement of costs and benefits at a specific level of production and consumption. Everyday individuals, groups, and institutions make decisions based on our marginal evaluations of the alternatives. They do this by asking questions: “What will it cost to produce one more unit”, and “What benefit will be received by acquiring one more unit”? In this essay, the author will define and discuss marginal costs and benefits and their effect on market efficiency in the presence or absence of externalities.
What Are Marginal Costs and Marginal Benefits?
Marginal benefit is the gain you receive for doing anything one more time (Urban Economics, 8E). Marginal benefit is typically measured in …show more content…

However, once they have one, they will only consider buying a second widget at 20 dollars. If they buy a second widget from your shop, it is based solely on the value-laden perception that the widget’s benefit is worth the 20 dollars. If the consumers do not perceive that the widget has 20 dollars benefit or use, they will not purchase another widget at the 20-dollar price level. Therefore, if your shop wants the consumer to buy widgets, the owner must either lower the price or offer some other promotional benefit. Consumers ' marginal benefit is also referred to as "marginal utility"(Urban Economics, 8E). According to the law of diminishing marginal utility, “as a person increases consumption of a product, while keeping consumption of other products constant, there is a decline in the marginal utility that person derives from consuming each additional unit of that product” (Urban Economics, 8E). As the marginal benefit for widgets declines among your customer base, so does the price they are willing to pay which in turn affects your marginal benefit as a widget producer.
“Marginal cost is the total cost you incur to produce one more unit” (Urban Economics, 8E). Following the example from the previous paragraph, it is the cost to make one more widget. Since, marginal costs are

Get Access