14 01 Lec13

1 Short-Run Cost Function
14.01 Principles of Microeconomics, Fall 2007

Chia-Hui Chen
October 15, 2007
Lecture 13
Cost Functions Outline

1. Chap 7: Short-Run Cost Function 2. Chap 7: Long-Run Cost Function
Cost Function
Let w be the cost per unit of labor and r be the cost per unit of capital. With the input Labor (L) and Capital (K ), the production cost is w L + r K. A cost function C (q ) is a function of q , which tells us what the minimum cost is for producing q units of output. We can also split total cost into xed cost and variable cost as follows: C (q ) = F C + V C (q ). Fixed cost is independent of quantity, while variable cost is dependent on quan tity.
Short-Run Cost Function

r K = const.
In the short-run, rms cannot change capital, that is to say,
Recall the production function given xed capital level K in the short run (refer to Lecture 11) (see Figure 1). Suppose w = 1, the variable cost curve can be derived from Figure 1. Adding r K to the variable cost, we obtain the total cost curve (see Figure 2). Average total cost is AT C = TC FC + V C rK wL(q ; K ) = = + . q q q q
With the denition of the average product of labor: q APL = , L

Cite as: Chia-Hui Chen, course materials for 14.01 Principles of Microeconomics, Fall 2007. MIT OpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downloaded on [DD Month YYYY].
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5 L
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Figure 1: Short Run Production Function.
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TC
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VC
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Figure 2: Short Run Cost Function.
we can rewrite AT C as AT C = in which the average variable cost is
rK w + , q APL
VC wL(q ; K ) w = = . q q APL Likewise, we rewrite the marginal cost: MC = dT C dV C dL(q ) w w = =w = q = . dq dq dq M PL L
In Lecture 11, we discussed the relation between average product of labor and marginal product of labor (see Figure 3). We draw the curves for AV C and
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AP
MP
5 L
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Figure 3: Average Product of Labor and Marginal Product of Labor. M C in the same way (see Figure 4). The relation between M C and AV C is: If AV C decreases;
if
AV C increases;
M C > AV C,
M C < AV C,
2 Long-Run Cost Function
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MC
ATC
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AVC
5 L
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Figure 4: Average Cost, Average Variable Cost, and Marginal Cost. if AV C is minimized. Now consider the total cost. Note that the dierence between AT C and AV C decreases with q as the average xed cost term dies out (see Figure 4). The relation between M C and AT C is: If AT C decreases;
if
AT C increases;
if
AT C is minimized.
M C = AT C,
M C > AT C,
M C < AT C,
M C = AV C,
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Figure 5: Isoquant Curve.
Long-Run Cost Function
In the long-run, both K and L are variable. The isoquant curve describes the same output level with dierent combination of K and L (see Figure 5). The slope of an isoquant curve is M RT S = M PL . M PK
Similarly, the isocost curve is constructed by dierent (K, L) with the same cost (see Figure 6). The isocost curve equation is: rK + wL = const, therefore, it is linear, with a slope w r. Now we want to minimize the cost rK + wL subject to an output level Q(K, L) = q . This minimum cost can be obtained when the isocost curve is tangent to the isoquant curve (see Figure 7). Thus the slopes of these two curves are equal: M RT S = M PL w = . M PK r
Now consider an increase in wage (w). The slope of the isocost curve increases (see Figure 8), and the rm use more capital and less labor. The rms choice of input moves from A to B in the gure. The expansion path shows the minimum cost combinations of labor and capital at each level of output (see Figure 9).
4 K 3 2 1 0 0
3 L
Figure 6: Isocost Curve.
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5 L
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Figure 7: Minimize the Cost Subject to a Output Level.
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5 L
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Figure 8: The Change of Cost Minimized Situation.
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Expansion Path
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Figure 9: Expansion Path.
Example (Calculating the Cost.). Given the production function q = L3 K 3 . In the short run, CSR (q ; K ) = rK + w where K is xed.
In the long run, according to the equation
M PL w = , M PK r we have K w = . L r K= q2 , K
3 2 2
Then the expansion path is
w L. r Substituting this result into the production function, we obtain

3 r 1 L = q 4 ( )2 , w 3 w 1 K = q 4 ( )2 . r Hence, the long-run cost function is:
CLR (q ) = wL + rK = 2q 4
wr.

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1 Short-Run Cost Function

14.01 Principles of Microeconomics, Fall 2007

Cost Functions Outline

Short-Run Cost Function

In the short-run, rms cannot change capital, that is to say,

With the denition of the average product of labor: q APL = , L

1 Short-Run Cost Function

Figure 1: Short Run Production Function.

Figure 2: Short Run Cost Function.

1 Short-Run Cost Function

we can rewrite AT C as AT C = in which the average variable cost is

VC wL(q ; K ) w = = . q q APL Likewise, we rewrite the marginal cost: MC = dT C dV C dL(q ) w w = =w = q = . dq dq dq M PL L

2 Long-Run Cost Function

2 Long-Run Cost Function

Figure 5: Isoquant Curve.

Long-Run Cost Function

2 Long-Run Cost Function

Figure 6: Isocost Curve.

Figure 7: Minimize the Cost Subject to a Output Level.

2 Long-Run Cost Function

Figure 8: The Change of Cost Minimized Situation.

Figure 9: Expansion Path.

2 Long-Run Cost Function

Then the expansion path is

w L. r Substituting this result into the production function, we obtain

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