Biaya Produksi (Bagian 1) : Konsep Biaya dalam Ekonomi

Kuliah Online Ekonomi

11 May 202017:29

Summary

TLDRThis lecture, led by economics professor Sito, covers the concept of production costs in economics, with a focus on opportunity cost, explicit and implicit costs, sunk costs, and the distinction between accounting and economic costs. Sito explains how opportunity cost represents the value of the next best alternative, and introduces examples to clarify the difference between explicit (direct monetary expenses) and implicit costs (lost potential income). He also discusses fixed and variable costs, and how they affect production decisions over short and long-term periods, highlighting their role in economic analysis.

Takeaways

📚 The concept of opportunity cost refers to the value of the next best alternative that is foregone when making a decision.
🧠 Opportunity cost in economics includes both explicit and implicit costs. Explicit costs involve direct financial transactions, while implicit costs represent foregone benefits or income.
💼 Example: A student’s opportunity cost of attending college may be the salary they could have earned if they had worked instead of studying.
💰 Explicit costs are identifiable due to the flow of money, while implicit costs are indirect and related to lost opportunities or potential income.
🏦 Opportunity cost calculations involve two components: explicit cost and implicit cost, such as lost income from previous employment.
🔧 Fixed costs remain unchanged regardless of the production output, including expenses like rent, insurance, and executive salaries.
📈 Variable costs fluctuate depending on production levels, such as wages for labor or the cost of raw materials.
⚖️ Sunk costs refer to expenses that have already been incurred and cannot be recovered, meaning they should not influence future decision-making.
📊 Marginal cost represents the change in total production costs when one additional unit of output is produced, and it plays a key role in pricing and production strategies.
🔄 In short-run scenarios, most costs are fixed due to existing contracts, while in the long run, firms have more flexibility to adjust both fixed and variable costs.

Q & A

What is opportunity cost in economics?
-Opportunity cost is the value of the second-best alternative that is given up when a decision is made to allocate resources to a particular option. It represents the benefits or returns that are foregone by choosing one option over another.
How is opportunity cost calculated in the example of not attending university?
-In the example, if you choose to attend university instead of working, the opportunity cost is the salary from the highest-paying job you could have taken, not the sum of all possible jobs. For instance, if the highest-paying job available is a cashier job paying 2 million, that would be the opportunity cost.
What are the two components of opportunity cost?
-Opportunity cost consists of two components: explicit costs and implicit costs. Explicit costs involve actual monetary payments (e.g., buying materials), while implicit costs represent the foregone income from alternative uses of resources (e.g., lost salary from choosing a business over a job).
What is the difference between explicit cost and implicit cost?
-Explicit costs are direct, monetary payments that are clearly identified, such as the cost of materials. Implicit costs, however, are indirect and do not involve a direct outflow of money, such as the income lost from not taking a job in favor of starting a business.
How does the concept of opportunity cost differ between economics and accounting?
-In economics, both explicit and implicit costs are considered in opportunity cost, while in accounting, costs are typically limited to explicit costs and may include depreciation, but they often exclude implicit costs.
What is a sunk cost, and how is it treated in decision-making?
-A sunk cost refers to money that has already been spent and cannot be recovered. In decision-making, sunk costs are not considered because they cannot influence future outcomes and are irretrievable.
Can you give an example of a sunk cost from the transcript?
-An example from the transcript is when a company pays a non-refundable $500,000 option fee for a building purchase. Once paid, this becomes a sunk cost and should not influence further decisions on whether to buy the building or not.
What is the difference between fixed cost and variable cost?
-Fixed costs are those that do not change regardless of the level of production, such as rent or insurance. Variable costs, on the other hand, fluctuate with the level of output, such as raw material costs or labor wages.
How do short-term and long-term periods affect fixed and variable costs?
-In the short term, most costs are fixed due to contractual obligations and production setups. However, in the long term, companies have more flexibility to adjust both fixed and variable costs by changing their production scale or resources.
What is marginal cost, and how is it related to total cost and variable cost?
-Marginal cost is the additional cost incurred when producing one more unit of output. It is calculated as the change in total cost divided by the change in output and typically reflects changes in variable costs since fixed costs do not change with production levels.

Outlines

00:00

📊 Introduction to Production Costs and Opportunity Cost

This paragraph introduces the concept of production costs in economics. The speaker emphasizes the importance of understanding opportunity cost, which represents the value of the second-best alternative foregone when making a choice. The example provided highlights the comparison between working a job versus attending college, illustrating how the opportunity cost is the highest earning option foregone. The paragraph further introduces explicit and implicit costs, key concepts in economics that differ from accounting costs. Explicit costs involve actual cash outflows, while implicit costs represent potential earnings lost due to certain choices.

05:02

💰 Example of Explicit and Implicit Costs in Business

This paragraph continues with an example of a business owner, Clara, who starts a business using both personal savings and a bank loan. It breaks down her opportunity costs into explicit and implicit components. Explicit costs include the interest paid on the loan, while implicit costs account for the potential interest earnings Clara loses by using her savings for the business. The paragraph then explains the sunk cost fallacy, where past costs, such as a previously paid fee, should not influence current decision-making as they are irrecoverable.

10:03

📉 Understanding Fixed and Variable Costs

This section explains fixed costs (expenses that remain constant regardless of output, such as rent or salaries) and variable costs (expenses that change with output, like raw materials). It discusses how even during a business shutdown, fixed costs remain, but variable costs can be avoided. The distinction between short-term and long-term production is made, noting that in the short term, most costs are fixed, while in the long term, they become variable, giving businesses more flexibility.

15:06

📈 Marginal Costs and the U-Shaped Cost Curve

The final paragraph delves into the relationship between total costs, average costs, and marginal costs (the cost of producing one more unit). Marginal costs initially decrease due to increasing marginal returns but eventually rise, forming a U-shaped curve. Fixed costs, variable costs, and total costs are also explained in relation to output, with average costs lowering at first and rising as output increases. The concept of amortization and its impact on fixed costs is also briefly touched upon.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Opportunity Cost

Opportunity cost refers to the value of the next best alternative that is forgone when making a decision. In the video, the speaker explains this by discussing how the opportunity cost of attending college is not the sum of possible earnings from jobs you didn’t take, but the highest-paying job you could have taken, making it the 'second best option'.

💡Explicit Cost

An explicit cost is a direct payment made by a business or individual, such as expenses involving actual money transfers. In the video, the speaker uses the example of a business owner who spends $1000 on baking supplies as an explicit cost in the calculation of production expenses.

💡Implicit Cost

Implicit cost represents the opportunity cost of resources that are already owned by the business and used in production, where no actual payment occurs. For example, the video discusses how Lauren, who was previously a cashier, incurs an implicit cost of $500 (her lost salary) when she starts her own business.

💡Sunk Cost

Sunk costs are expenses that have already been incurred and cannot be recovered. These costs should not influence future economic decisions. In the video, the speaker explains how a company spending $500,000 on an option to purchase a building should disregard this sunk cost when deciding between continuing with the current option or choosing a cheaper alternative.

💡Fixed Cost

Fixed costs are expenses that do not change with the level of production, such as rent, executive salaries, or insurance. The video explains that these costs remain constant regardless of how much output a company produces and only disappear if the company shuts down permanently.

💡Variable Cost

Variable costs are expenses that fluctuate based on the level of output produced, such as raw materials and labor. The video emphasizes that variable costs increase as production increases, and provides examples like wages for workers and costs for raw materials.

💡Marginal Cost

Marginal cost refers to the change in total cost when one more unit of output is produced. The video describes marginal cost as a key economic concept and explains how it initially decreases due to increasing marginal returns, then increases as diminishing returns set in.

💡Short Run

In economic terms, the short run refers to a time period where some factors of production are fixed, meaning certain costs cannot be changed quickly. The video mentions that in the short run, most costs, including fixed costs, are unavoidable due to contracts and commitments.

💡Long Run

The long run is a period of time in which all factors of production and costs are variable. The video explains that in the long run, businesses have the flexibility to adjust all inputs, such as expanding or reducing their factory size, hiring or laying off workers, and acquiring new equipment.

💡Total Cost

Total cost is the sum of all fixed and variable costs incurred in producing a certain level of output. The video illustrates how total cost is a key figure in understanding business expenses, where it is calculated by adding fixed costs and variable costs.

Highlights

The discussion begins with an introduction to production costs in economics, which will be broken down into five main topics.

Opportunity cost is highlighted as the primary concept to consider in economic costs, defined as the value of the next best alternative.

Explicit costs involve direct monetary transactions, while implicit costs refer to foregone income or benefits, both contributing to opportunity cost.

An example of opportunity cost is provided: if someone chooses to attend college instead of working, their opportunity cost is the salary they forgo from their second-best alternative job.

The case of Lauren, who quits a $500/month job to start a bakery, is used to illustrate how both explicit and implicit costs contribute to her opportunity cost.

Sunk cost is introduced as a cost that has already been incurred and cannot be recovered, such as a company paying $500,000 for an option to buy a building.

Sunk costs are not factored into future economic decisions because they are irreversible, differentiating them from other costs in decision-making.

Fixed costs, such as insurance or executive salaries, remain constant regardless of output production levels, unlike variable costs, which fluctuate with production.

Variable costs are directly tied to production output, increasing as more units are produced, while fixed costs stay constant even when production is halted temporarily.

In the short run, almost all costs are fixed, as companies have committed contracts and obligations, but in the long run, most costs become variable.

Marginal cost is defined as the cost incurred by producing one additional unit of output, which initially decreases and then increases due to diminishing returns.

The relationship between total cost, fixed cost, and variable cost is explained: Total cost equals fixed cost plus variable cost.

Average cost is calculated by dividing total cost by the output produced. It can be categorized into average total cost, average fixed cost, and average variable cost.

Marginal cost typically forms a U-shape curve: decreasing initially due to increasing returns, and then rising as diminishing returns set in.

The average total cost curve also follows a U-shape, decreasing initially as fixed costs are spread over more units and increasing later due to rising variable costs.